Normandy
June, 1944

Whenever American infantry divisions encountered stiff German opposition in North Africa and Europe during World War II, they usually could gain ground only when they enjoyed overwhelming fire support. This vital assistance was supplied by field artillery and tactical aircraft, and by the big guns of Allied warships in coastal areas. In many cases, however, the quickest fire support came from a weapon organic to every American rifle company, the ubiquitous 60mm M2 mortar.

When the first assault waves of the U.S. 1st Division hit bloody Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, the M2 was often the only effective support weapon available to them. This versatile light mortar would prove its worth in the following weeks as the "Big Red One" slugged its way through Normandy's treacherous hedgerow country.

Mortars are muzzle-loading, high-trajectory weapons that fire at angles higher than forty-five degrees. They provided close support for the ground forces of all the armies engaged in World War II. The American 60mm M2 mortar could trace its origins to the Brandt mortar developed by the French Army during World War I. The American military licensed the Brandt design, and the M2 became standard issue in both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.

The M2 was a smoothbore weapon that weighed forty-two pounds in action and fired a 3.1-pound round. It had a maximum range of 1,985 yards and could hit targets as close as 100 yards. It fired high explosive, smoke, and illuminating rounds. The M2 was easy to assemble or disassemble, and it could be carried as backpacks. That allowed it to go anywhere a man could walk, run, or climb, and it could be brought into action in a matter of minutes. A supporting bipod facilitated quick adjustments in elevation, and a steel base plate absorbed the recoil from each shot. The M2 operated by the drop-fire method, which meant a crewman merely had to drop a tear-shaped projectile down the mortar tube. The M2 not only boasted a quick rate of fire, but the lethal radius of its high explosive rounds could reach up to thirty-four and a half feet.

Under the table of organization specified for American infantry divisions on July 15, 1943, each rifle company had a weapons platoon with a mortar section containing three 60mm M2s. Three rifle companies went into an infantry battalion, three battalions composed an infantry regiment, and each infantry division had three regiments. In addition, the division's mechanized cavalry troop came equipped with nine M2s, which made a grand total of ninety light mortars.

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