TRUCKS AND AMPHIBIAN TRUCKS (each is a 2½-ton truck) on a beach in Normandy. In spite of the damage caused by the storm, by 26 June Omaha Beach was discharging 122 percent of its planned cargo capacity. By this time 268,718 men, 40,191 vehicles, and 125,812 tons of cargo had been discharged over Omaha Beach alone. By 1 July the Allied commanders were not as much worried about a German counterattack that would threaten the beachhead as about the possibility that the enemy might bring in sufficient reserves to create a stalemate in Normandy. More room was needed by the Allies to bring in men and supplies to support a sustained drive toward the Seine.] [Illustration] [Illustration: FRANCE UNIT ADVANCING TOWARD CHERBOURG stops to inspect a German multipurpose gun (8.8-cm. Flak). When the enemy retreated from the vicinity of Montebourg he destroyed the gun by splaying the barrel. This multipurpose weapon emerged as the most publicized artillery piece of the German Army during the North African campaign. It was primarily an antiaircraft gun adaptable to antitank and general artillery use. In its role as an antitank gun it was fitted with a shield. In its mobile form it was towed on four wheels, usually with an 8-ton half-tracked tractor.] [Illustration: FRANCE RESULTS OF ARTILLERY FIRE AND BOMBINGS in Montebourg (top). A 155-mm. howitzer M 1 firing on the defenses of the city of Cherbourg (bottom). On 19 June Montebourg fell to the U. S. forces and Valognes was taken the following day. The advance on Cherbourg was continued by three U. S. infantry divisions. An attack on Cherbourg was launched on the afternoon of 22 June, after an 80-minute air and artillery bombardment of the outer defenses, but the enemy at first fought back with determination.] [Illustration] [Illustration: FRANCE HILL 171 AREA BOIS DU MONT DU ROC THE BOIS DU MONT DU ROC AREA. On 22–23 June the U. S. troops launched an attack from the valley to seize Hill 171. The critical enemy defense areas at Flottemanville-Hague and Hill 171 were closely pressed and before dark on 23 June the area of Hill 171 was reached and 400 enemy prisoners were taken. The Flottemanville-Hague defenses were bombed by Allied planes and the defenses were taken by the ground forces shortly thereafter. The enemy’s fortified line protecting Cherbourg was then broken and the U. S. troops were ready for the final drive to the city.] [Illustration: FRANCE