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128-397: [REDACTED] First Army : [REDACTED] Seventh Army : Airborne assault British Sector American Sector Normandy landings American Sector Anglo-Canadian Sector Logistics Ground campaign American Sector Anglo-Canadian Sector Breakout Air and Sea operations Supporting operations Aftermath Operation Cobra was an offensive launched by

256-645: A 230 m (250 yd) belt immediately south of the Saint-Lô–Periers road, while General Spaatz 's heavy bombers would bomb to a depth of 2,300 m (2,500 yd) behind the German main line of resistance. It was anticipated that the physical destruction and shock value of a short, intense preliminary bombardment would greatly weaken the German defense so in addition to divisional artillery, Army- and Corps-level units would provide support, including nine heavy, five medium and seven light artillery battalions. More than

384-416: A Louisiana native, became a nationally recognized figure in his direct, no-nonsense approach to disaster relief which earned First Army a Joint Meritorious Unit Award . In the 21st century, First Army was subjected to more changes as base closures and force structures were instituted to modernize, economize and change its mission. In 2005, a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission decision called for

512-456: A centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A smart port uses technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to be more efficient at handling goods. Smart ports usually deploy cloud-based software as part of the process of greater automation to help generate the operating flow that helps the port work smoothly. At present, most of

640-528: A corridor had been created, the First Army would then be able to advance into Brittany , rolling up the German flanks once free of the constraints of the bocage country. After a slow start, the offensive gathered momentum and German resistance collapsed as scattered remnants of broken units fought to escape to the Seine . Lacking the resources to cope with the situation, the German response was ineffectual mainly due to

768-485: A few days—a decision that worried Montgomery, as the British and Canadian operations had been launched to support a breakout attempt that was failing to materialize. By 24 July the skies had cleared enough for the start order to be given, and 1,600 Allied aircraft took off for Normandy. However, the weather closed in again over the battlefield. Under poor visibility conditions, more than 25 Americans were killed and 130 wounded in

896-876: A fishing port to be uneconomical. A marina is a port for recreational boating. A warm-water port (also known as an ice-free port) is one where the water does not freeze in winter. This is mainly used in the context of countries with mostly cold winters where parts of the coastline freezes over every winter. Because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest . Such settlements as Narvik in Norway, Dalian in China, Murmansk , Novorossiysk , Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vostochny Port in Russia, Odesa in Ukraine, Kushiro in Japan and Valdez at

1024-471: A path through hedgerows. German tanks remained restricted to the roads but U.S. armored vehicles could maneuver more freely, although the effectiveness of the devices was exaggerated. By the eve of Cobra, 60 percent of the tanks of the First Army had the rhino modification. To preserve operational security, Bradley forbade their use until Cobra was launched. In all, 1,269 M4 medium tanks, 694 M5A1 light tanks and 288 M10 tank destroyers were available. On 18 July,

1152-711: A port or nearby. Modern ports will have specialised cargo -handling equipment, such as gantry cranes , reach stackers and forklift trucks . Ports usually have specialised functions: some tend to cater mainly for passenger ferries and cruise ships ; some specialise in container traffic or general cargo; and some ports play an important military role for their nation's navy. Some third world countries and small islands such as Ascension and St Helena still have limited port facilities, so that ships must anchor off while their cargo and passengers are taken ashore by barge or launch (respectively). In modern times, ports survive or decline, depending on current economic trends. In

1280-424: A ship on its sailing itinerary. At these ports, cargo ships may take on supplies or fuel, as well as unloading and loading cargo while cruise liners have passengers get on or off ship. A fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a recreational facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the only port that depends on an ocean product, and depletion of fish may cause

1408-506: A ship to sail from the ocean inland to the port to load or unload its cargo. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Toronto , Duluth-Superior , and Chicago . The term inland port is also used for dry ports . A seaport is a port located on the shore of a sea or ocean. It

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1536-518: A single Dutch ship per year, whereas Osaka was the largest domestic port and the main trade hub for rice. Post-classical Swahili kingdoms are known to have had trade port islands and trade routes with the Islamic world and Asia. They were described by Greek historians as "metropolises". Famous African trade ports such as Mombasa , Zanzibar , Mogadishu and Kilwa were known to Chinese sailors such as Zheng He and medieval Islamic historians such as

1664-495: A small semi-automated container port (with links to the Port of Felixstowe , the UK's largest container port) thrived for some years, but has been hit hard by competition from the emergent London Gateway port and logistics hub. In mainland Europe, it is normal for ports to be publicly owned, so that, for instance, the ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are owned partly by the state and partly by

1792-641: A third of the world's shipping containers , half of the world's annual supply of crude oil , and is the world's busiest transshipment port . Europe's busiest container port and biggest port by cargo tonnage by far is the Port of Rotterdam , in the Netherlands. It is followed by the Belgian Port of Antwerp or the German Port of Hamburg , depending on which metric is used. In turn, the Spanish Port of Valencia

1920-526: A thousand divisional and corps artillery pieces were committed to the offensive and approximately 140,000 artillery rounds were allocated to the operation in VII Corps, with another 27,000 for VIII Corps. To overcome the constraints of the bocage that had made attacks so difficult and costly for both sides, Rhino modifications were made to some M4 Sherman , M5A1 Stuart tanks and M10 tank destroyers , by fitting them with hedge-breaching 'tusks' that could force

2048-418: Is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding . Internationally, global ports are beginning to identify ways to improve coastal management practices and integrate climate change adaptation practices into their construction. Wherever ancient civilisations engaged in maritime trade, they tended to develop sea ports. One of the world's oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on

2176-404: Is further categorized as commercial and non-commercial: Cargo ports are quite different from cruise ports, because each handles very different cargo, which has to be loaded and unloaded by a variety of mechanical means. Bulk cargo ports may handle one particular type of cargo or numerous cargoes, such as grains, liquid fuels, liquid chemicals, wood, automobiles, etc. Such ports are known as

