Contribution Of 82nd Airborne Division Combat Engineers During World War II

The men who served in the 82nd Engineer Combat Battalion during World War II may have thought they achieved very little but their accomplishments helped in winning the European Theatre of Operation. Their engineer tasks included but were not limited to, erecting bridges, emplacing minefields, creating and continuing to make road improvements to allow for freedom of movement for allied forces.

In a world that grows ever more complex, the technologies and innovations that improve lives are saddled to the mechanisms of war and defense. It is within the institutions chartered to protect our interests that the speed of the world weighs most heavy. Steadfast, and always with an eye towards the future, it is important to understand how the branch arrived at its current configuration and in what direction it should move to provide the most effective trajectory for development, advancement, and refinery. An excerpt from (McKenney, iii) explains:

The United States remains a country with a rich history in several issues including strong military activities including their incursion in Iraq, Afghanistan and other volatile countries around the world. However, the devastations of the Battle of the Bulge make it as one of the deadliest and bloodiest wars that the U.S has ever witnessed in history. It led to various war tactics with artillery emerging from it and other military operation challenges. Despite its unpredictable nature and the large casualties that it realized on the side of the Americans, it positively contributed to various efficient military operations in the contemporary war battles like those taking place in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan among other places globally. Therefore, this essay purposefully discusses the history and outcome of the role of artillery in the Battle of the Bulge and how it relates to the evolution of the contemporary military operation.

The line was centered on Lucy-le-Bocage. Although the initial disposition of troops was haphazard at first due the emergency, the front settled eventually with the 5th Marines to the west and the 6th Marines to the east. Most of the units deployed without machineguns in support. At Les Mares Farm, members of 2nd Bn, 5th Marines began to show the Germans the effects of long distance marksmanship.

Leading up to the attack, on June 6 1944, the U.S. Eighth Air Force and British Bomber Command repeatedly plastered the coastline with heavy aerially bombardment with the main focus being Point du Hoc. Pointe du Hoc was a 100ft cliff overlooking the English Channel. It lied 4 miles west of the center to Omaha Beach. It was also the highest point between Omaha beach on the east and Utah beach on the west. On the morning of 6 June, at 0445, 225 Soldiers comprised of Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot Companies, 2nd Ranger Battalion boarded their Landing Craft Assault (LCA) boats and headed out. The boats were crewed by British forces and they carried 22 men on each one. Upon headed out into the choppy sea for an hour-long trip to their destination. Riding in the landing craft was rough and cold, and several Rangers became seasick. Others worked vigorously to empty water out of the boats in an effort to keep them from sinking. One LCA capsized, leaving the assault team with twenty-two less men for the mission. As the early morning sun began to rise, the Rangers quickly realized something wasn’t correct. They were supposed to start the H-hour at 0630. The

This paper covers a brief history of the 20th Engineer Battalion. Covering from its beginning as the 20th Engineer Regiment prior to the start of World War I to the resignation as the 20the Engineer Battalion and ending with the conclusion of Desert Storm/Desert Shield. Thru out the Battalions history, I hope to show some of the most notable events and accomplishments of the Lumberjacks. Condite et Pugnate (Build and Fight)

Battles in the second World War, one can argue, had three major components: infantry, armour, and artillery/supportive fire; and D-Day was no different. The infantry regiments to fight on D-Day entail: The North Shore (Newfoundland) Regiment, The 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and The Regina Rifles Regiment. Along with the support of the armour, the infantrymen were able to push inland into Normandy, which subsequently led to the liberation of France, and eventually the defeat of Germany. In “D-Day: The Battle for Normandy”, Antony Beevor said: “The 7th Canadian Brigade landed either side of the River Seulles at Courseulles-sur-Mer. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles cleared the West bank, then, with the Canadian Scottish Regiment, pushed towards Vaux and Graye-sur-Mer.” The two infantry units referred to above were able to land the beaches, and push inland, into the interior of Normandy. The fact that they were able to suppress German opposition, and gain progress in the invasions clearly details their success. Also in “D-Day: The Battle for Normandy”, Beevor details how the North Shore Regiment had entered the town; but could not push any further due to barbed wire. However, due their quick thinking to use Bangalore torpedoes to blow openings in the wire, and then continued in.

