INFANTRYMEN TAKING A BREAK, their M1’s leaning against the wall of a destroyed building. The Third U. S. Army drove southward from Avranches on 1 August with the mission of clearing the Brittany Peninsula and securing the ports. The attacks were spearheaded by armored divisions against only scattered opposition and by 3 August Loudéac was reached, infantrymen were closing in on the fortress of Saint-Malo, armored units were striking toward Vannes and Nantes, and Rennes had been captured. The 21st Army Group and First U. S. Army met dogged enemy resistance, but Mortain was occupied by the latter.] [Illustration: FRANCE AN INFANTRYMAN USING HIS HELMET AS A BASIN while washing at a town pump. The weather during this period was hot and dry; inland from the coast there was little fog. The advancing men took every opportunity during the rapid advances to stop for a quick wash.] [Illustration: FRANCE AN M4A1 MEDIUM TANK rolls through a battered French village. After the rapid advances through the Brittany Peninsula, U. S. forces were left in front of the main port cities to contain the enemy. The Third U. S. Army turned eastward driving with strong armored forces on the general axis of Laval-Le Mans-Chartres. The terrain that would be encountered in a drive to the Seine would be favorable for the use of armor, and the weather was expected to be good. On 4 August Mayenne was captured and contact with First U. S. Army units was established. During the next five days the drive to the east continued for a distance of 85 miles and the cities of Angers and Le Mans were taken.] [Illustration: FRANCE INFANTRYMEN FIGHTING IN HEDGEROWS near Mortain. Shortly after midnight on 7 August a German counterattack struck the U. S. infantry division in the area of Mortain. By morning, when the enemy had penetrated the First Army line some three or four miles, Allied aircraft equipped with rockets attacked the enemy. Three U. S. divisions were quickly shifted to the area and for the next three days a fierce battle raged as the Germans tried to cut the corridor through which the Third Army was advancing onto the plains of western France. On 11 August, Mortain was re-entered by the First Army.] [Illustration: FRANCE U. S. ARTILLERY OBSERVATION POST near Barenton, between Mortain and Domfront. After the failure of the German counterattack in the vicinity of Mortain the only alternative for the enemy was to retreat, and a gradual withdrawal was made toward the Seine River. During this period two simultaneous battles were fought: one by First Army troops and those of 21 Army Group around the Falaise-Argentan pocket, the other by the Third Army which was driving hard to the Seine River.] [Illustration: FRANCE