The Assault Training Center

D-Day Conneaut will hosts the US Assault Training Center (ATC) on Friday August 19 from 1-4 PM.
All Allied military reenactors are welcome and encouraged to participate.

The ATC will include assault boat team composition and roles. Reenactors with specialized weapons (BAR, Bazooka, 30 cal) are invited to bring them. Teams will practice embarkation and disembarkation, as well as initial deployment—first on dry land with mock ups of the landing craft and then on the boats to be used in the landing. Because of safety restrictions, teams disembarking from the boats are limited to 18 men.

Reenactors participating in the ATC should adopt the dress specified in the “uniform of the day” under appearance guidelines. Officers, NCOs and enlisted men are all invited to participate and to serve as “riflemen” or “heavy weapons” to get the experience of using the D-Day landing tactics.



THE ASSAULT TRAINING CENTER BACKGROUND

The purpose of the Assault Training Center (ATC) was to develop and design means for a successful landing in Normandy. A “Special Doctrine Board” was set up to work out the best way of landing. The Board used lessons learned from other theaters, as well as experimentation in equipment and techniques. Though the techniques used in the Normandy landings can be tracked to various military basis in the US, additional practice in the theater of war, under specific conditions, was imperative.

The ATC was established in southern England (near Plymouth) in 1943 and had two main purposes: test and develop methods of landing in France and train up to regimental sized units in those methods. Modeled after the British amphibious school at Inverray, certain tactics were shared between the schools though each had its own approach to certain circumstances and tactical problems. The US Army selected Wollacomble Beach in Devon as the specific site of the ATC. The US ATC specifically tried different ways to land personnel, tanks and vehicles; different organizations of landing teams; different types of equipment and explosives; and different timetables for landing units.

At the ATC, American engineers constructed dummy landing craft on shore to teach the men how to embark and disembark from the various models. These were also useful in determining how to fit the most men and equipment in the small craft. Also, engineers constructed assault lanes where troops could work their way inland through a series of specific obstacles.

Training at the ATC began with individual skills like how to use a pole charge, Bangalore torpedoes, other specialized equipment, and how to embark/disembark from landing craft. During practice, landings troops boarded landing craft at southern end of Saunton Sands. In fact, most of the demolition experiments and individual training were carried out at Saunton Sands. Troops practiced techniques such as leaving the confines of landing craft using a mock up of the outline. Once proficient on dry land, boat teams would progress to the more difficult task of using real boats.

Training progressed through small unit operations, company level operations, and battalion level operations, culminating with full regimental landings at Woolacombe Sands. Regiments participated for 3-4 weeks then graduated to larger landing exercised (beyond the regimental level) at other facilities at Slapton Sands.

It was assumed that the invasion would be performed by regimental combat teams—an infantry regiment rounded out with combined arms and attached units (armor, artillery, engineer, medical) all reporting to the regimental commander. Each regimental combat team was broken down into battalion landing teams – each also self contained. The invasion plan called for one battalion landing team for each beach sector (2000 yards).

In particular, the ATC helped refine assault boat teams and the complement of weaponry that accompanied each assault and support boat.

ASSAULT BOAT TEAMS

After much study it was decided that the best method for assault boat teams would be to reorganize only one regiment of the three in an infantry division for the assault. Once ashore, the assault regiment would change back into a standard infantry regiment configuration as soon as possible. Additionally, because landing craft might get scattered or sunk, it was important that each craft carry the men and equipment needed to provide each team with the tools it needed to breach the fortifications of the Atlantic Wall– from this concept, the idea of the infantry assault team or assault boat team was born.

The primary factor in the organization of an assault boat team was the capacity of LCVP – 30 men. Three standard rifle companies were organized into 6 assault boat teams, with the heavy weapons section being organized into 5 support boat teams. This was rounded out with one command boat team.


POSTSCRIPT

The ATC was disbanded on 26 May 1944 – planning and training was at an end and it was time for preparations for the invasion to being.

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