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The eastern
side of the Cotentin Peninsula is a low-lying, marshy area, which floods
over each winter. Along the coastline, rows of dunes separate the wide,
sandy beaches from the marshes, which are crossed by raised causeways.
As
Field-Marshal Rommel was only too well aware, this sector was especially
favourable for amphibious assaults, and he made frequent trips there in
order to oversee the strengthening of its defences. The dunes between
the Veys bay and Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue were studded with at least thirty
“nests of resistance”, or Widerstandnesten (WN). Meanwhile, on the
higher ground inland, a number of heavy batteries were installed,
notably at Azeville, Crisbecq, Morsalines and La Pernelle.
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The 4th division gains a foothold on Utah Beach |
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The Allies
had not initially planned to land troops on the Cotentin coast, and it was not
until December 1943 that Eisenhower and Montgomery decided to extend the landing
zone west of the Veys bay, in order to capture Cherbourg more rapidly. This new
beach was given the codename Utah. It stretched from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont to
Quinéville, with an assault zone of roughly two kilometres, at the level of
Saint-Martin-de-Varreville. In order to protect this sector, the Allied High
Command decided to drop two divisions of airborne troops in the night before the
landing, their mission being to prevent the Germans from launching a
counter-attack in the direction of the beaches. |
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Men and equipment are
landed on the overcrowded beach of La Madeleine |
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On June 6th
1944, supported by amphibious tanks, the first assault waves of the 8th
Regiment of General Barton’s 4th US Infantry Division landed
on the beach at 6.30 am. Due to a navigational error, they ended up in
front of the Madeleine dunes ‑ just a few kilometres from the village of
Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and roughly two kilometres south of their planned
destination. This turned out to be providential, as the German defences
were far weaker here. Carried to their left by powerful coastal
currents, the barges arrived opposite the WN 5defences, which had been
badly damaged by aerial and naval bombardments and offered very little
resistance. |
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One of the fortunately
small number of victims of D-Day on Utah Beach |
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The beach was
rapidly cleared of its obstacles by army engineers and most of the
troops were able to land without any problem, despite sporadic fire from
Crisbecq Battery. Without further ado, General Barton’s men marched
inland along the marsh causeways and established contact with the
paratroops near Pouppeville in the early afternoon.
The 4th
Division’s losses on June 6th (killed, wounded, missing) came
to just 200 men.
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The "Red Beach" HQ |
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