George A. Taylor

Key Documents

The George A. Taylor collection contains numerous orders, training manuals, intelligence and operational reports of General Taylor’s actions from North Africa to the occupation of Germany. By far the most extensive part of the collection is his documents for Operation Neptune, the assault on the Normandy beachheads.

Field Order No. 35 is the 1^st Division operations order for the execution of Operation Neptune, while Field Order No. 5 is the operations order for the 16^th Infantry Regiment commanded by Col. Taylor.  The G-3 Report is the After Actions Report for the month of June 1944.  Each of these documents contains an array of maps, order of battle, and coordinating instructions intricate to the execution of the largest amphibious invasion ever carried out.  This gives an enormous amount of insight for the planning, execution, and response of Col. Taylor himself and the U. S. Army infantry during the Normandy invasion from the regimental and divisional level.  Such documents could allow anyone to assess how one of America’s elite infantry units during World War II was able to coordinate its efforts, gather information, and then collect the lessons learned in order to conduct future successful operations.

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