Causeway Attack

Carentan 11th June 1944: The 101st Airborne planned on attacking southward across the Douves river, bypassing the town of Carentan, and seizing la Billonerie (Hill 30) thereby cutting off the primary German escape routes. The 502nd Parachute lnfantry Regiment was …

1944-06-11

CAR2

Carentan 11th June 1944: The 101st Airborne planned on attacking southward across the Douves river, bypassing the town of Carentan, and seizing la Billonerie (Hill 30) thereby cutting off the primary German escape routes. The 502nd Parachute lnfantry Regiment was selected to lead the attack but was delayed due to repair work on Bridge Number 2. When they finally jumped off, they found Bridge Number 4 blocked by a heavy Belgian gate that could not be dislodged. This further delayed the attack until enough troops could get through the obstacle, one at a time. At 06:15 on June 11th the 502nd jumped off but immediately ran into fierce German resistance. Reinforcements were slow in passing through the still-intact gate on Bridge Number 4. The paratroopers managed to seize a vital farm astride the main road to Carentan as well as some local crossroads. The troopers fought tenaciously with grenade and bayonet to hold the secured ground, with American artillery playing a critical role in breaking the German defenses. At 20:00, patrols discovered that the Germans had fled most of their defensive positions and the town. After a hard day of fighting, the 502nd was beaten and tired. The 506th had to be called in to make the final push to take the town of Carentan.

Carentan, France

The Battle of Carentan was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy. The battle took place between 6 and 13 June 1944, on the approaches to and within the town of Carentan, France. The objective of the attacking American forces was consolidation of the U.S. beachheads (Utah Beach and Omaha Beach) and establishment of a continuous defensive line against expected German counterattacks. The defending German force attempted to hold the town long enough to allow reinforcements en route from the south to arrive, prevent or delay the merging of the lodgments, and keep the U.S. First Army from launching an attack towards Lessay-Périers that would cut off the Cotentin Peninsula. Carentan was defended by two battalions of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 (6th Parachute Regiment) of the 2nd Fallschirmjäger-Division and two Ost battalions. The 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, ordered to reinforce Carentan, was delayed by transport shortages and attacks by Allied aircraft. The attacking 10ist Airborne Division, landed by parachute on 6 June as part of the American airborne landings in Normandy, was ordered to seize Carentan. In the ensuing battle, the 10ist forced passage across the causeway into Carentan on 10 and 11 June. A lack of ammunition forced the German forces to withdraw on 12 June. The 17th SS PzG Division counter-attacked the 10ist Airborne on 13 June. Initially successful, its attack was thrown back by Combat Command A (CCA) of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division.

Wikipedia: Battle of Carentan

German

American