2304-688: Is often lower because of both direct and indirect pollution from the shipping, and other challenges caused by the port's community, such as trash washing into the ocean. Sewage from ships, and leaks of oil and chemicals from shipping vessels can contaminate local water, and cause other effects like nutrient pollution in the water. Ports and their infrastructure are very vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise, because many of them are in low-lying areas designed for status quo water levels. Variable weather, coastal erosion, and sea level rise all put pressure on existing infrastructure, resulting in subsidence , coastal flooding and other direct pressures on

2432-642: Is the busiest port in the Mediterranean basin, while the Portuguese Port of Sines is the busiest atlantic port. The Port of Trieste , Italy , is the main port of the northern Adriatic and starting point of the Transalpine Pipeline . The largest ports include the Port of South Louisiana , a vast sprawling port centered in the New Orleans area, Houston , Port of New York/New Jersey , Los Angeles in

2560-508: Is the largest port in the world in both cargo tonnage and activity. It regained its position as the world's busiest port by cargo tonnage and the world's busiest container port in 2009 and 2010, respectively. It is followed by the ports of Singapore , Hong Kong and Kaohsiung , Taiwan , all of which are in East and Southeast Asia . The port of Singapore is the world's second-busiest port in terms of total shipping tonnage, it also transships

2688-401: Is the port where cruise ship passengers board (or embark ) to start their cruise and disembark the cruise ship at the end of their cruise. It is also where the cruise ship's supplies are loaded for the cruise, which includes everything from fresh water and fuel to fruits, vegetables, champagne, and any other supplies needed for the cruise. "Cruise home ports" are very busy places during the day

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2816-464: Is when a native species with no natural predator is all of a sudden prey of an invasive specie. Indirect interaction can be diseases or other health conditions brought by invasive species. Ports are also a source of increased air pollution as a result of ships and land transportation at the port. Transportation corridors around ports have higher exhaust emissions and this can have related health effects on local communities. Water quality around ports

2944-413: The 2nd Panzer Division and the 116th Panzer Division were approaching the battlefield. The U.S. XIX Corps (Major General Charles H. Corlett ) entered the battle on 28 July on the left of VII Corps and between 28 and 31 July became embroiled with these reinforcements in the fiercest fighting since Cobra began. During the night of 29/30 July near Saint-Denis-le-Gast , to the east of Coutances, elements of

3072-695: The Chinese ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan . As of 2020, the busiest passenger port in Europe is the Port of Helsinki in Finland . Nevertheless, countless smaller ports do exist that may only serve their local tourism or fishing industries. Ports can have a wide environmental impact on local ecologies and waterways, most importantly water quality, which can be caused by dredging, spills and other pollution . Ports are heavily affected by changing environmental factors caused by climate change as most port infrastructure

3200-471: The European Theater of Operations . By 11:00, the infantry began to move forward, advancing from crater to crater beyond what had been the German outpost line. Although no serious opposition was forecast, the remnants of Fritz Bayerlein 's Panzer Lehr —consisting of roughly 2,200 men and 45 armored vehicles—had regrouped and were prepared to meet the advancing U.S. troops, and to the west of Panzer Lehr

3328-750: The First United States Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II . The intention was to take advantage of the distraction of the Germans by the British and Canadian attacks around Caen in Operation Goodwood , and thereby break through the German defenses that were penning in their forces, while the Germans were unbalanced. Once

3456-674: The Loire valley. General Sir Bernard Montgomery —commanding all Allied ground forces in Normandy—intended Caen to be taken on D-Day, while Cherbourg was expected to fall 15 days later. The Second Army was to seize Caen and then form a front to the southeast, extending to Caumont-l'Éventé , to acquire airfields and protect the left flank of the First U.S. Army as it moved on Cherbourg. Possession of Caen and its surroundings—desirable for open terrain that would permit maneuver warfare—would also give

3584-633: The London Gateway . Ideally, a port will grant easy navigation to ships, and will give shelter from wind and waves. Ports are often on estuaries, where the water may be shallow and may need regular dredging . Deep water ports such as Milford Haven are less common, but can handle larger ships with a greater draft, such as super tankers , Post-Panamax vessels and large container ships . Other businesses such as regional distribution centres , warehouses and freight-forwarders, canneries and other processing facilities find it advantageous to be located within

3712-572: The Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine at Remagen still standing. It quickly captured the bridge and established a secure bridgehead. in the next 15 days, over 25,000 troops and their equipment crossed the river. By 4 April, an enormous pocket had been created by First Army and Ninth Army , which contained the German Army Group B under Field Marshal Model , the last significant combat force in

3840-625: The Meuse–Argonne offensive . Serving in its ranks throughout World War I were many figures who later played important roles in World War II . First Army, now under Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett , was inactivated on April 20, 1919, five months after the Armistice with Germany which ended hostilities. As part of the realization of the 1920 amendment to the National Defense Act of 1916 ,

3968-723: The Pacific theater of the war to prepare for Operation Coronet, the planned second phase of Operation Downfall the proposed invasion of Honshū , the main island of Japan in the spring of 1946, but the Japanese surrender in August 1945 thanks to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki terminated that effort. First Army returned to the United States in late 1945; first to Fort Jackson (South Carolina) , then to Fort Bragg , North Carolina, returning to Fort Jay , Governors Island , New York, in

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4096-557: The Red Sea . Along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Other ancient ports include Guangzhou during Qin dynasty China and Canopus , the principal Egyptian port for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria . In ancient Greece, Athens' port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet which played a crucial role in the Battle of Salamis against

4224-477: The St. Lô area. For the next hour, 1,800 heavy bombers of the U.S. Eighth Air Force saturated a 6,000 yd × 2,200 yd (3.4 mi × 1.3 mi; 5.5 km × 2.0 km) area on the Saint-Lô–Periers road, succeeded by a third and final wave of medium bombers. Approximately 3,000 U.S. aircraft had carpet-bombed a narrow section of the front, with the Panzer-Lehr-Division taking

