U. S. TROOPS marching through the streets of a town in Northern Ireland escorted by a British sergeant. The first U. S. troops to arrive in Ireland were 18 officers and 18 enlisted men, the advance party for the first contingent. By 1 June 1944 there were 1,562,000 U. S. troops in the United Kingdom. During the early months after the United States’ entry into World War II a large part of the equipment was similar to that of World War I. In the succeeding months much was done to improve all types of equipment and many of the changes may be seen in the pictures that follow in this volume.
NORTHERN IRELAND
TRAINING IN IRELAND, FEBRUARY 1942. Before leaving the United States members of the U. S. armed forces normally had completed their training, but to keep the men at the peak of their fighting fitness programs in firing, field exercises, and special problems were begun under varying weather and terrain conditions. Men in their late teens or early twenties made the finest soldiers as they had stamina and recuperative power far beyond that of older men. This physical superiority often determined the issue in heavy and prolonged fighting.
ENGLAND
INFANTRY MAN WITH WEAPONS. Soldier is holding a .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun M 1928A 1; from left to right are: 60-mm. mortar M 2, British antitank gun, .30-caliber U. S. rifle M 1 with bayonet M 1 attached, .30-caliber Browning machine gun M 1919A 4, hand grenades, .45-caliber automatic pistol M 1911A 1, .30-caliber U. S. rifle M 1903 with grenade launcher M 1 attached, .30-caliber Browning automatic rifle M 1913A 2, and 81-mm. mortar M 1 (top). Infantryman has just completed an obstacle course (bottom).
SCOTLAND