In 1940, after World War II had broken out, the US general staff ordered various factories to design a light multi-purpose vehicle with all-wheel drive. The American Bantam Company, Willys Overland, and Ford Motor Co. competed with each other.Willys prototype was chosen, which, after an initial run of 1500 vehicles, went into mass production at the beginning of 1941 and reached a total output of 640.000 units out of which 277.000 pieces were produced by Ford under a licensing agreement. This shows that the Jeep was the most widely produced light vehicle of the war industry during World War II. Markings for: Willys Jeep, US Army, 1st Infantry Division HQ, Omaha beach, June 6th 1944 Willys Jeep MB, US Army, 2nd Armored Division, 48th Medical Battalion, Normandy, Summer 1944 Willys Jeep MB, US Army, 101st Airborne Division, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, Bershtesgaden, Germany 1945 Willys Jeep MB, US Army, 6th Armored Division, 50th Armored Infantry Battalion, France, Summer 1944 Willys Jeep MB, Brazilian Expeditionary Force (V Army), 1st Regimiento de Fanteria, Pelotao de Policia, Northern Italy, 1945 Willys Jeep MB, US Navy SeaBees, MB NCB 6, Guadalcanal, 1942