Microsoft Close Combat manual Sgt. Bill Davidson, in Yank, Troops under fire in the bocage

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 77

Germans have mastered the advance by infiltration, sending small parties to turn the flank of the enemy advance. This means that U.S. soldiers suddenly find themselves under fire from three sides. Once U.S. forces are pinned down in the open, the Germans open up on them with pre-planned mortar and artillery fire. For the Americans, calling for artillery support in such close quarters is risky, because even accurate supporting fire can injure friendly troops.

Advancing through the hedgerows is an unnerving experience for the U.S. troops. The sense of isolation from comrades, the disorientation caused by moving from one small enclosure to another, and the dra- matic contrast of silence punctuated by sudden bursts of deadly fire from well-hidden German defenders, all take their toll on morale. Inexperienced U.S. soldiers fling themselves flat when they come under fire; in some cases a German sniper can pick off several prone and immobilized victims.

In the constricted bocage landscape of small, enclosed fields, American units grope forward through terrain that seldom allows more than a hundred yards visibility. Most of this

vicious small-unit fighting takes place at distances of less than 300 yards. Worst of all, after penetrating one hedgerow, the U.S. troops are faced with the task of taking another, then another, then another. After two weeks of heavy casualties, the 29th grinds to a halt, exhausted. Clearly, they need to devise new tactics to keep the hedgerow battle from degenerating into a bloody stalemate.

The hedgerows aren’t the only natural phenomenon that hinders the Allied advance. The weather, although overcast part of the time, was better than ex- pected for the two weeks following the invasion. During this period, two artificial harbors, called “Mulberries,”

were installed at Omaha and Gold beaches to make up for the lack of a natural harbor on the Calvados coast. But as the Mulberries near completion on June 19, a severe storm strikes and rages for nearly a week, damaging the Omaha Beach Mulberry facilities beyond repair. When the storm finally subsides, U.S. ships are forced to use the less- damaged British Mulberry. The storm and the damage it causes delay supplies, and force the U.S. armies to ration ammunition. However,

“Sometimes you hold one end of a field and the enemy holds the other, and you maneuver around in two- or three-man patrols until either you or the enemy is thrown out. This kind of war is paradise for the sniper, the rifleman, the automatic weapons man, the bazooka man. Conversely, it’s death on tanks and armored cars.”

Sgt. Bill Davidson, in Yank

U.S. troops under fire in the bocage