Before they could meet up with their comrades from Omaha, who had just captured Isigny, the men of the 101^st Airborne Division first needed to capture Carentan, which is what they set out to do on June 9^th.

As they were advancing from the direction of Saint-Côme-du-Mont, they had no choice but to launch their attack along the N13 trunk road, the only way across the flooded marshes of the Douve. The “Battle of the Carentan Causeway” lasted for three days and was marked by fierce fighting to capture four bridges stoutly defended by the Germans.