Battle of La Haye-du-Puits
Following the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, US First Army under the command of Lieutenant General Omar Bradley began an advance to the south, aiming to break through the German defenses and secure a line from Coutances to Saint-Lô.This would help the rest of the First Army cross the swamps and bocage, and put the American front on firm and dry ground more suitable for the employment of mechanized forces.The most striking geographical feature of the area was the bocage, earthen embankments topped with small trees and tangled underbrush and vines, separated by sunken lanes.Between 5 and 14 July, the American troops of the VIII Corps under the command of Major General Troy H. Middleton's pushed southward through forest, swamps and bocage to capture the high ground around La Haye-du-Puits.[1] The original plan for the campaign envisioned the British Second Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey in the east securing Caen and the area to the south of it to acquire airfields and protect the left flank.[2] Meanwhile, the First US Army under the command of Lieutenant General Omar Bradley in the west was to capture the deep water port of Cherbourg by D plus 15 (15 days after D-Day), and advance south to the Loire valley by D plus 20.[8] On 19 June, a storm descended on the English Channel that lasted for three days, destroyed the American Mulberry, and caused significant delays to the Allied build-up.This would help the rest of the First Army cross the swamps and bocage, and put the entire American front on firm and dry ground more suitable for the employment of mechanized forces.The ground in front of the VIII Corps formed a 7-mile (11 km) sector between the Prairies Marécageuses de Gorges and the tidal flats of the Ay River [fr].[15] The Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, wanted Bradley to commence the operation as soon as possible in order to prevent the Germans from consolidating their position.[14] The 79th Infantry Division, under the command of Major General Ira T. Wyche,[17] would advance west of La Haye-du-Puits in a southerly direction, seizing Montgardon ridge and Hill 121.[14] First Army had been rationing artillery ammunition, but stocks were considered adequate for the attack, and restrictions were temporarily lifted, with the caveat that excessive expenditure would result in their reimposition.In the days leading up to the attack, it was noted that German artillery had become more active, and small arms, automatic weapons and mortar fire had increased, indicating a higher level of alertness.Generalleutnant Hans Speidel, the chief of staff of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel's Army Group B, facing the Allied forces in Normandy, considered most German soldiers in the West to be overage, ill-equipped and led by inadequate officers and NCOs.The low ground was soft and swampy, making movement on foot difficult and restricting most vehicle traffic to the asphalt roads, especially after heavy rains, and the summer of 1944 was the wettest since 1900.[23] The most striking geographical feature of the area was the bocage, which started about 10 miles (16 km) inland from Omaha and Utah beaches where the Americans had landed on D-Day.A reinforced company of the 505th Parachute Infantry, aided by a French guide, slipped past the edge of the swamp and reached Hill 131 (Mont Étenclin [fr]), which was held by Osttruppen.The regiment came under enfilading artillery fire observed from Mont Castre and was halted 2 miles (3.2 km) short of the eastern slopes of La Poterie ridge.Hill 121, the first objective of the 314th Infantry,[48] was a bare mound, atop which stood a ruined house, a chapel and a water tower, which the Germans fortified with logs and sandbags.During the morning the regiment established contact with the 82nd Airborne Division and advance to within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the town, but were stopped by heavy German fire.[48][51] The next day the 315th Infantry made good progress, allowing the divisional artillery to displace forward, but by evening it was still 2 miles (3.2 km) short of Montgardon ridge when the Germans mounted a surprise counterattack, and Companies B and C were temporarily surrounded.The Germans withdrew after taking 64 Americans prisoner; the counterattack was to cover the withdrawal of the 243rd Infantry Division to the main defensive position on Montgardon ridge.On the morning of 5 July, the 3rd Battalion, 314th Infantry, entered the outskirts of La Haye-du-Puits and captured the railway station, but German artillery fire forced the regiment to pull out.[54][55] By daybreak on 7 July, with the 79th Infantry Division in control of the ridge line, the Americans expected that the Germans would withdraw from the slopes of Montgardon that they still held and the town of La Haye-du-Puits, but they did not.[57] Its attack had to be made through a narrow corridor a little over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide between the slopes of Mont Castre in the west and the swamplands of the Prairies Marécageuses de Gorges in the east.As the 2nd Battalion approached the hamlet of Les Sablons, which consisted of a half-dozen stone farm houses, they began taking small arms, mortar and artillery fire.The 359th Infantry started 45 minutes late, and advanced several hundred yards towards Mont Castre before it was stopped by artillery, small arms and mortar fire.[57][61] Captain Phillip H. Carroll led Company K forward, despite being wounded in one eye by a shell fragment, and it managed to advance several hundred yards, reaching its objective at around 18:15.However, there was still a gap between the 1st and 3rd Battalions, and resupply of food, water and ammunition and the evacuation of the wounded was difficult owing to the activity of bypassed and infiltrating Germans.Greater use was made of artillery, but observation was hampered by the weather, so wider concentrations were fired than usual, and ammunition stocks because depleted, resulting in rationing of key calibers like 105 mm howitzer.
Cotentin Peninsula
, 2 July 1944
Bocage
country
Attack of VIII Corps 3–7 July 1944
Positions of US and German divisions on 8 July from the
Vire river
west to the sea
The St. Lô breakthrough, 25–31 July
Normandy CampaignWorld War IILa Haye-du-PuitsNormandyUnited StatesGermanyTroy H. MiddletonDietrich von CholtitzVIII CorpsLXXXIV CorpsOperation OverlordAtlantic WallBodyguardFortitudeZeppelinTitanicTaxable, Glimmer & Big DrumCombined Bomber OffensivePointblankTransport PlanPostage AbleTarbrushFabiusCaen canal and Orne river bridgesMerville BatteryMallardAmerican SectorAlbanyBostonChicagoDetroitElmiraNormandy landingsPointe du HocGambitPort-en-BessinAmericanOperation ChastityBritishMulberryBrécourt ManorGraignesSaint-LôCarentanHill 30CherbourgBrévilleVillers-BocageLe Mesnil-PatryNormandy massacresArdenne AbbeyDouvresMartletWindsorCharnwoodJupiter2nd OdonAtlanticGoodwoodVerrières RidgeSpringBluecoatTotalizeHill 140LüttichTractableHill 262ChamboisFalaiseSaint-MaloMantes-GassicourtLa RochelleUshantLa CainePierres NoiresAudierne BayJedburghDingsonSamwestCooneyBulbasketHoundsworthLoytonKiplingDragoonWallace & HardyCemeteriesAlliedinvasion of NormandyUS First ArmyLieutenant GeneralOmar BradleyCoutancesbocageOperation CobraGeneralleutnantSeventh ArmyObergruppenführerPaul Hausserdefense in depthassault gunsMajor General82nd Airborne Division79th Infantry DivisionMontgardon90th Infantry DivisionPériers8th Infantry DivisionAy RiverCotentin PeninsulaBritish Second ArmyLieutenant-GeneralMiles DempseyFirst US Armydeep water portBrittanyGeneralfeldmarschallErwin RommelArmy Group BGerd von RundstedtOberbefehlshaber WestOperation Epsom"Mulberry" artificial harborsEnglish Channelcapture of CherbourgGeneral