4352-468: The "bulk" or "break bulk ports". Ports that handle containerized cargo are known as container ports . Most cargo ports handle all sorts of cargo, but some ports are very specific as to what cargo they handle. Additionally, individual cargo ports may be divided into different operating terminals which handle the different types of cargoes, and may be operated by different companies, also known as terminal operators, or stevedores . A cruise home port

4480-428: The 2nd Armored Division found themselves fighting for their lives against a German column from the 2nd SS Panzer Division and 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, which passed through the U.S. lines in the darkness. Other elements of the 2nd Armored Division were attacked near Cambry and fought for six hours; Bradley and his commanders knew that they were dominating the battlefield and such desperate assaults were no threat to

4608-417: The 2nd Armored Division in the east of the VII Corps sector and the "1st Infantry Division reinforced by Combat Command B (CCB) of the 3rd Armored division in the west"—would "pass through the 30th Infantry Division sector   ... and guard the overall American left flank." If VII Corps succeeded, the western German position would become untenable, permitting a relatively easy advance to the southwest end of

4736-568: The Allied lines were now dead or in captivity and although perhaps 100,000 German troops escaped they left behind 40,000–50,000 prisoners and more than 10,000 dead. A total of 344 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,447 soft-skinned vehicles and 252 artillery pieces were found abandoned or destroyed in the northern sector of the pocket. The Allies were able to advance freely through undefended territory and by 25 August all four Allied armies (First Canadian, Second British, First U.S., and Third U.S.) involved in

4864-630: The Allied plan "ambitious" since the Caen sector contained the strongest defenses in Normandy. The initial attempt by I Corps to reach the city on D-Day was blocked by elements of the 21st Panzer Division and with the Germans committing most of the reinforcements sent to meet the invasion to the defense of Caen, the Anglo-Canadian front rapidly congealed short of the Second Army's objectives. Operation Perch in

4992-608: The American Expeditionary Force's (AEF) chief of intelligence during World War I. He was followed by Major General Fox Conner , previously First Corps Area commander, who had been the AEF's Chief of Operations in World War I. In the years between the wars, Conner was a crucial mentor in the careers of Dwight Eisenhower and George C. Marshall . Passed over as a candidate for Army Chief of Staff for Douglas MacArthur in 1930, Conner

5120-554: The Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur , directed the establishment of six field armies that each commanded three corps areas that were geographically located. The "First Army Area" (First, Second, and Third Corps Areas) contained the First and Fourth Armies, the "Second Army Area" (Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Corps Areas) contained the Second and Fifth Armies, and the "Third Army Area" (Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Corps Areas) contained

5248-801: The Berber Islamic voyager Abu Abdullah ibn Battuta . Many of these ancient sites no longer exist or function as modern ports. Even in more recent times, ports sometimes fall out of use. Rye, East Sussex , was an important English port in the Middle Ages, but the coastline changed and it is now 2 miles (3.2 km) from the sea, while the ports of Ravenspurn and Dunwich have been lost to coastal erosion . Whereas early ports tended to be just simple harbours, modern ports tend to be multimodal distribution hubs , with transport links using sea, river, canal, road, rail and air routes. Successful ports are located to optimize access to an active hinterland , such as

Operation Cobra - Misplaced Pages Continue

5376-505: The British VIII and I Corps—to the east of Caen—launched Operation Goodwood . The offensive began with the largest air bombardment in support of ground forces yet, with more than 1,000 aircraft dropping 6,000 short tons (5,400  t ) of high explosive and fragmentation bombs from low altitude. German positions to the east of Caen were shelled by 400 artillery pieces and many villages were reduced to rubble but German artillery further to

5504-645: The Canadians 1,349 men and with the heavily defended ridge firmly in German hands, Atlantic was closed down on 20 July. At Montgomery's urging, "strongly underlined in the Supreme Commander's communications to Montgomery", the II Canadian Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds , began a second offensive a few days later, codenamed Operation Spring . This had the limited but important aim of tying down German units to prevent them from being transferred to

5632-417: The First Army and Bradley was promoted to the overall command of both armies, named the U.S. 12th Army Group. Patton wrote a poem containing the words, So let us do real fighting, boring in and gouging, biting. Let's take a chance now that we have the ball. Let's forget those fine firm bases in the dreary shell raked spaces, Let's shoot the works and win! Yes, win it all! The U.S. advance following Cobra

5760-427: The First Army on 18 July. Montgomery approved the plan and that the strategy would remain the diversion of German attention from the First Army to the British and Canadian sector. Dempsey was instructed to "go on hitting, drawing the German strength, especially the armour, onto yourself—so as to ease the way for Brad". To accomplish this, Operation Goodwood was planned and Eisenhower ensured that both operations would have

5888-439: The German 5th Parachute Division had escaped the bombing almost intact. Collins' VII Corps were quite disheartened to meet fierce enemy artillery fire, which they expected to have been suppressed by the bombing. Several U.S. units found themselves entangled in fights against strongpoints held by a handful of German tanks, supporting infantry and 88 mm (3.46 in) guns —VII Corps gained only 2,000 m (2,200 yd) during

6016-510: The German defensive zone and then hold the flanks of the penetration while the 1st Infantry Division (Major General Clarence Huebner ) and 2nd Armored Division (Major General Edward H. Brooks ) pushed into the depth of the position until resistance collapsed. The 1st Infantry Division "was to take Marigny, with this objective exploited by a stream of General Watson's 3rd Armored Division armor that would move south toward Coutances". The 2nd Armored Division—part of "Collins' exploitation force" of

6144-554: The German lines. The newly established Third Army was then fed through the gap and raced across France. With the arrival of more US troops in France, the Army then passed from the control of the 21st Army Group to the newly arrived 12th Army Group which commanded the First Army and the newly formed Third Army under Lieutenant General George S. Patton . General Bradley assumed command of the 12th Army Group and Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges

