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111th Field Artillery Battalion
111th Field Artillery Battalion
Active	1942–1946
Country	United States of America
Branch	Army
Type	Artillery
Engagements	World War II Operation Overlord;
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Thornton L. Mullins

The 111th Field Artillery Battalion was an artillery battalion of the United States Army, part of the 29th Infantry Division. The battalion fought in Operation Overlord.

History

Origins

The 111th Field Artillery Battalion was a unit of the United States army, part of the 29th Infantry Division, based in Norfolk, Virginia,^[1] and was made up of members of the National Guard.^[2] The battalion was created from the 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery when the regiment was broken up on 12 March 1942 as part of an army reorganization that broke up divisional artillery regiments.^[3]

Operation Overlord

The unit took part in Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944, but its members were not happy with their mission. The plan was for them to bring their 105 mm howitzers ashore two hours after the initial landings, to support the 116th infantry unit, which was intended to have secured the beach by then.^[4] But the unit's leader, Lt Colonel Mullins, was concerned that the DUKW amphibious vehicles which were their intended transport were not able to bear heavy loads in rough seas.^[4] Each DUKW had to carry a howitzer, fourteen men, ammunition, sandbags and other equipment to the beach.^[4] Lieutenant Colonel Mullins was killed during the battle.^[5]

After the end of the war, the unit returned to the United States and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer on 16 January 1946. The lineage of the unit is perpetuated by the 111th Field Artillery Regiment of the Virginia Army National Guard.^[3]

References

Balkowski, Joseph, Beyond the Beachhead, The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy, Stackpole Books (1989), ISBN 0-8117-2682-7

Notes

^ Balkowski, p.25
^ Balkowski, p.41
^ ^a ^b "111th Field Artillery Regiment Lineage and Honors". U.S. Army Center of Military History. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c Balkowski, p.140
^ "29th Infantry Division - D-Day battle order". www.dday-overlord.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.