List of Allied forces in the Normandy campaign
(Redirected from U.S. Divisions Active in the Normandy Campaign)
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This is a list of Allied forces in the Normandy campaign between 6 June and 25 August 1944. Primary ground combat divisions and brigades are listed here; unit articles may contain a complete order of battle.
United States
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Beach | Commander |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Infantry Division | June 6 | Omaha | Major General Clarence R. Huebner |
| 2nd Infantry Division | June 7 | Omaha | Major General Walter M. Robertson |
| 4th Infantry Division | June 6 | Utah | Major General Raymond O. Barton [a] |
| 5th Infantry Division | July 9 | Utah | Major General Stafford LeRoy Irwin |
| 8th Infantry Division | July 4 | Utah | Major General William C. McMahon Major General Donald A. Stroh (from 12 July) |
| 9th Infantry Division | June 10 | Utah | Major General Manton S. Eddy Major General Louis A. Craig (from 19 August) |
| 28th Infantry Division | July 22 | Omaha ? | Major General Lloyd D. Brown Brigadier General James E. Wharton (12–13 August) Major General Norman D. Cota (from 14 August) |
| 29th Infantry Division | June 6 | Omaha | Major General Charles H. Gerhardt |
| 30th Infantry Division | June 10 | Omaha | Major General Leland Hobbs |
| 35th Infantry Division | July 5 | Omaha | Major General Paul W. Baade |
| 79th Infantry Division | June 12 | Utah | Major General Ira T. Wyche |
| 83rd Infantry Division | June 18 | Omaha | Major General Robert C. Macon |
| 90th Infantry Division | June 6 | Utah | Brigadier General Jay W. MacKelvie (until early July) Major General Eugene M. Landrum (July) Brigadier General Raymond S. McLain (from 30 July) |
| 2nd Armored Division | June 9 | Omaha | Major General Edward H. Brooks |
| 3rd Armored Division | June 23 | Omaha ? | Major General Leroy H. Watson Major General Maurice Rose (from 7 August) |
| 4th Armored Division | July 11 | Utah | Major General John S. Wood |
| 5th Armored Division | July 24 | Utah | Major General Lunsford E. Oliver |
| 6th Armored Division | July 19 | Utah | Major General Robert W. Grow |
| 82nd Airborne Division | June 6 | Utah | Major General Matthew Ridgway |
| 101st Airborne Division | June 6 | Utah | Major General Maxwell D. Taylor |
| 2nd Ranger Battalion | June 6 | Omaha | Lt. Colonel James E. Rudder |
| 5th Ranger Battalion | June 6 | Omaha | Lt. Colonel Max F. Schneider |
| 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion | June 6 | Omaha and Utah | Lt. Colonel Leon J. Reed |
United Kingdom
[edit]See also Hastings Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy
Independent and GHQ brigades included 30th Armoured; 1st Tank Brigade; 4th Armoured; 1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers; 31st Tank; 34th Tank; 6th Guards Tank Brigade; 27th Armoured (to 9.1944); 33rd Armoured; 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade; the headquarters of 74th, 76th, 80th, 100th, 101st, 105th, 106th and 107th Anti-Aircraft Brigades; numerous light anti-aircraft (LAA) and HAA regiments; and 56th Infantry Brigade, which joined 49th Division from 20 August 1944.