6272-478: The Germans to move more armor into the U.S. sector. The originator of the idea for Operation Cobra is disputed. According to Montgomery's official biographer, the foundation of Operation Cobra was laid on 13 June. Planning was immensely aided by detailed Ultra intelligence which supplied up-to-date decodes of communications between Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, the German armed forces high command) and Hitler's generals. Montgomery's plan at that time called for

6400-470: The Germans, when they were distracted by the Allied attacks at both ends of the Normandy bridgehead. By the time of the U.S. breakout at Avranches, there was little to no reserve strength left for Unternehmen Lüttich , which had been defeated by 12 August, leaving the 7th Army with no choice but to retire rapidly east of the Orne river, with a rearguard of the remaining armored and motorized units, to allow time for

6528-462: The Mississippi River; and First Army Division West assuming Fifth Army's role and relocating from Fort Carson to its new headquarters at Fort Cavazos , Texas, oversees units in all states west of the Mississippi River. First United States Army was redesignated as First Army on 3 October 2006. On order, First Army expands to nine Mobilization force generation installations (MFGI) to mobilize

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6656-415: The Netherlands. Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. The terms "port" and "seaport" are used for different types of facilities handling ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a navigable lake, river ( fluvial port), or canal with access to a sea or ocean, which therefore allows

6784-645: The Normandy campaign were on the river Seine . First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army . It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II , and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korean War and the Vietnam War under some of the most famous and distinguished officers of

6912-644: The Persians in 480 BCE. In ancient India from 3700 BCE, Lothal was a prominent city of the Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhal region of the modern state of Gujarāt . Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius and enlarged by Trajan to supplement the nearby port of Ostia. In Japan, during the Edo period , the island of Dejima was the only port open for trade with Europe and received only

7040-523: The Polish 1st Armored Division and the first Allied units crossed the Seine at Mantes Gassicourt , while German units were fleeing eastward by any means they could find. By 22 August, the Falaise Pocket —which the Germans had been fighting desperately to keep open to allow their trapped forces to escape—was finally sealed, ending the Battle of Normandy with a major Allied victory. All German forces west of

7168-602: The Regular Army on 15 August 1927 and allotted to the Second Corps Area in place of First Army. It was redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army on 13 October 1927. Headquarters, First Army, was activated on 8 September 1932 at Governor’s Island , New York, and assumed control over the First, Second, and Third Corps Areas. The First Corps Area was headquartered in Boston , Massachusetts , Second Corps Area

7296-640: The Reserve component of the US Army. The Army Reserve mobilizes Focused readiness units (FRU) to meet Operational plan (OPLAN) requirements of the combatant commander (CCDR). [REDACTED] First Army Division East – Fort Knox, Kentucky [REDACTED] First Army Division West – Fort Cavazos, Texas [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from First United States Army . United States Army Center of Military History . Deep water port Ports are extremely important to

7424-471: The Second Army a suitable staging area for a push south to capture Falaise , which could be used as the pivot for a swing east to advance on Argentan and then the Touques River . The capture of Caen has been described by the British official historian Lionel Ellis as the most important D-Day objective assigned to the British I Corps (Lieutenant-General John Crocker ). Ellis and Chester Wilmot called

7552-586: The Seine, Adolf Hitler sent a directive to von Kluge demanding "an immediate counterattack between Mortain and Avranches" ( Unternehmen Lüttich ) to "annihilate" the enemy and make contact with the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula. Eight of the nine Panzer divisions in Normandy were to be used in the attack but only four (one of them incomplete) could be relieved from their defensive tasks and assembled in time. German commanders immediately protested that such an operation

7680-709: The Third and Sixth Armies. Between 1921 and 1932, the six field armies were constituted in the Organized Reserve rather than in the Regular Army, as the War Department did not see a need for active-duty field army headquarters in peacetime. The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army, was originally constituted in the Organized Reserve on 15 October 1921 and allotted to the Second Corps Area. The headquarters

7808-458: The U.S. 9th Infantry Division was also clear of any organized German resistance and was advancing rapidly. By 28 July, the German defenses across the U.S. front had largely collapsed under the full weight of the VII and VIII Corps advance and resistance was disorganized and patchy. The 4th Armored Division (VIII Corps)—entering combat for the first time—captured Coutances but met stiff opposition east of

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7936-553: The U.S. Army. It now serves as a mobilization, readiness and training command. The First Army was established on 10 August 1918 as a field army when sufficient American military manpower had arrived on the Western Front during the final months of World War I . The large number of troops assigned to the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) required the activation of subordinate commands. To fill this need, First Army

8064-439: The U.S. First Army to take Saint-Lô and Coutances and then make two southward thrusts; one from Caumont toward Vire and Mortain and the other from Saint-Lô toward Villedieu and Avranches . Although pressure was to be kept up along the Cotentin Peninsula towards La Haye-du-Puits and Valognes , the capture of Cherbourg was not the priority. With the capture of Cherbourg by VII Corps on 27 June, Montgomery's initial timetable

8192-418: The U.S. position. When ordered to concentrate his division, Colonel Heinz Günther Guderian the senior staff officer of the 116th Panzer Division was frustrated by the high level of Allied fighter-bomber activity. Without receiving direct support from the 2nd Panzer Division as promised, Guderian stated that his panzergrenadiers could not succeed in a counterattack against the Americans. Advancing southward along

8320-473: The U.S. sector, although Simonds took the opportunity to make another bid for Verrières Ridge. Again the fighting for Verrières Ridge proved extremely bloody for the Canadians, with 25 July marking the costliest day for a Canadian battalion— The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada —since the Dieppe Raid of 1942. A counterstroke by two German divisions pushed the Canadians back past their start lines and Simonds had to commit reinforcements to stabilize

