Control of the La Fière area was crucial to Allied plans to move inland from the D-Day invasion beaches. The Germans put up a spirited fight at La Fière against lightly armed troops of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Posted on 06/07/2019 1:28:03 AM PDT by topher
The night of June 5, 1944, and the morning of June 6 were without a doubt some of the most pivotal hours in the history of the 20th century.
In the vanguard of the massive Allied effort to wrest the European continent from the murderous grip of Nazi Germany, the Western Allies had crafted Operation Overlord, a combined air and sea invasion that relied on secrecy, stealth, surprise, deception, and violence to punch through German defenses along the northern coast of France.
The planners at SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) had always seen the invasion being launched with a prelude of parachute and glider forces. These airborne troops would be dropped and landed behind enemy lines along the Normandy coast to seize key objectives such as crossroads and bridges to prevent the Germans from counterattacking the seaborne invasion force.
Not only that, but the planners were counting on such airborne forces being able to sow confusion among the enemy ranks, cause the Germans to look over their shoulders, and perhaps launch their counterattacks in the wrong direction, thus giving the amphibious troops a few precious hours more to come ashore.
(Excerpt) Read more at warfarehistorynetwork.com ...
This battle is considered “probably the bloodiest small unit struggle in the experience of American arms."
The Germans used ploys like waving a 'white flag' to negotiate a surrender. But the real purpose was to 'discover' positions of US Troops. This was one of the many problems that the US Troops faced.
Control of the La Fière area was crucial to Allied plans to move inland from the D-Day invasion beaches. The Germans put up a spirited fight at La Fière against lightly armed troops of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Seize & Secure: The Battle for La Fière Presented by The National WWII Museum and Louisiana Public Broadcasting
The WWII Media and Education Center at The National WWII Museum has teamed with Louisiana Public Broadcasting to present the new documentary Seize & Secure: The Battle for La Fière. A component of the Museum’s extensive commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the film—which captures “probably the bloodiest small unit struggle in the experience of American arms”—makes its broadcast premiere on June 6, 2019, on PBS.
Surely the days at Antietam and Iwo Jima and Hill 881 North provide some comparison.
I guess if your in your own small fire slugfest it seems like the most intense one in the world to yourself. My son was in the 505 in Iraq in ‘03 and he was ambushed during a night time operation. He called me the next day on a satellite phone and I could tell that he was in an intense firefight. A couple of years later he told me the details and other stories that if I had known about them at the time I would have been doubly worried. Being a parent of a kid in combat in WW II,Vietnam,Korea takes its own courage. Especially during Vietnam and Iraq because of the comments you’d get from idiots that were anti-war. Even in your own family. You really have to maintain control when someone makes a snide remark when your son is in combat.
The response of our own people during Vietnam was horrible and that's what happens when we let the Left drive the narrative.
My own personal worst was during a night patrol when we had set up in an apparently abandoned village and one of the enemy walked in the door of the house I was in and it was a five foot firefight. The rest of his platoon opened up at very close range and we had a brutal, close-in fight in the dark.
Great article!
You really have to maintain control when someone makes a snide remark when your son is in combat.I disagree. If you, coming from the right side of an issue, would rightfully lose control once they'd likely never make snide remarks in your presence again...They really don't care about you anyway or they wouldn't make snide remarks in your presence.
In the Civil War battle of Cold Harbor, the Grant ordered his troops into a frontal assault against strong Confederate defenses that resulted in about 5,000 Yankees killed in about 30 minutes.
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