L'Abbaye Blanche

On the afternoon of 7 August, the 120th Regiment's commander received reinforcements that would allow him to drive into the town of Mortain and try to re-establish communications with his forces that had been cut off on Hill 314. Elements …

1944-08-07

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On the afternoon of 7 August, the 120th Regiment's commander received reinforcements that would allow him to drive into the town of Mortain and try to re-establish communications with his forces that had been cut off on Hill 314. Elements of the regiment, supported by tanks from the 743rd's A Company, approached Mortain from the north through the small town of L'Abbaye Blanche, but they were intercepted by the Germans, who eventually pushed the Americans back.

L'Abbaye Blanche, France

Operation Luttich was a codename given to a German counter-attack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain in northwestern France from 7 August to 13 August 1944. The offensive is also referred to in American and British histories of the Battle of Normandy as the Mortain counterattack. The assault was ordered by Adolf Hitler, to eliminate the gains made by the First United States Army during Operation Cobra and the subsequent weeks, and by reaching the coast in the region of Avranches at the base of the Cotentin peninsula, cut off the units of the Third United States Army which had advanced into Brittany. The main German striking force was the XLVII Panzer Corps, with one and a half SS Panzer Divisions and two Heer Panzer Divisions. Although they made initial gains against the defending U.S. VII Corps, they were soon halted and the Allies inflicted severe losses on the attacking troops, eventually destroying most of the German tanks involved in the attack. Although fighting continued around Mortain for six days, the American forces had regained the initiative within a day of the opening of the German attack.

Wikipedia: Operation Luttich

German

American