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From the Caribbean and the Americas, the South Atlantic victory road led to North Africa where the Seabees faced combat for the first time in the Atlantic Theater of Operations. After landing with American assault forces on 7 November 1942, they proceeded to rapidly construct military facilities at Oran, Casablanca, Safi and Fedala. Later, while the Allied armies moved toward Tunisia and their final showdown with the Afrika Korps, the Seabees built a string of staging and training areas along the northern coast. Also active on the west coast of Africa, they constructed a huge naval air station at Port Lyautey, Morocco.
After the Allies had driven the Axis forces out of Tunisia, the Seabees began a large scale buildup at their new base in Bizerte. There they prepared a new weapon of war, the steel pontoon, that was to be used for the first time on the invasion beaches of Sicily. Actually, pontoons were not new to naval warfare. Xerxes had used such devices to cross the Hellespont when he invaded Greece in the 5th Century B.C. The Seabees, however, had added some new innovations and cleverly adapted them to the requirements of modern amphibious warfare. The classic pontoons were standardized in size and fitted with special tackle so that they could be quickly assembled to form causeways, piers, and other structures. As a result, these versatile "magic boxes" could be used to meet the exigencies of any number of situations.
The beaches of Sicily had previously been considered by both the Allies and Axis as an impossible site for a major amphibious landing. Nevertheless, with help of the Seabees and their new pontoons, the Allies were able to carry off a surprise attack on the weakly defended Sicilian beaches. The enemy was quickly outflanked and overpowered as large numbers of men and huge amounts of equipment poured ashore over pontoon causeways with a minimum of casualties and delay. Thus, the Seabees were instrumental in spelling the beginning of the end for the southern stronghold of the Axis.
These same landing techniques were later used at Salerno and Anzio on the Italian mainland. Unfortunately, the Germans had learned their lesson from the Sicilian debacle, and this time they were lying in wait. It was in the face of fierce resistance and heavy bombardment that the Allies suffered heavy casualties as they stormed ashore at both Salerno and Anzio, and the Seabees absorbed their share of the casualties. At Anzio the situation was particularly desperate. Anzio had been a diversionary landing behind enemy lines and, when the Germans staged a massive counterattack, the defenders were in critical danger of being pushed back into the sea. It was the Seabees' task to keep essential supplies and ammunition moving across their pontoon causeways to the struggling forces on their precarious beachhead. Only with their vital assistance were the Allies able to turn the tide of battle and push inland in the wake of the slowly retreating Germans. For many months, however, the Seabees remained at Anzio and, under continuous German bombardment, built cargo handling facilities, unloaded tank landing ships, and kept supplies moving to the front. German resistance in Southern Italy finally collapsed and Rome was taken on 4 June 1943. Even so, the Seabees had one more task in the Mediterranean, the invasion of Southern France through Toulon. While this was a relatively important job, it was eclipsed by the much bigger assignment they were handed on the North Atlantic road to victory, the Normandy invasion.
Although Seabee accomplishments on the North Atlantic road eventually culminated in the Normandy invasion, operations in that area had begun as early as March of 1942.
The Seabees were first used on construction projects in Iceland, Newfoundland, and Greenland at bases previously acquired by treaty from Great Britain. Seabees in Newfoundland helped construct a huge naval air station and naval base at Argentia. From these installations, aircraft and surface ships set forth to protect the many Allied convoys sailing the western sector of the North Atlantic.
To complete the huge arc of bases stretching across the North Atlantic, even more Seabees were sent to the British Isles. At Londonderry, Northern Ireland, they constructed a huge, deep water facility for naval craft and a naval air station that was capable of handling the largest aircraft. Lough Erne, Loch Ryan, and Rosneath in Scotland were transformed into huge storage depots, tank farms, industrial areas, and seaplane bases.
Only with the firm establishment of the Navy's control of the seas, and the logistic battle of the North Atlantic under control, did the Seabees move to the southwest coast of England to prepare for the great invasion. From Milford Haven on the northwest coast of Wales down to Plymouth and over to Exeter, the Seabees built invasion bases which teemed with activity. There they prepared for their most critical and multifaceted role in the Atlantic Theater of Operations.
