| A crew from an American M1 57 millimeter anti-tank unit firing a few shells from 1 of their anti-tank weapons in an effort to get a hidden sniper concealed in a building in France. Americans were liberal with artillery firepower against personnel. The M1, an American-made copy of the British Quick-Firing 6-Pounder Mark I, only fired armor-piercing ammunition in United States service. As snipers were a constant problem in Normandy, the Americans often responded with direct fire from bazookas, mortars, artillery and tanks to reduce sniper nests. Increasingly the effectiveness of towed anti-tank artillery came into question, as the mobile nature of European warfare in 1944-1945 meant that crews were often too exposed to counter battery fire to survive. Casualties at Normandy were high, but after the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, all towed anti-tank artillery was in the process of replacement with self-propelled guns because of unsustainable losses during the Ardennes Offensive. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2077.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.83 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5577 x 4429 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 10, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National World War II Museum |
| Record Number | 2004.311.150 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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