8448-483: The U.S., Manzanillo in Mexico and Vancouver in Canada. Panama also has the Panama Canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, and is a key conduit for international trade. The largest port in Oceania is the Port of Melbourne . According to ECLAC 's "Maritime and Logistics Profile of Latin America and the Caribbean", the largest ports in South America are the Port of Santos in Brazil, Cartagena in Colombia, Callao in Peru, Guayaquil in Ecuador, and

8576-428: The UK, both the ports of Liverpool and Southampton were once significant in the transatlantic passenger liner business. Once airliner traffic decimated that trade, both ports diversified to container cargo and cruise ships. Up until the 1950s the Port of London was a major international port on the River Thames , but changes in shipping and the use of containers and larger ships have led to its decline. Thamesport ,

8704-436: The United States entered World War II, Drum was assigned command of the newly established Eastern Defense Command , responsible for coastal and domestic defense, which relieved the First Army of this responsibility on 24 December 1942. Drum retired in 1943 when he reached the mandatory retirement age. General George Grunert , commander of the Second Service Command, assumed command of the First Army until Headquarters, First Army

8832-406: The armor, to the eastern end of the Allied lodgement but even so the First U.S. Army made slow progress against dogged German resistance. In part, operations were slow due to the constraints of the bocage landscape of densely packed banked hedgerows, sunken lanes and small woods, for which U.S. units had not trained. With no ports in Allied hands, all reinforcement and supply had to take place over

8960-441: The assault troops of VII Corps made good progress, but V Corps on Omaha Beach came nearest of all of the five landing areas to disaster. The two American airborne divisions that landed, the 82nd and 101st, were scattered all over the landscape, and caused considerable confusion among the German soldiers, as well as largely securing their objectives, albeit with units completely mixed up with each other. First Army captured much of

9088-451: The battle, led by the 8th U.S. Infantry Division and 90th U.S. Infantry Division . Despite clear paths of advance through the floods and swamps across their front, both divisions initially disappointed the First Army by failing to gain significant ground but first light the next morning revealed that the Germans had been compelled to retreat by their crumbling left flank, leaving only immense minefields to delay VIII Corps. By noon on 27 July,

9216-561: The beaches via the two Mulberry harbors and were at the mercy of the weather. On 19 June, a severe storm descended on the English Channel , lasting for three days and causing significant delays to the Allied build-up and the cancellation of some operations. The First U.S. Army advance in the western sector was eventually halted by Bradley before the town of Saint-Lô , to concentrate on the seizure of Cherbourg. The defense of Cherbourg consisted largely of four German battlegroups formed from

9344-543: The bocage to cut off and seize the Brittany peninsula. First Army intelligence estimated that no German counterattack would occur in the first few days after Cobra's launch and that if they did later, they would be no more than battalion-sized operations. Cobra was to be a concentrated attack on a 6,400 m (7,000 yd) front, unlike previous U.S. broad front offensives and would have a mass of air support. Fighter-bombers would concentrate on hitting forward German defenses in

9472-431: The bombing before the air support operation was postponed until the following day. Some enraged soldiers opened fire on their own aircraft, a not uncommon practice in Normandy when suffering from friendly fire. After the one-day postponement, Cobra got underway at 09:38 on 25 July, when around 600 Allied fighter-bombers attacked strongpoints and enemy artillery along a 270 m (300 yd)-wide strip of ground located in

9600-428: The brunt of the attack. However, once again not all the casualties were German; Bradley had specifically requested that the bombers approach the target from the east, out of the sun and parallel to the Saint-Lô–Periers road, in order to minimize the risk of friendly losses, but most of the airmen instead came in from the north, perpendicular to the front line. Bradley, however, had apparently misunderstood explanations from

9728-410: The bulk of German armored reserves toward the British and Canadian sector and, coupled with the general lack of men and materiel available to the Germans, it was impossible for them to form successive lines of defense. Units of the U.S. VII Corps led the initial two-division assault, while other First U.S. Army corps mounted supporting attacks designed to pin German units in place. Progress was slow on

9856-521: The cities themselves. Even though modern ships tend to have bow-thrusters and stern-thrusters, many port authorities still require vessels to use pilots and tugboats for manoeuvering large ships in tight quarters. For instance, ships approaching the Belgian port of Antwerp , an inland port on the River Scheldt , are obliged to use Dutch pilots when navigating on that part of the estuary that belongs to

9984-485: The city of Le Mans —the former headquarters of the German 7th Army —had fallen to the Americans. With von Kluge's few remaining battleworthy formations destroyed by the First Army, the Allied commanders realized that the entire German position in Normandy was collapsing. Bradley declared: This is an opportunity that comes to a commander not more than once in a century. We're about to destroy an entire hostile army and go all

10112-441: The coast, later that day, the U.S. VIII Corps seized the town of Avranches—described by historian Andrew Williams as "the gateway to Brittany and southern Normandy"—and by 31 July XIX Corps had thrown back the last German counterattacks after fierce fighting, inflicting heavy losses in men and tanks. The U.S. advance was now relentless, and the First Army was finally free of the bocage. On 30 July, to protect Cobra's flank and prevent

10240-413: The cruise ship is in port, because off-going passengers debark their baggage and on-coming passengers board the ship in addition to all the supplies being loaded. Cruise home ports tend to have large passenger terminals to handle the large number of passengers passing through the port. The busiest cruise home port in the world is the Port of Miami , Florida . A port of call is an intermediate stop for

10368-406: The disengagement and relocation of further German forces, VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the Second Army began Operation Bluecoat southwards from Caumont toward Vire and Mont Pinçon . Bluecoat kept German armored units fixed on the British eastern front and continued the wearing down of the strength of German armored formations in the area. The breakthrough in the center of the Allied front surprised

