Figure 1.--This photograph was taken on June 7, 1944, at Baudienville, a small hamlet 2.5 km northeast of Sainte-Mère-Église. A a smiling Monsieur Jacques Philippe standing at the door of his establishment with his little daughter and the customers he was hoping for after 4 years of German occupation. The soldiers are from the 90th US Infantry Division which began landing at Utah (afterboon June 6). They playd a najor role on linking up with the 82nd Paratroop Division. Notice how the shoulder ptches have been censored.

The most exposed D-Days units were the airborn forces dropped on the flanks of the invasion beaches. They were lightly armed and especially vulnerable to German counterattack, especially by German armored units. There was no artillery support. It was important for the Allies to make the linkups as soon as possible before the Germans engaged their heavy units and reinforced positions like Carentan and Port-en-Bessin. Fortunately the Germans did not react immediately in a coordinated counterr-attack. There were several reasons for thus. Imprtantly Hitler kept control of the armored divisions and his aides did not wake him up until the afternoon. Nut the pre-invasiin disposition of the Panzers maeant a an immediate counte stroke was not possible. Allied air power also helped impede German movement. Still the airborn units were exposed, surrounded by superior, well-armed German forces. Unlike the landing force, there was no naval artillery support. Nor ws there tactical air coverage. Allied air was active, but the paratroops had no way to call in air strikes. This was developed in England and be an imprtant part of the Normandy camapign, but it was not yet available to either the beach landing force or the Airborn units inland. The 9th Air fotce was activated for this purpose, one of the two numbered air forces of the Tactical Air Command. This was not a priority for bomoner-fixated U.S., armny Air Corps, but by 1944 the imprtance was increasingly understood, especially by Eisenhower and the major American Army commanders. The paratroops, although lightly armed did their job because much of the German effort on the first day was to take positions held by the airborn units inland and not the crucial landing beaches. Glider landings got a few light artillery pieces to the American airborn. The link up with airborn forces on the eastern flank would mostly came from the British Sword Beach and largely occurred on the first day. The linkup with the American airborn on the western flank would come from the Utah lodgemnent and was more protracted. The two American Airborn divisions were widely scattered. American units moving off Utah almost immefiately began linking up with Airborn units, but it would be 5 days before all of the two division links up occurred. Key to the battle was Sainte-Mère-Église, a major road juncture. There were other important villages, but Sainte-Mère-Église was vital. German flooding opoerations actully helped the paratroops. German units could not attack the Utah landings in force without controlling the village. The battle for the village began with 82nd Division partroopers fell on the village as the landings began after nidnight (1:40 am June 6). This was a blood bath, but the American paratroopers by early morning (5:00 am) had taken the village. The Germans launched repeated counterattacks. The lighty armed paratroopers held on until the link up from Utah occurred. Tanks from Utah reached the paratroopers (afternoon June 7).

Created: 1:59 AM 6/9/2021
Last updated: 1:59 AM 6/9/2021