Ersatzheer ENIWETOK See Marshall Islands ENORMOUS See nuclear weapons programs ENTRENCHMENTS See various battles and campaigns, and foxhole; octopus pot; slit trench ENVELOPMENT A scheme of maneuver seeking to flank on both sides and thereby surround and entrap enemy formations facing one’s own A deep battle operation might seek a double envelopment to trap whole armies or army groups See also Blitzkrieg; operational art; Schwerpunkt; Vernichtungsschlacht EPSOM ( JUNE 26–30, 1944) On D+20 of the Normandy campaign General Bernard Law Montgomery launched a renewed effort to drive the Germans from Caen Montgomery was under rising political and military pressure to make gains on the left flank of the lodgement in Normandy, but also feeling the effects of attrition on his infantry divisions and the knowledge that not all British losses could be replaced British infantry and armor advanced behind a World War I–style creeping barrage by the artillery The attack made good progress over the first three days, then faced savage German counterattacks that impeded further advance As it was planned, the operation was a failure: Montgomery did not take Caen until July However, EPSOM had the necessary and beneficial effect of sharply attriting the last available Panzer reserve divisions in Normandy That helped thin out the German line while preventing reinforcement of the German left flank during a heavy American build-up that preceded the breakout from the Côtentin peninsula EREMENKO, ANDREI See Yeremenko, Andrei I (1892–1970) ERITREA See Abyssinian War (1935–1936 ); East African campaign (1940–1941) ERSATZHEER “Replacement Army.” The reserve of the Heer or German Army, supplementing the Feldheer or “Field Army,” with the latter comprising the main battle force In 1941 the Ersatzheer comprised 1.2 million men while the Feldheer was composed of 3.8 million After the failure of the July Plot in 1944, and with Hitler’s final turn against the Wehrmacht and the traditional officer corps, command was handed to Heinrich Himmler, chief of the Schutzstaffel (SS) See also Volksgrenadier 351