10496-526: The early gains of the Allied forces in Normandy . Once the beachheads were linked together, its troops struck west and isolated the Cotentin Peninsula , and then captured Cherbourg . When the American Mulberry harbour was wrecked by a storm, Cherbourg became even more vital. After the capture of Cherbourg, First Army struck south. In Operation Cobra , its forces finally managed to break through

10624-590: The effect of Operation Bluecoat and the entire Normandy front soon collapsed. Operation Cobra, together with concurrent offensives by the British Second Army and the Canadian First Army , was decisive in securing an Allied victory in the Normandy campaign. Having been delayed several times by poor weather, Operation Cobra commenced on 25 July 1944, with a concentrated aerial bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft. Supporting offensives had drawn

10752-529: The fighting against the British in June and before moving to the American front and suffering further losses around St Lo at start of July, was "finally annihilated", with its armor wiped out, its personnel either casualties or missing and all headquarters records lost. Field Marshal Günther von Kluge Oberbefehlshaber West (commander of German forces on the Western Front )—was mustering reinforcements, and elements of

10880-450: The first day but opposition started to crumble once the defensive crust had been broken. By 27 July, most organized resistance had been overcome and the VII and VIII Corps advanced rapidly, isolating the Cotentin Peninsula . By 31 July, XIX Corps had destroyed the last forces opposing the First Army, which emerged from the bocage. Reinforcements were moved west by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge and employed in various counterattacks,

11008-490: The front. With Goodwood, the Canadian operations caused the Germans to commit most of their armor and reinforcements to the eastern sector. Operation Spring—despite its cost—had drawn the 9th SS Panzer Division away from the U.S. sector on the eve of Operation Cobra. Only two Panzer divisions with 190 tanks now faced the First Army. Seven Panzer divisions with 750 tanks were around Caen, far away from Operation Cobra as were all

11136-449: The global economy; 70% of global merchandise trade by value passes through a port. For this reason, ports are also often densely populated settlements that provide the labor for processing and handling goods and related services for the ports. Today by far the greatest growth in port development is in Asia, the continent with some of the world's largest and busiest ports , such as Singapore and

11264-457: The heavy Tiger tank battalions and the three Nebelwerfer brigades in Normandy. Each division consumed 750 short tons (680 t) of supplies daily. To gain good terrain for Operation Cobra, Bradley and Collins conceived a plan to push forward to the Saint-Lô–Periers road, along which VII and VIII Corps were securing jumping-off positions. On 18 July, at a cost of 5,000 casualties, the U.S. 29th and 35th Infantry Divisions managed to gain

11392-663: The heavy bomber commanders that a parallel approach was impossible because of the time and space constraints Bradley had set. Additionally, a parallel approach would not in any event have assured that all bombs would fall behind German lines because of deflection errors or obscured aim points due to dust and smoke. Despite efforts by U.S. units to identify their positions, inaccurate bombing by the Eighth Air Force killed 111 men and wounded 490. The dead included Bradley's friend and fellow West Pointer Lieutenant General Lesley McNair —the highest-ranking U.S. soldier to be killed in action in

11520-477: The high-intensity infantry combat of Normandy into rapid maneuver warfare and led to the creation of the Falaise pocket and the loss of the German strategic position in northwestern France. Following the successful Allied invasion of Normandy on 6   June 1944, progress inland was slow. To facilitate the Allied build-up in France and to secure room for further expansion, the deep water port of Cherbourg on

11648-455: The largest of which, Unternehmen Lüttich (Operation Liège), was launched on 7   August between Mortain and Avranches . Although this led to the bloodiest phase of the battle, it was mounted by already exhausted and understrength units and was a costly failure. On 8   August, troops of the newly activated Third United States Army captured the city of Le Mans , formerly the German 7th Army headquarters. Operation Cobra transformed

11776-579: The largest tank battle ever fought by the British Army and resulted in the expansion of the Orne bridgehead and the capture of Caen on the south bank of the Orne. Simultaneously, the II Canadian Corps on the western flank of Goodwood began Operation Atlantic to strengthen the Allied foothold along the banks of the Orne river and take Verrières Ridge to the south of Caen. Atlantic made initial gains but ran out of steam as casualties mounted. Having cost

11904-411: The loss of 50 dead, 60 wounded and 197 taken prisoner. Material losses were over 260 German combat vehicles destroyed. Beyond the town another 1,150 German soldiers were killed and the Germans lost 96 armored combat vehicles and trucks. The U.S. 2nd Armored Division destroyed 64 German tanks and 538 other German combat vehicles during Operation Cobra. The U.S. 2nd Armored Division suffered 49 tank losses in

12032-666: The northwest of Germany. While some elements of First Army concentrated on reducing the Ruhr pocket , others headed further east, creating another pocket containing the German Eleventh Army . First Army reached the Elbe by 18 April. There the advance halted, as that was the agreed demarcation zone between the American and Soviet forces. First Army and Soviet forces met on 25 April. In May 1945, advance elements of First Army headquarters had returned to New York City and were preparing to redeploy to

12160-615: The port. There are several initiatives to decrease negative environmental impacts of ports. The World Port Sustainability Program points to all of the Sustainable Development Goals as potential ways of addressing port sustainability. These include SIMPYC , the World Ports Climate Initiative , the African Green Port Initiative , EcoPorts and Green Marine . The port of Shanghai

12288-654: The process. The 2nd Armored Division also inflicted over 7,370 casualties on the Germans while suffering 914 casualties. At the beginning of Operation Cobra the German Panzer Lehr Division had only 2,200 combat troops, 12 Panzer IV and 16 Panthers fit for action and 30 tanks in various states of repair behind the lines. Panzer Lehr was in the path of Allied bombing that consisted of 1,500 bombers. The division suffered about 1,000 casualties during this bombardment. An exhausted and demoralized Bayerlein reported that his Panzer Lehr Division , which had been ground down in

