101st Airborne Division shoulder insignia

Mission Albany was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. It was the opening step of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of France, Operation Overlord. 6,928 paratroopers made their jumps from more than 400 C-47 Skytrain troop carrier planes into an intended objective area of roughly 15 square miles located in the southeast corner of the Cotentin Peninsula of France five hours ahead of the D-Day landings. The landings were badly scattered by bad weather and German ground fire over an area twice as large, with some troops dropped as far as 20 miles away. It has been suggested that Northern France Campaign (1944) be merged into this article or section. ... Operation Neptune refers to the landing phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. ... The American airborne landings in Normandy were the initial U.S. combat operations of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. ... Operation Tonga: Pathfinders synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ... 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 Unknown Casualties 630 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[1] 7,771 Casualties 340 dead, 739 other casualties... 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 Unknown Casualties 400 altogether Unknown This article is about a World War II invasion. ... Combatants United States Nazi Germany Commanders Omar Bradley Norman Cota Clarence R. Huebner U.S. 1st Infantry Division U.S. 29th Infantry Division Dietrich Kraiss German 352nd Infantry Division Strength 43,250 Unknown Casualties 3,000 1,200 The build-up of Omaha Beach: reinforcements of men and equipment moving... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Raymond O. Barton Theodore Roosevelt Jr U.S. 4th Infantry Division Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben Dietrich Kraiss German 352nd Infantry Division German 709th Infantry Division Strength 32,000  ? Casualties 700 Unknown American assault troops move onto Utah Beach, carrying full equipment. ... Pointe du Hocs location Preinvasion bombing of Pointe du Hoc by 9th Air Force bombers. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Richard Winters unknown Strength 13 60+ Casualties 4 dead, 6 wounded 15 dead, 12 prisoner, Wounded unknown The Brécourt Manor Assault (June 6, 1944) during Operation Chicago of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small... 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 Germany Commanders J. Lawton Collins Friedrich Dollman Strength Unknown 40,000 Casualties 2,800 killed, 5,700 missing, 13,500 wounded 39,000 captured The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II, it was fought immediately after the successful Allied... 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. ... Combatants Allied Powers Germany Commanders General Omar Bradley, General George S. Patton SS General Paul Hausser Strength 8 infantry divisions, 4 armoured divisions 2 infantry divisions, 11 infantry battlegroups, 2 Panzer Divisions, 1 Panzergrenadier Division Casualties Unknown Unknown Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned... Combatants Allied Powers Germany Commanders Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey SS General Paul Hausser Strength 3 armoured divisions, 3 infantry divisions, 2 armoured brigades rising to: 3 Panzer Divisions, 3 infantry divisions Casualties N/A N/A Operation Bluecoat was an attack by British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy... Combatants Allied Powers Germany Commanders Omar Bradley Hans von Kluge Strength 5 infantry divisions, 3 armoured combat commands 3 Panzer Divisions, 2 infantry divisions, 5 panzer or infantry battlegroups Casualties N/A N/A Operation Lüttich was a counterattack launched by German forces on the left flank of the... Combatants First Canadian Army Germany Commanders Lieutenant General Guy Simonds SS General Kurt Meyer Strength 2 infantry divisions, 2 armoured divisions, 2 armoured brigades 3 infantry divisions, 1 SS Panzer Division During World War II, Operation Totalise (Allies, 1944) was a ground attack on 7 August 1944 by British, Canadian... Operation Tractable was a military operation commanded by II Canadian Corps in Normandy in August 1944. ... Combatants North: United Kingdom Canada Polish Army in the West South: United States Free French Forces Nazi Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Omar Bradley Guy Simonds George Patton Günther von Kluge Walter Model Strength unknown 150,000 Casualties Canadian: 18,500 Polish: 2,300 U.S and French: unknown 10... 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. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 101DIV.jpg Summary The 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division patch. ... Image File history File linksMetadata 101DIV.jpg Summary The 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division patch. ... 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. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The American airborne landings in Normandy were the initial U.S. combat operations of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. ... Operation Neptune refers to the landing phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota was a military transport that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. ... The Cotentin Peninsula juts out into the English Channel from Normandy towards England, forming part of the north-west coast of France. ...

