Sainte-Mère-Eglise

Establishment of a defensive base at Ste. Mère-Église was one of the key objectives of the US 82nd Airborne Division. In contrast with other regiments, the 505th Parachute Infantry, landing northwest of Ste. Mère-Église, had one of the most accurate …

1944-06-06

3

Establishment of a defensive base at Ste. Mère-Église was one of the key objectives of the US 82nd Airborne Division. In contrast with other regiments, the 505th Parachute Infantry, landing northwest of Ste. Mère-Église, had one of the most accurate drops. Rapidly regrouping and tipped by a French native to the presence of German troops in town, the paratroopers planned to surround Ste. Mère-Église and move in with knives, bayonets and grenades. In the meantime, to the north, Lt. Turner Turnbull deployed his force on high ground near Neuville-au-Plain, engaging and fighting the enemy to a draw. This bought some crucial time for the battalions around Ste. Mère-Église, giving them a chance to meet the German southern thrust and annihilate several enemy units. This led to an overestimation by German command of American strength in this sector, and as a result, the Germans withdrew.

Sainte-Mère-Eglise, France

Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by Major General Matthew Ridgway's U.S. 82nd "All American" Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. Boston was a component element of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord. 6,420 paratroopers jumped from nearly 370 C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft into an intended objective area of roughly 10 square miles (26 km2) located on either side of the Merderet river on the Cotentin Peninsula of France, five hours ahead of the D-Day landings. The drops were scattered by bad weather and German anti-aircraft fire over an area three to four times as large as that planned. Two inexperienced units of the 82nd, the 507th and 508th Parachute Infantry Regiments (PIR), were given the mission of blocking approaches west of the Merderet River, but most of their paratroops missed their drop zones entirely. The veteran 505th PIR jumped accurately and captured its objective, the town of Sainte-Mère-Église, which proved essential to the success of the division.

Wikipedia: Mission Boston

German

American

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Available