12416-526: The real threat lay there, and tied down their available forces to such an extent that a succession of meticulously prepared defensive positions in depth, as encountered during Goodwood and Atlantic, were not created to meet Cobra. On the morning of 26 July, the U.S. 2nd Armored Division and the 1st Infantry Division joined the attack as planned, reaching one of Cobra's first objectives—a road junction north of Le Mesnil-Herman —the following day. Also on 26 July, VIII Corps (Major General Troy H. Middleton ) entered

12544-463: The relocation of First Army headquarters to Rock Island Arsenal , Illinois, in 2011. Its former quarters at Fort Gillem was to transition to a single national location for the mobilization and demobilization of Army National Guard and Reserve units. In a second change, as part of the 2006 reorganization of the United States Army program, First Army exchanged its civilian assistance mission for

12672-477: The remnants of units that had retreated up the Cotentin Peninsula , but the port defenses had been designed principally to meet an attack from the sea. Organized German resistance finally ended on 27 June, when the U.S. 9th Infantry Division managed to reduce the defenses of Cap de la Hague , north-west of the port. Within four days, VII Corps ( Major General J. Lawton Collins ) resumed the offensive toward Saint-Lô, alongside XIX Corps and VIII Corps , causing

12800-409: The rest of the day. However, if the first day's results had been disappointing, General Collins found cause for encouragement; although the Germans were fiercely holding their positions, these did not seem to form a continuous line and were susceptible to being outflanked or bypassed. Even with prior warning of the U.S. offensive, the British and Canadian actions around Caen had convinced the Germans that

12928-539: The south of the Netherlands . First Army liberated most of Luxembourg in three days from 9–12 September 1944. When the Germans attacked during the Battle of the Bulge , First Army found itself on the north side of the salient, and thus isolated from 12th Army Group , its commanding authority. It was, therefore, temporarily transferred, along with Ninth Army , back to 21st Army Group under Montgomery on 20 December. The salient

13056-587: The south, on the Bourguébus Ridge , was outside the range of the British artillery and the defenders of Cagny and Émiéville were largely unscathed by the bombardment. This contributed to the losses suffered by Second Army, which sustained over 4,800 casualties. Principally an armored offensive in order to conserve infantry manpower, between 250 and 400 British tanks were put out of action, although recent examination suggests that only 140 were completely destroyed with an additional 174 damaged. The operation remains

13184-482: The spring of 1946. Twenty years later, in 1966, First Army relocated to Fort Meade , Maryland, and took over the responsibilities of Second Army , which was inactivated. In 1973, First Army's mission changed from training and preparation of active units to Army Reserve units. In a 1993 reorganization, five divisions carried out that training and support mission: In 1993, Headquarters First Army relocated to Fort Gillem , near Atlanta, Georgia, and became responsible for

13312-459: The support of the Allied strategic bombers. On 12 July, Bradley briefed his commanders on the Cobra plan, which consisted of three phases. The main effort would be under the control of VII Corps. In the first phase, the breakthrough attack would be conducted by the 9th Infantry Division (Major General Manton S. Eddy ) and the 30th Infantry Division (Major General Leland Hobbs ), which would break into

13440-458: The surviving infantry to reach the Seine. After the first stage of the withdrawal beyond the Orne, the maneuver collapsed for a lack of fuel, Allied air attacks and the constant pressure of the Allied armies, culminating in the encirclement of German forces in the Falaise pocket . At noon on 1 August, the U.S. Third Army was activated under the command of Lieutenant General George S. Patton . Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges assumed command of

13568-525: The terminus of the Alaska Pipeline owe their very existence to being ice-free ports. The Baltic Sea and similar areas have ports available year-round beginning in the 20th century thanks to icebreakers , but earlier access problems prompted Russia to expand its territory to the Black Sea . A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as

13696-566: The town and U.S. units penetrating into the depth of the German positions were counter-attacked by elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division , 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division and the 353rd Infantry Division, seeking to escape entrapment. Around Roncey , P-47 Thunderbolts of the 405th Fighter Group destroyed a German column of 122 tanks, 259 other vehicles and 11 artillery pieces. An attack by British Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers close to La Baleine destroyed nine   tanks, eight   other armored vehicles and 20 other vehicles. A counter-attack

13824-409: The training and mobilization of all Army Reserve and National Guard units in the United States and providing assistance to the civilian sector during national emergencies and natural disasters. In the latter role, First Army's contributions during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster was a rare bright spot in leading federal relief efforts in the aftermath of the storm. Its commander, Russel L. Honoré ,

13952-507: The training and support missions for military units in the western United States formerly held by US Fifth Army . Fifth Army then became U.S. Army, North with responsibilities for homeland defense and domestic emergency assistance. First Army inactivated its training divisions and reactivated them as separate training brigades under two commands. First Army Division East , headquartered at Fort Knox, Kentucky (relocated from Fort Meade, Maryland in 2016), has responsibilities in all states east of

14080-435: The vital heights of Saint-Lô , driving back General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen Meindl 's II Parachute Corps. Meindl's paratroopers, together with the 352nd Infantry Division (which had been in action since its D-Day defense of Omaha Beach ) were now in ruins, and the stage for the main offensive was set. Due to poor weather conditions that had also been hampering Goodwood and Atlantic, Bradley decided to postpone Cobra for

14208-414: The water column, and can stir up pollutants captured in the sediments. Invasive species are often spread by the bilge water and species attached to the hulls of ships. It is estimated that there are over 7000 invasive species transported in bilge water around the world on a daily basis Invasive species can have direct or indirect interactions with native sea life. Direct interaction such as predation,

14336-409: The way from here to the German border. On 14 August, in conjunction with U.S. movements northward to Chambois , Canadian forces launched Operation Tractable ; the Allied intention was to trap and destroy the German 7th Army and 5th Panzer Army near the town of Falaise. Five days later, the two arms of the encirclement were almost complete; the advancing U.S. 90th Infantry Division had made contact with

