Operation Overlord Research Paper

Artillery Overlord
Patrick McLoughlin, Alik Rucker, Matthew Rutter & Spencer Stohel
13B3 Class 002-18

Artillery Overlord On June 6 1944, 6,000 military carrying vessels landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, carrying 176,000 soldiers. This day was the start of Operation Overlord, the code name used for the Battle of Normandy, and also known today as D-Day. The invasion started early on June 5, 1944 as the Allied forces left England and crossed the English Channel into France. Artillery was essential to the success of the invasion as battalions were used in support of Infantry soldiers (History.com, 2009). Although, there were many different Howitzers used in World War II, the three specific Howitzers used during the Battle of Normandy …show more content…
Even though the use of Artillery was successful, the Battle of Normandy helped revolutionize and modernize Artillery operations with communication, occupations, security, Fire Direction Center (FDC) and supply (Soffer, 1945). The 105mm M2A1 Howitzer was used in support of the Infantry in the “Hedgerows War” after they started the modernization attempts in 1939 (Laurenceau, n.d.). Marc Laurenceau in 105mm M2A1 Howitzer History (n.d.) states “Its precision is its strong point, as its transport, very simplified for this type of barrel, despite its weight.” The M2A1 weighed 2 tons, the weight of the shells were 42 lbs “semi-fixed”, had a max range of 11,270 meters, sustained rate of fire of 10 rounds a minute for 3 minutes, life span of 20,000 rounds and a crew size of 8 soldiers. The 155mm M1 “Long Tom” was first known as the “T3 8 inch Howitzer” …show more content…
The success of this invasion led to the overall mission capabilities for the Allied forces. Artillery was used in different ways to ensure movement for the Infantryman was possible. The 105MM M2A1 Howitzer, 155MM M1 Howitzer and the 155MM M1 “Long Tom” Howitzer were modified to fit Operation Overlord and other operations during World War II. The M12 Battalion from 3rd Armored Division is a way to pin point how Artillery Operations have been modernized through communication, occupations, security, FDC and supply. Commanders, or anyone in a leadership role, can understand what this battalion had to do to ensure the overall success of Operations during the Battle of

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