During D-Day of the Normandy invasion, 6 June 1944, the Seabees were among the first to go ashore as members of naval combat demolition units. Working with U.S. Army Engineers, their crucial task was to destroy the steel and concrete barriers that the Germans had built in the water and on the beaches to forestall any amphibious landings. When dawn betrayed their presence, they came under murderous German fire. Whole teams were wiped out when shells prematurely detonated their explosives. Heedless of the danger, the survivors continued to work until all their explosive charges were planted. As a result of their heroic actions, the charges went off on schedule and huge holes were blown in the enemy's defenses.
The arduous assignment of the combat demolition units was only the beginning of the Seabees' work on Normandy's beaches. After the invasion fleet had arrived off the coast, The approximately 10,000 Seabees of Naval Construction Regiment 25 began manhandling their pontoon causeways onto the beach. It was over these causeways that the infantry charged ashore. Under constant German fire, directed at slowing or stopping the landings, the Seabees succeeded in placing large numbers of these pontoon causeways. Allied troops and tanks subsequently swept ashore in ever greater numbers and pushed the German defenders inland.
The Seabee contribution to the success of the invasion was not restricted to assembling and placing pontoon causeways. They also manned the large ferries known as Rhinos that carried men and supplies from the larger ships to the beaches. These ferries were actually little more than floating pontoon structures powered by giant outboard motors. Huge amounts of much needed equipment were hauled ashore on Rhinos during the first few days of the invasion.
The Seabees also built offshore cargo and docking facilities, piers, and breakwaters. These were constructed out of old cargo ships, special prefabricated concrete structures that were floated over from England, and the ubiquitous steel pontoons. The huge port area that was formed out of this odd combination of materials became known as Mulberry A. Even after the artificial harbor was partially destroyed in a severe storm, the Seabees landed hundreds of thousands of tons of war material daily. In addition to these massive amounts of supplies, by July 4, only 28 days after D-day, they had helped land more than a million Allied fighting men.
The liberation of Cherbourg and Le Havre led to the next big Seabee project. Mulberry A, for all its impressiveness, was only a temporary facility, and the established harbors of these two cities were desperately needed by the Allies. Knowing of this need, the Germans had cleverly devastated the harbors of Cherbourg and Le Havre before retreating. It thus fell to the Seabees to put these harbors quickly back into service. On the heels of the liberating armies, the Seabees entered Cherbourg and Le Havre. At Cherbourg the first cargoes were landed within 11 days and within a month the harbor was capable of handling 14 ships simultaneously. Seabee accomplishments at Le Havre were equally impressive.
As the front continued to move inland, other ports along the northern and western coasts of France were restored. At Brest, Lorient, and St. Nazaire, the Seabees rapidly cleared and rebuilt harbors to handle additional vital shipments of cargo.
The final great Seabee effort in the European Theater took place during the crossing of the Rhine River in March 1945. Many times during the Second World War the Seabees had been called upon to do odd jobs of an urgent nature, but this particular odd job was of special significance. The U.S. Army, concerned about the Rhine River's swift and tricky currents, called upon the Seabees to operate many of the landing craft that were to be used in breaking Germany's Rhine River barrier. The Seabees' first successful probe across the treacherous river was at Bad Neuenahr near Remagen. Further crossings followed in rapid succession as the Seabees made their task appear to be little more difficult than a sightseeing cruise.
On 22 March 1945, General George S. Patton, with Seabee assistance, put his armored forces across the Rhine at Oppenheim in a frontal assault which swept away the German defenders. To support Patton's advancing army, the Seabees built pontoon ferries similar to the Rhinos of D-day fame and used them to transport Patton's tanks across the river.
In all, the Seabees operated more than 300 craft which shuttled thousands of troops into the heart of Germany. One Seabee crew even had the honor of ferrying Prime Minister Winston Churchill across the Rhine on an inspection tour.
The 69th Naval Construction Battalion had the distinction of being the only complete battalion to serve in Germany. Arriving at Bremen on 27 April 1945, the Seabees of this battalion set up camp just outside the city. They immediately began the re-roofing of damaged buildings, installing plumbing and lighting, setting up shops and offices, and installing power lines. A detachment also repaired facilities at the nearby port of Bremerhaven.
Later, a large detachment from the 69th battalion was sent to Frankfurt-am-Main, which had been designated as the headquarters of the U.S. Navy for the occupation of Germany. There the detachment refurbished several buildings and performed considerable maintenance work. In August 1945 the men of this detachment completed their work and withdrew to Great Britain.
For the Seabees, the completion of this task marked the end of the North Atlantic road to victory. They had reached their goal. Their building and fighting exploits along the road had been noteworthy and valorous.
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