Overview

The 101st Airborne Division's objectives for were to secure the four causeway exits behind Utah Beach, destroy a German coastal artillery battery at Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, capture buildings nearby at Mésières believed used as barracks and a command post for the artillery battery, capture the Douve River lock at la Barquette (opposite Carentan), capture two footbridges spanning the Douve River at la Porte opposite Brevands, destroy the highway bridges over the Douve at Sainte-Come-du-Mont, and secure the Douve River valley. Combatants United States Germany Commanders Raymond O. Barton Theodore Roosevelt Jr U.S. 4th Infantry Division Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben Dietrich Kraiss German 352nd Infantry Division German 709th Infantry Division Strength 32,000  ? Casualties 700 Unknown American assault troops move onto Utah Beach, carrying full equipment. ... The Douve or Ouve is a small river, 79 Km. ... The Douve or Ouve is a small river, 79 Km. ... The Douve or Ouve is a small river, 79 Km. ...

In the process units would also disrupt German communications, establish roadblocks to hamper the movement of German reinforcements, establish a defensive line between the beachhead and Volognes, clear the area of the drop zones to the unit boundary at Les Forges, and link up with the 82nd Airborne Division. The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was formed originally as the 82nd Infantry Division on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ...

Mission description

Albany was the first of two parachute missions, with "mission Boston" following it by one hour to drop the 82nd Airborne Division. Each mission consisted of three regiment-sized air landings. The drop zones of the 101st were east and south of Sainte-Mère-Église and lettered A, C, and D from north to south (Drop Zone B had been that of the 501st PIR before changes to the original landing plan made on May 27). The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was formed originally as the 82nd Infantry Division on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ...

C-47 of the 439th Troop Carrier Group, which carried the 506th PIR (of Band of Brothers fame) into Normandy. Group commander's aircraft, chalk #1 of serial 11, assigned to Drop Zone C

Each of its parachute infantry regiments (PIR) was transported by three or four "serials" (formations containing 36, 45, or 54 C-47s), totalling ten serials and 432 aircraft. The planes, individually numbered within a serial by "chalk numbers" (literally numbers chalked on the airplanes to aid paratroopers in boarding the correct airplane), were organized into flights in trail, in a close pattern called "vee's of vee's" (3 planes in triangular vee's arranged in a larger vee of 9 planes). The serials were scheduled over the drop zones at 6-minute intervals. The paratroopers were organized into "sticks", a plane load of troops numbering 15-18 men. Band of Brothers is an acclaimed 10-part television miniseries set during World War II, co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. ...

The main combat jumps were preceded at each drop zone by three teams of pathfinders that arrived thirty minutes before the main assault to set up navigation aids, including Eureka radar transponder beacons and marker lights, to aid the C-47s in locating the DZs in the dark. One version of the patch worn on the uniforms of American pathfinders who served during World War II. During World War II, the pathfinders were a group of volunteers selected within the Airborne units who were specially trained to operate navigation aids to guide the main airborne body to the... The Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar was a transponder system used as a radio homing beacon by means of a Eureka ground emitter responding to queries from an airborne Rebecca interrogator. ...

To achieve surprise, the parachute drops were routed to approach Normandy at low altitude from the west. The serials took off beginning at 2230 on June 5, assembled into formations, and flew southwest over the English Channel at 500 feet MSL to remain below German radar coverage. Once over water all lights except formation lights were turned off, and these were reduced to their lowest practical intensity. At a stationary marker boat code-named "Hoboken" and carrying a Eureka beacon they made a left turn to the southeast and flew between the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Alderney to their initial point on the Cotentin coast at Portbail, code-named "Muleshoe". Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... This article is about the British dependencies. ... Capital St Anne Status Part of Guernsey, Crown dependency of the UK Official language(s) English Head of Government Sir Norman Browse Population 2,400 Currency Pound sterling (GBP). ...

