Molecular field theory predicts the induction of a smectic A phase by the application of a field, either magnetic or electric, to a nematic phase. This intriguing behavior results from an enhancement of the orientational order which is coupled to the translational order and so shifts the smectic A-nematic transition. To test this prediction we have investigated a system of Gay-Berne mesogenic molecules subject to an applied field of second rank using isothermal-isobaric Monte Carlo simulations. The results of our calculations are compared with the Kventsel-Luckhurst-Zewdie molecular field theory of smectogens, modified to include the effect of an external field. We have also used the simulations to explore the possibility of inducing more ordered smectic phases with stronger fields. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)50509-1].