The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II, it was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on June 6, 1944. American troops isolated and then captured the fortified port, considered vital to the campaign in Western Europe, in a hard-fought campaign of three weeks. Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000,000 Civilian dead: 4,000,000 Total dead 12,000,000 World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free French Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (US 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Flag of Normandy Normandy (in French: Normandie, and in Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region in northern France. ... The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... Joseph Lawton Collins Joseph Lightning Joe Lawton Collins (1 May 1896 – 12 September 1987) was a general of the United States Army. ... Friedrich Dollmann Friedrich Dollmann (1876-June 30, 1944) was a German general during World War II, most notably serving during the early phases of the D-Day Invasion. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free French Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (US 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B... Combatants United Kingdom Germany Commanders General-Lieutenant Miles Dempsey, British 3rd Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Hans von Luck, German 21st Panzer Division Strength 28,845  ? Casualties 600 Unknown German defense at Ouistreham. ... This article is about the beach codenamed in WWII. For other uses, see Juno Beach (disambiguation) Combatants Canada Germany Commanders Major-General R.F.L. Keller, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Strength 15,000 7,771 Casualties 340 dead, 574 wounded Unknown Juno... Combatants United Kingdom Germany Commanders Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey, British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Generalleutnant Dietrich Kraiss, German 352nd Static Infantry Division Strength 24,970  ? Casualties 400 altogether Unknown This article is about a World War II invasion. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, U.S. 1st Infantry Division and U.S. 29th Infantry Division Generalleutnant Dietrich Kraiss, German 352nd Infantry Division Strength 34,000  ? Casualties 3,000 1,200 The build-up of Omaha Beach: reinforcements of men and equipment moving inland. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Pointe du Hocs location Preinvasion bombing of Pointe du Hoc by 9th Air Force bombers. ... Combatants U.S.A. Germany Commanders Richard Winters Colonel von der Heydte Strength 13 60+ Casualties 4 dead, 2 wounded 15 dead, 12 prisoner, wounded unknown The Brécourt Manor Assault during Operation Chicago of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of... During World War II, Operation Chicago was carried out by the Allies in 1944. ... The Battle of Villers-Bocage (June 13, 1944) was an unusual clash between the British and Germans in northern France during World War II. Michael Wittmann, an SS-Obersturmführer, led a unit of six PzKpfw VI Tiger tanks of the 501st Battalion to secure the N175 road near Villers... Combatants Allied Powers Nazi Germany Commanders Lieutenant General Richard OConnor SS General Paul Hausser Strength 1 armoured division 3 infantry divisions 1 armoured brigade 2 SS Panzer Divisions 5 Panzer battlegroups Casualties British VIII Corps 4,020 12th SS Panzer Regiment 324 25th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 383 26th... Operation Goodwood was an Allied military operation of World War II from July 18 to 20 July 1944 taking place in Normandy some weeks following D-Day. ... During World War II, Operation Atlantic (Allies, 1944) was a Canadian offensive, part of the British great breakout tentative (Operation Goodwood) during the Battle of Normandy, on June 19th. ... During World War II, Operation Spring (Allies, 1944) enabled to secure territory gains around Caen and its surroundings during the Battle of Normandy, after Operation Goodwood. ... Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Normandy area after the previous months D-Day landings. ... During World War II, Operation Bluecoat was an attack by British Second Army south of Caumont, France executed 29 July 1944. ... During World War II, Operation Lüttich was a counterattack launched by German forces on the left flank of the Allied lodgment at Normandy beginning on 7 August 1944. ... During World War II, Operation Totalise ( Allies, 1944) was a ground attack on 7 August 1944 by British, Canadian and Polish forces to breakout from the Normandy beachhead along the Caen-Falaise road. ... Operation Tractable was a military operation commanded by the 2nd Canadian Corps in Normandy in August 1944. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free French Forces Free Polish Forces Others Nazi Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Omar Bradley Günther von Kluge Walter Model Strength N/A 150,000 Casualties Canadian: 18,500 Polish: 2,300 U.S and British: N/A 10,000+ killed, 60,000 wounded... This article is about the Second World War battle for Brest. ... The Liberation of Paris in World War II took place in late August 1944 after the battle of Normandy. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free French Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (US 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000,000 Civilian dead: 4,000,000 Total dead 12,000,000 World War II (abbreviated WWII), or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict... The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Allied Plans

When they drew up their plans for the invasion of France, the Allied planners considered that it would be necessary to secure a deep-water port, to allow reinforcements to be brought directly from the United States. (Without one, equipment packed for transit would first have to be unloaded at a port in Britain, unpacked, water-proofed and then reloaded onto landing craft to be transferred to France). Cherbourg, at the end of the Cotentin Peninsula, was the major port closest to the intended landing beaches. The Cotentin Peninsula juts out into the English Channel from Normandy towards England, forming part of the north-west coast of France. ...

The allied planners decided at first not to land directly on the Cotentin Peninsula, as this sector would be separated from the main Allied landings by the valley of the Douve River which had been flooded by the Germans to deter airborne landings. On being appointed overall land commander for the invasion in January 1944, British General Bernard Montgomery reinstated the landing on the Cotentin peninsula, partly to widen the front and therefore prevent the invaders becoming sealed into a narrow lodgement, but also to enable the more rapid capture of Cherbourg. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC (17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976) was a British Army officer, often referred to as Monty. He successfully commanded Allied forces at the Battle of El Alamein, a major turning point in World War II, and...