Over the Cotentin Peninsula numerous factors negatively affected the accuracy of the drops, including a solid cloud bank over the entire western half of the 22-mile wide peninsula at penetration altitude (1500 feet MSL), an opaque ground fog over many drop zones,and intense German antiaircraft fire ("flak"). The weather conditions broke up and dispersed many formations and the ground fire scattered them even more. However the primary factor limiting success of the paratroop units, because it magnified all the errors resulting from the above factors, was the decision to make a massive parachute drop at night. FLAK was a punk rock side project of members of the band Machinae Supremacy in 2001. ...

D-Day assault

Drop Zone A

The paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles" jumped between 0048 and 0140 British Double Summer Time of June 6. The first wave, inbound to Drop Zone A (the northernmost), was not surprised by the cloud bank and maintained formation, but navigating errors and a lack of Eureka signal caused the first error. While the 2nd Battalion 502nd PIR was almost entirely dropped as a compact unit it jumped on the wrong drop zone, while the its commander, Lt Col. Steven A. Chappuis, came down virtually alone on the correct drop zone. Chappuis and this stick captured the coastal battery soon after assembling, and found that it had already been dismantled after an air raid. British Summer Time (BST), known in Ireland as Irish Summer Time (IST), is the daylight saving time in effect in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October each year. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Most of the remainder of the 502nd (70 of 80 sticks) dropped in a disorganized pattern around the impromptu drop zone set up by the pathfinders near the beach. The battalion commanders of the 1st and 3rd Battalions, Lt Col. Patrick J. Cassidy (1/502) and Lt Col. Robert G. Cole (3/502), took charge of small groups and accomplished all of their D-Day missions. Cassidy's group took Saint Martin-de-Varreville by 0630, sent a patrol under S/Sgt. Harrison C. Summers to seize the "XYZ" barracks at Mésières, and set up a thin line of defense from Fourcarville to Beuzeville. Cole's group moved during the night from near Saint Mère Église to the Varreville battery, then continued on and captured Exit 3 at 0730. They held the position during the morning until relieved by troops moving inland from Utah Beach. Both commanders found Exit 4 covered by German artillery fire and Cassidy recommended to the 4th Infantry Division that it not use the exit. Look up stick, sticks in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole (March 19, 1915 – September 18, 1944) was an American soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the days following the D-Day Normandy invasion of World War II. // Robert G. Cole was born in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. ... Harrison C. Summers (? -- 1983) was a paratrooper during World War II who fought with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division on D-Day. ... It has been suggested that U.S. 1st Brigade 4th Infantry Division be merged into this article or section. ...

The division's parachute artillery did not fare nearly as well. Its drop was one of the worst of the operation, losing all but one howitzer and dropping all but two of 54 loads four to twenty miles to the north, where most ultimately became casualties.

Drop Zone C

The second wave, assigned to drop the 506th PIR on Drop Zone C, was badly dispersed by the clouds, then subjected to intense antiaircraft fire for ten miles. Three of the 81 C-47s were lost before or during the jump. One, piloted by 1st Lt. Marvin F. Muir of the 439th Troop Carrier Group, caught fire. Lt. Muir held the aircaft steady while the stick jumped, then died when the plane crashed immediately afterward, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Despite the opposition, the 506th's 1st Battalion^[1] (the original division reserve) was dropped accurately on DZ C, landing 2/3 of its sticks and regimental commander Col. Robert Sink on or within a mile of the drop zone. The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ...

The 2nd Battalion,^[2] much of which had jumped too far west near Sainte-Mère-Église, eventually assembled near Foucarville at the northern edge of the 101st Airborne's objective area. It fought its way to the hamlet of le Chemin near the Houdienville causeway by mid-afternoon, but found that the 4th Division had already seized the exit hours before. The 3rd Battalion of the 501st PIR,^[3] also assigned to jump onto DZ C, was more scattered, but took over the mission of securing the exits. An ad hoc company-sized team that included division commander Maj. Gen. Taylor reached the Pouppeville exit at 0600. After a six-hour house-clearing battle with elements of the German 1058th Grenadier Regiment, the group secured the exit shortly before 4th Division troops arrived to link up. A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ...

