Battle of Carentan

The Battle of Carentan was a fierce military encounter which was fought between American forces and the German Army, during Operation Overlord, in Normandy, in Carentan and its surrounding area, from June 10 to June 13, 1944. From the first moment the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy, they met stiff German resistance, and they had to fight ferociously in order to break out of the Normandy beachheads.

Summary

After the landing on Utah Beach, the main objective of the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division was Cherbourg, a city port on the Contentin peninsula. However, in order to be able to take Cherbourg, Carentan, a rural town near the port, had to be secured first. Thus, the task of clearing the way for the 4th Infantry Division to get to Cherbourg had been assigned to the US 101st Airborne Division and the 2nd Armored Division. To defend Carentan and the main roads that led to Cherbourg, the German 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment (from Luftwaffe’s 2nd Parachute Division) and several elements of the 9th Infantry Division had been deployed in the area.

The battle began on June 10, with the US units attacking and capturing the bridges and the high ground situated southwest of Carentan. This high terrain was called Hill 30. However, the Germans put up stiff resistance, even though they were highly outnumbered. The fighting raged on for two days, with the Americans not being able to advance and close in on the town. It was the US 2nd Armored Division units that tipped the balance in the Americans’ favor, breaching gaps in the German defense. On the morning of June 13, the US forces were able to capture Carentan and completely secure its neighboring area.

Below, paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division patrol the town of Carentan on June 14.