Sainte Mère Eglise - US Paratroopers

Sainte Mère Eglise, a strategic crossroads town

Sainte Mère Église, a strategic crossroads town on the N13, was an essential link on the road leading to Utah and Omaha beaches. Occupied by the Germans since June 1940, it had been fortified as a secondary inland outpost and was subjected to regular Allied air raids.

Sainte Mere Eglise - John Steele dummy on the church steeple — John Steele dummy on the church steeple

The landing on Utah Beach was entrusted to the US 4th Infantry Division, divided into three sectors: Tare Green, Uncle Red and Victor (from west to east).

The landing operations were concentrated on Tare Green and Uncle Red, particularly in the Vareville dunes area. These sectors faced formidable defences, notably the coastal batteries of Saint-Marcouf and Azzeville.

The marshes and plains bordering the Merderet and Douve river extended 3 kilometres inland, following the outline of Utah Beach.

Four causeways allowed passage through these marshes, forming a natural line of defence for the Germans. One of these causeways directly linked Sainte Mère Église to Utah Beach, providing a crucial escape route for landing troops.

U.S. 82nd Airborne Division

Liberty Road - Borne 0 in Sainte-Mere l'Eglise — Borne 0 in Sainte-Mere l’Eglise

The Boston Mission was a crucial element of the operations of the 82nd US Airborne Division. It aimed to secure key objectives, including Sainte Mère Église and the vital bridges spanning the Merderet at Chef-du-Pont and La Fière.

These bridges were essential for armoured vehicles to cross the river.

Scheduled five hours before the landing, the Boston Mission preceded the Albany Mission by one hour.

The paratroopers of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, from the 82nd Division, had the specific mission of seizing these strategic points.

Meanwhile, the Mission Albany, led by the American 101st Airborne Division, consisted of destroying the batteries at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville and Mésières, taking the La Barquette lock on the Douve, securing the footbridges at La Porte and the bridges at Sainte-Côme-du-Mont, and capturing the causeways linking Utah Beach inland to facilitate the withdrawal of troops from the beachhead.

The disastrous drops

In the early hours of June 6, between 12:50 AM and 1:40 AM, scouts were deployed behind enemy lines to prepare drop zones.

One of the 15 Info boards in Sainte Mere Eglise — One of the 15 Info boards in town

At 1:40 AM, the 82nd US Airborne Division began its drop over the Merderet River and the marshes.

However, poor weather conditions, including low cloud cover and thick fog, significantly reduced visibility for both scouts and paratroopers. Intense German anti-aircraft fire further complicated the situation.

As a result, the drops from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were dispersed over a much larger area than planned. The planes carrying the paratroopers came under heavy anti-aircraft fire as they approached the coast.

Despite these difficulties, the 505th Regiment of the 82nd Division managed to land relatively close to its planned drop zone, northwest of Sainte Mère Église.

However, many paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division landed well west of their intended drop zone, near Sainte Mère Église.

Sainte Mère Eglise – 1:00 AM to 4:30 AM

The events in Sainte Mère Église, in the early hours of June 6, 1944, were marked by chaos and tragedy. Around 1:00 AM, an enemy bombing, or perhaps a flare, caused a fire in a house near the church, sowing panic among the inhabitants and the German occupiers. The fire lit up the night sky, exposing the paratroopers of the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) to enemy fire.

Sainte Mere Eglise - US 101st and 82nd Divisions Paratroopers Memorial — US 101st and 82nd Divisions Paratroopers Memorial

Many paratroopers were shot down before even touching the ground, and others landed in perilous situations, such as on trees or power poles, and were killed before they could free themselves from their parachutes. Some, more unfortunate, landed directly in the flames.

The rescue operations were carried out by 158 paratroopers from the 3rd Battalion of the 505th PIR, supported by elements of the 101st Airborne Division, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Krause. Despite the chaos and danger, they managed to surround and seize the village around 4:30 AM in the morning, taking about thirty prisoners.

Sainte Mère Église gained worldwide fame after the release of the film “The Longest Day”, thanks to the remarkable story of paratrooper John Steele, of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Steele indeed landed on the church steeple and played dead to escape enemy fire. Hanging there for two hours, he helplessly witnessed the execution of his comrades by the Germans. Although eventually captured, Steele escaped and rejoined his division at the village’s entrance.

Thanks to these brave men Sainte Mère Église was liberated on on D-Day!

Memorials

Sainte Mère Église has several D-Day memorials, paying tribute to the bravery of those who fought for liberation:

The Liberation Monument, located in the church square, honours the 82nd and 101st American Airborne Divisions, which liberated the town on D-Day.
The Liberty Road (marker 0) – Voie de la Liberté – Borne 0 – Liberty Road – Milestone 0, erected in front of the town hall, was inaugurated in 1946.
Fifteen commemorative plaques are located throughout the town.
Fifteen Commemorative Liberation Boards are located throughout the town, with Board #13 near Milestone 0, displaying photos from the war era, including the town’s liberation.
The Ridgway-Gavin Memorial Stelae, also located in front of the town hall, pays tribute to Generals Ridgway and Gavin, as well as to all those who liberated Sainte Mère Église
The mannequin of a parachutist and his parachute suspended from the church steeple pays tribute to John Steele and his comrades who fell in combat during the Liberation.
The church’s stained-glass windows commemorate the Liberation by the 82nd Airborne Division; One of them depicts the Virgin Mary and two paratroopers, including Private John M. Steele.
The Stelae of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, located south of the city, commemorates this regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The Memorial Plaque for the 82nd Airborne Division, located on Rue Cayenne, honours four paratroopers from Company C of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, killed on June 6, 1944.
An American Sherman Tank is on display in the grounds of the Airborne Troops Museum.
Three War Memorial Monuments mark the location of the temporary American military cemeteries opened near Sainte Mère Église.