Regardless of where they were dropped, many of the American paratroopers grouped with whomever they found, often times finding soldiers from different squads or companies than their own. This was especially the case for the 101st airborne as they were the most scattered of the three Allied airborne divisions. An example of this is portrayed in Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers and is based off the real events of June 6, 1944. Lieutenant Richard Winters landed off course somewhere west of Ste Mère-Eglise when his assigned landing zone was actually southeast of the French village. He regrouped with twelve friendlies, both from his squad and not, on the way southeast and led them towards four artillery guns. The guns were firing on the beaches and were doing damage to the men on the beachhead. Lt. Winters received orders from his commanding officer to take the guns out with whatever men he could.

Chapter VII, “WWII: Establishing the Circuits of Victory” outlines the history of the U.S. Army Signal Corps from the initial entry into WWII until the end of the war. It covers Signal Corps activities and technology advances spanning four of the seven continents during a global conflict. As you will conclude, the Signal Corps played an important role in the innovations and rapid technology advances during WWII.

Brigadier General (BG) Clare Hibbs Armstrong was tasked with keeping the port of Antwerp open. This operation had a code name of “Antwerp X.” BG Armstrong kept the port safe with a force made up of 22,000 Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) men. The 22,000 Soldiers were made up of Americans and British AAA gunners. “Field Marshall Montgomery told Armstrong if he achieved a 50 percent success rate, he’d be doing a grand job.” (In line cite.) The Antwerp X campaign started off with a 60 percent kill rate, at the end of the campaign they had refined their skills enough to achieved 98 percent kill rate of the V-1 bombs. “At the end of the campaign, over 70% of the V-1s and V-2s had been destroyed by the Antwerp X ack-ack fire and the port remained open throughout the attack.” (IN line Cite) The AAA troops achieved this great success with the use of “antiaircraft guns along with advanced radar units, gun directors, and searchlights.” ( in line cite) The antiaircraft guns were 90-mm and 40-mm guns. In addition to those the Soldiers also had machine guns. Often they used all three at the same time to take down the V-l bombs. However when the Germans sent the V-2 bombs, their speed made it very

The primary units assigned to Operation Watch on the Rhein were given their Order of Battle and Objectives:

This operation consisted of two separate missions. Operation Market, the airborne assault targeted key bridges and terrain in the vicinity of four cities. The 101st would be responsible for securing approximately fifteen miles of the corridor, including the city of Eindhoven and bridges at Zon, St. Oedenrode, and Veghel. The 82d Airborne Division was to drop in the middle to

Allied offensive was the largest airborne operation up to that date. It consisted of 1,545 troop carriers, 478 gliders, 3,500 glider men and 16,500 paratroopers (Fox, 1994, p.1). the initial phase of airborne forces operation was a success, however British paratroopers failed to secure the key bridge of Arnhem. The ground forces that were supposed to link up with airborne forces, faced fierce attacks by 88mm guns and Panzerfausts.

The land clearing teams were assigned to the 62d engineer battalion which was based out of Long Binh and three land-clearing companies assigned to the 20th engineer brigade were sent to Vietnam. The engineer companies sent were the 60th, the 501st, and the 984th land clearing to give support to the II Field Force, (U.S. Army, 2000). These engineers were sent with only sixty-four men and little equipment.

The Dambusters have been immortalised in World War Two folklore as a result of their attack on the dams of the Ruhr. As part of the Allies bombing campaign against Germany during the war, the Dambusters wa an elite Lancaster bomber unit and the raid was led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC. How much impact the Dambusters raid had is still debated but what cannot be denied is the bravery of the men involved in the raid and the unique contribution made by Dr.Barnes Wallis who developed the unique bouncing bomb that was used on the raid. If the raid did not have a long term impact, it did have enormous propaganda value for the Allies.