CONTENTS

Foreword			i
Preliminary Developments			1
	Introduction		1
	Allied Strategic Considerations		4
		The Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff	5
		Major Allied Decisions, 1942 and 1943	8
	The Battle of the Atlantic		13
		Early Operations	14
		The Allied Defensive	17
		The Allied Offensive	23
	The Development of Strategic Air Power		25
		The Royal Air Force	26
		The United States Air Force in Europe	28
		The Combined Bomber Offensive	32
	Early Developments in the United Kingdom		36
		Organization of the European Theater	36
		The Logistical Build-up	37
		British Amphibious Raids	40
Plans and Preparations for the Invasion			41
	The Allied High Command		42
	Allied Plans		45
		The OVERLORD Plan	46
		Factors Influencing the Plan	47
		Major Changes in OVERLORD	51
	The Allied Air Offensive		53
		The Opposing Air Forces	53
		Air Superiority	58
		The Pre-Invasion Air Assault	62
	Enemy Forces and Plan of Defense		64
		The High Command	65
		The Field Forces	67
		The Atlantic Wall	69
		Defensive Plans and Considerations	71
	Final Allied Preparations		77
		The Invasion Force	77
		Mounting Procedures	82
		Subversive Activities	84
		Deceptive Measures	85
		Selection of the Time	86
The Normandy Campaign			88
	The Invasion		90
		VII Corps Landings	91
		D-Day on OMAHA Beach	95
		Other D-Day Operations	101
		Operations, 7-12 June	104
	The Capture of Cherbourg		109
	Expanding the Beachhead		114
	Comments		118
The Campaign in Northern France			125
	Introduction		125
	The St. Lô Breakthrough		128
	The Breakout		133
		The German Mortain Counterattack	138
		The Close Encirclement	140
	The Exploitation		142
		The Deep Encirclement and the Battle of the Falaise Pocket	142
		The Advance to the Seine	145
	The Pursuit to the West Wall		148
		Strategic Considerations on Securing the Lodgement Area	148
		Operations, 26 August-3 September	150
		Operations, 4-14 September	153
	Comments		156
The Campaign in Southern France			162
	Plans and Preparations		162
		The Invasion Force	163
		Enemy Forces	166
		The Assault Plan	166
	Seventh Army Operations		168
		The Landings	168
		The Exploitation	170
		The Pursuit	174
Operations Against the West Wall			176
	Introduction		176
		Logistical Considerations	176
		The West Wall	180
		The Allied Situation	182
	21st Army Group Operations		184
		The Airborne Invasion of Holland	185
		The Battle of the Schelde Estuary	190
	12th Army Group Operations		192
		The Aachen Offensive	193
		Forcing the Line of the Moselle	194
		The Capture of Metz and the Saar Campaign	198
		The Drive to the Roer	200
	6th Army Group Operations		202
		Static Warfare in the Vosges Mountains	202
		Forcing the Belfort and Saverne Gaps	203
Appendices
No.			Page
1.	Directive to the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force		207
2.	Important Dates in the War in Western Europe (6 June-15 December 1944)		209
3.	Major Conferences and Military Decisions, 1941-1945		211
4.	The Normandy Campaign--Allied Order of Battle, 12 June 1944		215
5.	Abbreviated German Order of Battle, Western Front, 6 June 1944		219
6.	The Campaign in Northern France--Allied Order of Battle, 1 August 1944		221
7.	Operations Against the West Wall--Allied Order of Battle, 15 September 1944		225
8a.	VII Corps D-Day Operations--UTAH Beach, 6 June 1944		Map
8b.	V Corps D-Day Operations--OMAHA Beach, 6 June 1944		Map
8c.	British Assault Plan--Normandy Landings		Chart
9.	American Casualties and Enemy Prisoners of War--Western Europe, June 1944-April 1945		Chart
List of Maps
No.
1	Limited of Axis Expansion (September 1939-August 1942) Allied Gains (November 1942-June 1944) Battle of the Atlantic (September 1939-May 1943)
2	The Combined Bomber Offensive OVERLORD, High Command and Plan German Dispositions, D-Day, 6 June 1944
3	The Allied Invasion Force and German Dispositions, 6 June 1944
4	The Invasion (Operations, 6-12 June 1944)
5	The Capture of Cherbourg (Operations, 13-30 June 1944)
6	Expanding the Beachhead (Operations, 1-24 July 1944)
7	Allied Gains in Europe (June-December 1944)
8	The St. Lô Breakthrough (Operations, 25-31 July 1944)
9	The Breakout (Operations, 1-13 August 1944)
10	The Exploitation (Operations, 14-25 August 1944)
11	The Pursuit to the West Wall (OPerations, 26 August-14 September 1944)
12	The Campaign in Southern France (Operations, 15-28 August 1944)
13	21st Army Group Operations (15 September-15 December 1944)
14a	6th and 12th Army Group Operations (15 September-7 November 1944)
14b	6th and 12th Army Group Operations (8 November-15 December 1944)

Foreword

This short account of the Allied operations in western Europe has been prepared for use in the instruction of cadets at the United States Military Academy. It is based for the most part on material furnished by the Historical Division, Department of the Army. In acknowledging this indebtedness, however, it is not desired to place on the Historical Division the responsibility for any factual errors or for the conclusion drawn.

Grateful acknowledgement is made of permission to quote copyrighted material from the publications listed below:

Samuel E. Morison, The Battle of the Atlantic (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1947).

Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1948).

Henry L. Stimson and McGeorge Bundy, On Active Service in Peace and War (New York: Harper & Bros., 1948).

Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1947).

The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, Normandy to the Baltic (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1948).

Milton Shulman, Defeat in the West (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1948).

George S. Patton, Jr., War As I Knew It (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1947).

Sir Francis de Guingand, Operation Victory (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947).

It is regretted that space limitations have not permitted a more detailed account of the important part played by the British, Canadian, and French troops in the operations.

February 1949