14464-476: The week following D-Day and Operation Epsom (26–30 June) brought some territorial gains and depleted its defenders but Caen remained in German hands until Operation Charnwood (7–9 July), when the Second Army managed to take the northern part of the city up to the River Orne in a frontal assault. The successive Anglo-Canadian offensives around Caen kept the best of the German forces in Normandy, including most of

14592-538: The western flank of the U.S. sector and the historic town of Caen in the British and Canadian sector to the east, were early objectives. The original plan for the Normandy campaign envisioned strong offensive efforts in both sectors, in which the Second Army ( Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Dempsey ) would secure Caen and the area south of it and the First U.S. Army ( Lieutenant General Omar Bradley ) would "wheel round" to

14720-766: The world's ports have somewhat embedded technology, if not for full leadership. However, thanks to global government initiatives and exponential growth in maritime trade, the number of intelligent ports has gradually increased. A report by business intelligence provider Visiongain assessed that Smart Ports Market spending would reach $ 1.5 bn in 2019. Ports and their operation are often a cause of environmental issues, such as sediment contamination and spills from ships and are susceptible to larger environmental issues, such as human caused climate change and its effects. Every year 100 million cubic metres of marine sediment are dredged to improve waterways around ports. Dredging, in its practice, disturbs local ecosystems, brings sediments into

14848-651: Was activated in Bristol, England in January 1944 under the command of General Omar Bradley . First Army's entry into World War II began in October 1943 as Bradley returned to Washington, D.C., to receive his command and began to assemble a staff and headquarters to prepare for Operation Overlord , the codename assigned to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement on the European Continent following Operation Neptune , which

14976-583: Was assigned to command the First Corps Area instead, later commanding First Army in 1936. Conner retired in 1938. In 1938, First Army came under command of General Hugh A. Drum . Drum began to develop the First Army into a bona fide field army with the expansion of the Army in 1939 and through the early 1940s. It began to establish and develop its own staff and participated in the large-scale Army maneuvers in Louisiana and North Carolina between 1939 and 1941. As

15104-489: Was consolidated with the active Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army. Upon going ashore on 6 June 1944, D-Day , First Army came under General Bernard Montgomery 's 21st Army Group (alongside the British Second Army ) which commanded all American ground forces during the invasion. Three American divisions were landed by sea at the western end of the beaches, and two more were landed by air. On Utah Beach ,

15232-580: Was extraordinarily rapid. Between 1   and 4   August, seven divisions of Patton's Third Army had swept through Avranches and over the bridge at Pontaubault into Brittany. The Westheer (German army in the west) had been reduced to such a poor state by the Allied offensives that, with no prospect of reinforcement in the wake of Operation Bagration , the Soviet summer offensive against Army Group Centre , very few Germans believed they could now avoid defeat. Rather than order his remaining forces to withdraw to

15360-469: Was headquartered at Fort Jay , on Governors Island in New York Harbor , and Third Corps Area headquarters was at Fort Howard near Baltimore, Maryland . The overall mission of First Army was commanding and training the Regular Army, National Guard, and Organized Reserve units in its three corps areas. First Army's first commander, from 1932 to 1936, was Major General Dennis E. Nolan , who had been

15488-418: Was impossible given their remaining resources but these objections were overruled and the counter-offensive commenced, on 7   August around Mortain. The 2nd, 1st SS and 2nd SS Panzer Divisions led the assault, although with only 75 Panzer IVs , 70 Panthers and 32 self-propelled guns . Hopelessly optimistic, the offensive was over within 24 hours, although fighting continued until 13 August. By 8 August,

15616-416: Was initiated on 28 August 1924 at New York City , New York . In August 1927, the War Department realized it would need at least one active-duty field army, in command of three corps, in case of any contingencies, and so the First Army was withdrawn from the Organized Reserve on 15 August 1927 and demobilized. A new field army, designated Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Seventh Army, was constituted in

15744-427: Was mounted against the U.S. 2nd Armored Division by German remnants but this was a disaster and the Germans abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot. Two columns of the 2nd SS Panzer Division were mauled by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division. A column around La Chapelle was bombarded at point blank range by 2nd Armored Division artillery. In two hours, U.S. artillery fired over 700 rounds, into the column. The Germans suffered

15872-448: Was overtaken by events and the thrust from Caumont was never adopted. Following the conclusion of Operation Charnwood and the cancellation of the First Army offensive towards Saint-Lô, Montgomery met with Bradley and Dempsey on 10 July to discuss plans for the 21st Army Group . Bradley said that progress on the western flank was very slow but that plans had been laid for another breakout attempt, codenamed Operation Cobra, to be launched by

16000-574: Was placed in command of the First Army. First Army followed Third Army, the American armies forming the southern part of the encirclement of Germans at the Falaise pocket . After capturing Paris (the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris , Dietrich von Choltitz , capitulated 25 August, ignoring Hitler's Trümmerfeldbefehl ), During the Battle of the Mons Pocket VII Corps took approximately 25,000 prisoners. First Army headed towards

16128-536: Was reduced by early February 1945. Following the Battle of the Bulge, the Rhineland Campaign began, and First Army was transferred back to 12th Army Group. In Operation Lumberjack , First Army closed up to the lower Rhine by 5 March, and the higher parts of the river five days later. On 7 March, in a stroke of luck, Company A, 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, part of Combat Command B, 9th Armored Division , found

16256-471: Was the invasion of Normandy . The headquarters were activated in January 1944 at Bristol, England. The second iteration of the First Army as constituted in the Regular Army after World War I did not continue the lineage of the World War I-era First Army; on 27 June 1944, the World War I-era First Army was reconstituted in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, First Army, and

16384-463: Was the first of three field armies established under the AEF. The first commander was General John J. Pershing , who also served as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF. The headquarters planned and directed the first major American offensive, the St Mihiel Offensive (September 12 to 16, 1918). It later went on to fight in the largest and deadliest battle in the United States Army's history,

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