called the "Long Toms" by the British. This was the first tactical test of the new gun, which proved to be a great success. The two sections were organized as a temporary "X" Battery, under the command of Lieutenant (later Colonel) Robert Reed. Lieutenant Reed experimented with new tactics, taking advantage of the longer range and better mobility of the new gun to fire on division and corps headquarters that were out of range of the older guns. These tactics later formed the basis of the operating procedures for the regiment in combat. World War II In the spring of 1942 the regiment completed reequipping with the American 155mm gun. On 1 August it left Fort Bragg for the New York Port of Embarkation, and it arrived in Britain on 17 August, one of the first American combat units deployed to the European Theater. On 10 December 1942, the 1st Battalion, 36th Field Artillery landed at Oran, Algeria. At 1217 hrs on Christmas Eve, near Medjez El Bab, 2d section, Battery A fired the first American heavy artillery round in the European Theater, starting a mission that silenced a German battery. During the Tunisia campaign, the two battalions of the regiment supported nearly all of the Allied forces involved in the battle. The battalions were constantly separated because they were the only field artillery in the theater with their 25,000 yard range, and their services were eagerly sought by both British and American commanders. Lieutenant William Wall, Forward Observer for Battery A, broke up a large German armored attack by directing his battery's fire on it. He opened fire at 18,000 yards, and the tanks closed to 7,000 yards before withdrawing. At this range only one of the battery's guns could continue to fire, and the rest of the battery had loaded into trucks and was prepared to abandon the position and destroy the guns. The commander of the tanks, during questioning after his capture, said that he turned around because he was not willing to face the 155mm guns in direct fire. During this campaign, the 1st Battalion achieved another "first", becoming the first American field artillery unit of the war to destroy enemy aircraft by artillery fire, during an artillery "raid" on a forward airfield. During the Sicily campaign the two battalions were again separated, supporting different divisions. During the last part of the Sicilian campaign, Headquarters Battery,