Canada
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Beach | Commander | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division | 29 July | Juno ? | Major General George Kitching Major General Harry W. Foster (from 22 August) | |
| 2nd Canadian Infantry Division | 7 July | Juno | Major General C. Foulkes | |
| 3rd Canadian Infantry Division | 6 June | Juno | Major General Rodney F.L. Keller | |
| 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade | 6 June | Juno | Brigadier Robert A. Wyman | |
| Others | ||||
| 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (attached to the British 6th Airborne Division) | 6 June | Orne Brighead | Lieutenant-Colonel George Bradbrooke | |
Free French forces & Fusiliers Marins
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Commander | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2e Division Blindée | 1 August | General Philippe Leclerc | ||
| Others | ||||
| Nos 1 and 8 Troop, No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando (attached to No. 4 Commando) | 6 June | Capitaine de frégate Philippe Kieffer | ||
| 3ème Bataillon d'Infanterie de l'Air (3e BIA) (3ème Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes (3e RCP) from 1 August) / (3rd SAS) |
17 July | Capitaine Pierre Château-Jobert | ||
| 4ème Bataillon d'Infanterie de l'Air (4e BIA) (2ème Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes (2e RCP) from 1 August) / (4th SAS) |
6 June | Capitaine Pierre-Louis Bourgoin | ||
Free Polish forces
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Commander |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Armoured Division | NLT 7 Aug | Major-General Stanisław Maczek |
Free Belgian forces
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Commander |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade ( "Brigade Piron") | Between 30 July – 8 August | Colonel Jean-Baptiste Piron |
Free Czechoslovak forces
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Commander |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group | 30 August | Major General Alois Liška |
Free Dutch forces
[edit]| Unit | Arrival | Commander |
|---|---|---|
| HNLMS Flores | 6 Jun | |
| HNLMS Soemba | 6 Jun | |
| No. 320 (Netherlands) Squadron RAF | 6 Jun | |
| Koninklijke Nederlandse Brigade "Prinses Irene" ("Princess Irene Brigade") | 6 Aug | Colonel A. C. de Ruyter van Steveninck |
Free Norwegian forces
[edit]Approximately 1,950 Norwegian military personnel took part in the Normandy campaign in separate Norwegian units or as part of other Allied units in addition to 45 civilian ships[3] with approximately 1,000 men from Nortraship. The Norwegian units operated under British command and were therefore primarily employed in the Gold, Sword and Juno sectors.
Some of the participating units:
- Air Force
- Navy
- HNoMS Stord S-class destroyer
- HNoMS Svenner S-class destroyer
- HNoMS Glaisdale Hunt-class destroyer
- HNoMS Andenes Flower-class corvette
- HNoMS Eglantine Flower-class corvette
- HNoMS Rose Flower-class corvette
- HNoMS Nordkapp fishery protection vessel
- Motor Launches No. 128, 213 and 573
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ There was panic at SHAEF HQ in Southwick House when Convoy U2 of 140 ships carrying Barton and the US 4th Infantry Division to Utah beach (which had furthest to go) failed to heed the radio message to turn back on 3 June and could not be located; with visions of the flotilla invading alone!. The destroyer USS Forrest went out. It took all day for a Walrus seaplane search aircraft to locate them, with cloud down to 100 feet (30 m). Two message canisters were dropped; the first fell into the sea, but the ship got the second one and turned round.[1][2]
Citations
[edit]- ^ Caddick-Adams, Peter (2019). Sand & Steel: A New History of D-Day. London: Hutchinson. p. 345. ISBN 978-1-84794-8-281.
- ^ Tucker-Jones, Anthony (2019). D-Day 1944: The Making of Victory. Brimscombe, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7509-8803-2.
- ^ Berg 1997: 136
References
[edit]- Armed forces during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 D-Day Overlord
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- "The Assault Landings in Normandy : Order of Battle British Second Army" (PDF). Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.
- "British Army Follow-on Divisions Operation Overlord: 6 June 1944" (PDF). 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. 2010.
- Berg, Ole F. (1997). I skjærgården og på havet – Marinens krig 8. april 1940 – 8. mai 1945 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Marinens krigsveteranforening. ISBN 82-993545-2-8.
- OdB and history of units having taken part to the Falaise pocket battle at memorial-montormel.org(en/fr)
- Canadiansoldiers.com[dead link]
- Regiments.org
- U.S. Army official site
- Maj-Gen Hubert Essame, The 43rd Wessex Division at War 1944–45, London: William Clowes, 1952. [NB: Personnel are given for whole North West Europe campaign].