Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in ...

Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in France, 6 June-31 July 1944

by Captain Michael D. Doubler

-I FOREWORD

The hedgerow country of northwestern France-the Bocagepresented a trying challenge to the U.S. Army in 1944. During the Normandy invasion, U.S. forces faced a stubborn German Army defending from an extensive network of small fields surrounded by living banks of hedges bordered by sunken dirt lanes. German forces fighting from these ready-made defensive positions were, at first, able to curb most of the American advances and make the attempts very costly. For the U.S. Army, busting through the difficult Bocage country required tactical, doctrinal, and organizational ingenuity.

Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in France, 6 June-31 July 1944 shows how the U.S. Army identified and overcame the problems of fighting in difficult terrain. The adoption of new tactics combined with technical innovations and good small-unit leadership enabled American forces to defeat a well-prepared and skillful enemy. In the hedgerow country, the U.S. Army eventually brought the separate components of the combined arms team-infantry, armor, and artillery-to bear on the enemy simultaneously. The resulting successes were costly but effective. Combat in the Bocage demonstrated the U.S. Army's capability to fight and win in a new and hostile environment.

November 1988

RICHARD M. SWAIN Colonel, Field Artillery Director, Combat Studies Institute

CSI publications cover a variety of military history topics. The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.

Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in France, 6 June-31 July 1944

by Captain Michael D. Doubler

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-6900

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data

Doubler, Michael D. (Michael Dale), 1955Busting the Bocage.

Bibliography: p.

1. World War, 1939-1945-Campaigns-France-Bocage

2. Bocage normand (France)-History.

I. Title.

D756.5.N6D68 1988 940.54'21

88-23757

normand.

CONTENTS

Illustrations ............................................

v

I. Normandy: The Context of the Battle .................

1

Introduction ........................................

1

U.S. Army Organization and Doctrine................ 2

Combat Experience Before D-Day ....................

9

The Operational Setting............................

11

II. The Battle ....................

....... ...........

21

Tactical Problems.................................. 21

The Solution ......................................

30

III. Conclusions .......................................

61

Notes .................................................

67

Bibliography........................................... 73

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