No Better Place To Die…

Overnight, the position was reinforced but pressure on the defenders of the east bank was maintained by mortar and artillery fire. A dawn air supply drop relieved the most pressing ammunition shortage. The recently arrived reinforcements pulled out along with …

1944-06-07

N04

Overnight, the position was reinforced but pressure on the defenders of the east bank was maintained by mortar and artillery fire. A dawn air supply drop relieved the most pressing ammunition shortage. The recently arrived reinforcements pulled out along with Lindquist to support Sainte Mere Eglise, and so the defence of La Fiere and the east bank of the Merderet fell once again to Able Company. Lt. Dolan was called to replace the dead Major Kellam at Battalion headquarters, leaving 2nd Lieutenant Oakley in command as Able Company was reinforced by a handful of men from HQ Company and 307 Engineers. Before long, the increased intensity of mortar fire signalled a renewed German at tempt on the causeway. The leading tank rolled beyond the previous day’s wrecks, to die in a hail of fire just short of the bridge. The German infantry benefited from the steel shield of the accumulated wrecks, moving under their cover to the bridge. Meanwhile, German mortars and artillery continued to work over the defenders, wiping out the AT gun crew and felling Oakley. Sergeant William Owens took charge of the depleted company. At last, his command reduced to a handful of able bodied men, Owens sent a runner to Dolan at battalion HQ seeking advice. The response was a scribbled note: ‘I don’t know a better spot than this to die’. Able Company held, and minutes later the Germans requested a half hour truce. The half hour expired, but there were no further German attempts on the crossing.

La Fiere Manoir, 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