Landings

In the early hours of June 6, the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Divisions landed at the base of the Cotentin pensinsula. Although the landings were scattered, they nevertheless secured most of the routes by which the U.S. VII Corps would advance from Utah Beach. The U.S. 4th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach shortly after dawn with few casualties. The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was constituted in the National Army as the 82nd Division on August 5, 1917, and was organized on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ... The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)—nicknamed the “Screaming Eagles”—is an airborne division of the United States Army primarily trained for air assault operations. ... For the VII Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, see VII Corps (ACW). ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... It has been suggested that U.S. 1st Brigade 4th Infantry Division be merged into this article or section. ...

In the immediate aftermath of the landings, the priority for the invaders at Utah Beach was to link up with the main allied landings further west. On June 9, the 101st Airborne Division managed to cross the flooded Douve valley, and captured Carentan the next day, thus giving the invaders a continuous front. June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Carentan is a town and commune of the Manche département in Normandy, France. ...

Drive across the Cotentin Peninsula

This success allowed the U.S. VII Corps to begin a drive westwards to cut off the Cotentin peninsula. Already, three infantry divisions had landed to reinforce the Corps. Its commander, Major General J. Lawton Collins, drove his troops hard, replacing troops in the front line or sacking officers if progress was slow. Joseph Lawton Collins Joseph Lightning Joe Lawton Collins (1 May 1896 – 12 September 1987) was a general of the United States Army. ...

The Germans facing him were a mixed bag of regiments and battlegroups from several divisions, many of whom had already suffered heavy casualties fighting the American airborne troops in the first days of the landings. Practically no armoured or mobile troops could be sent to this part of the front, because of the threat to Caen further east. Infantry reinforcements arrived only slowly, and were thrown into the battle in dribs and drabs. The Germans' flooding of the Douve now worked against them, as it secured the Americans' southern flank Caen is a commune of northwestern France. ...

By June 16, there were no further natural obstacles in front of the American troops. The German command was in some confusion. The commanders on the spot (including Field Marshal Erwin Rommel) wished to withdraw their troops in good order into the Atlantic Wall fortifications of Cherbourg, where they could have withstood a siege for some time. Adolf Hitler, issuing orders from his headquarters in East Prussia, demanded that they hold the line exactly where they were, even though this risked disaster. June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( ) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most distinguished German field marshals of World War II. He was the commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps and also became known by the nickname The Desert Fox (Wüstenfuchs,  ) for the skillful military campaigns he... German coast artillery in the Pas-de-Calais area, with laborers at work on casemate. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

Late on June 17, Hitler agreed that the troops might withdraw, but specified a new, illogical defensive line, spanning the entire peninsula just south of Cherbourg. Rommel protested against this order; but nevertheless dismissed General Farmbacher, commanding the German LXXXIV Corps, who he thought was trying to circumvent it. June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ...

Drive on Cherbourg

On June 18, the U.S. 9th Infantry Division reached the west coast of the peninsula. Within 24 hours, the 4th, 9th and U.S. 79th Infantry Division were driving north on a broad front. There was almost no opposition on the western side of the peninsula; on the eastern side, the exhausted defenders around Montebourg collapsed. Several large caches of V-1 flying bombs were discovered in addition to a V-2 rocket installation at Brix. June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... The 9th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II. World War II Activated: 1 August 1940. ... The 79th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. World War I Activated: August 1917. ... The Vergeltungswaffe-1, V-1, also knows as Fieseler Fi 103/FZG-76, colloquially as the Flying bomb, Buzz bomb or Doodlebug, was the first guided missile used in war and the forerunner of todays cruise missile. ... The Vergeltungswaffe 2 (Reprisal weapon 2) (V-2), also known as the A4 (Aggregat 4), was the first ballistic missile. ...

In two days, the American divisions were within striking distance of Cherbourg. The garrison commander, Lieutenant General von Schlieben, had 21,000 men but many were hastily drafted naval personnel or from labour units, and the fighting troops who had retreated to Cherbourg were tired and disorganised. Food, fuel and ammunition were short. The Luftwaffe dropped a few supplies, but these were mostly items such as Iron Crosses, to bolster the garrison's morale. Nevertheless, von Schlieben rejected a summons to surrender, and began carrying out demolitions to deny the port to the Allies. This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Collins launched a general assault on June 22. Resistance was stiff at first, but the Americans slowly cleared the Germans from their bunkers and concrete pillboxes. On June 26, the 79th Division captured Fort du Roule, which dominated the city and its defences. This finished any organised defence. Von Schlieben was captured. The harbour fortifications and the Arsenal surrendered a few days later, after a token resistance. Some German troops cut off outside the defences held out until July 1. June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ...

Aftermath

The Germans had thoroughly wrecked and mined the port, and it was not brought into limited use until the middle of August; the first ships were able to use the harbor in late July. Nevertheless, the Germans had sustained a major defeat, as a result of a rapid Allied buildup on their western flank, and Hitler's rigid orders.

General Friedrich Dollman, commanding the German Seventh Army, died of a heart attack on June 28, having just been informed of a court martial pending as a result of the capture of Cherbourg. Friedrich Dollmann Friedrich Dollmann (1876-June 30, 1944) was a German general during World War II, most notably serving during the early phases of the D-Day Invasion. ... The German Seventh Army (German: ) was a World War II field army. ... June 28 is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 186 days remaining. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ...

After the war ended, the West German government had to pay reparations (large sums of money) as compensation to any civilians in Cherbourg killed, being starved, or left homeless by the war.

Sources

Struggle for Europe, Chester Wilmot, Collins, London

External links

• Part of US Army Official history