Drop Zone D

The third wave also encountered severe flak, losing 6 aircraft. The troop carriers still made an accurate drop, placing 94 of 132 sticks on or close to the drop zone, but part of the DZ was covered by pre-registered German machinegun and mortar fire that inflicted heavy casualties before many troops could get out of their chutes. Among the killed were two of the three battalion commanders^[4] and the executive officer of the 3/506th. FLAK was a punk rock side project of members of the band Machinae Supremacy in 2001. ...

The surviving battalion commander, Lt Col. Robert A. Ballard, gathered 250 troopers and advanced toward Saint Côme-du-Mont to complete his mission of destroying the highway bridges over the Douve. Less than half a mile from his objective at les Droueries he was stopped by elements of III Battalion 1058th Grenadiers. Another group of 50 men, assembled by the regimental S-3, Major Richard J. Allen, attacked the same area from the east at Basse Addeville but was also pinned down.

The commander of the 501st PIR, Col. Howard R. Johnson, collected 150 troops and captured the main objective, the la Barquette lock, by 0400. After establishing defensive positions, Col. Johnson went back to the DZ and assembled another 100 men, including Allen's group, to reinforce the bridgehead. Despite naval gunfire support from the cruiser Quincy, Ballard's battalion was unable to take Saint Côme-du-Mont or join Col. Johnson. The third USS Quincy (CA 71), a heavy cruiser, was authorized 17 June 1940; laid down by the Bethlehem Steel Company, Shipbuilding Division, Quincy, Massachusetts as 9 October 1941; renamed Quincy 16 October 1942 to perpetuate that name after destruction of the second Quincy at the Battle of Savo Island...

The S-3 officer of the 3rd Battalion 506th PIR, Capt. Charles G. Shettle, put together a platoon and achieved another objective by seizing two foot bridges near la Porte at 0430 and crossed to the east bank. When their ammunition drew low after knocking out several machine gun emplacements, the small force withdrew to the west bank. It doubled in size overnight as stragglers came in, and repulsed a German probe across the bridges. Platoon of the German Bundeswehr. ...

Other actions

Two other noteworthy actions took place near Saint Marie-du-Mont by units of the 506th PIR, both of which involved the seizure and destruction of batteries of 105mm howitzers of the German III Battalion-191st Artillery Regiment. During the morning, a small patrol of troopers from Company E 506th PIR under 1st Lt. Richard D. Winters overwhelmed a force 3-4 times its size and destroyed four guns at a farm called Brécourt Manor. Remains of a battery of English cannon from Youghal, County Cork. ... 19th century 12 pounder (5 kg) mountain howitzer displayed by the National Park Service at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, USA A howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at trajectories with... This article needs cleanup. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Richard Winters unknown Strength 13 60+ Casualties 4 dead, 6 wounded 15 dead, 12 prisoner, Wounded unknown The Brécourt Manor Assault (June 6, 1944) during Operation Chicago of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small...

Also that morning, Col. Sink received word that a second battery of four guns had been discovered at Holdy, between his CP and Saint Marie-du-Mont, and the defenders had a force of some 70 paratroopers pinned down. Capt. Lloyd E Patch (Headquarters Company 1st/506th) and Capt. Knut H. Raudstein (Company C 506th PIR) led an additional 70 troops to Holdy and enveloped the position. The combined force then continued on to seize Saint Marie-du-Mont. A platoon of the 502nd PIR, left to hold the battery, destroyed three of the four guns before word from Col. Sink to save the guns was received.

At the end of D-Day, the 101st Airborne Division had accomplished its most important mission of securing the beach exits, but had a tenuous hold on positions near the Douve River, over which the Germans could still move units. The three groups clustered there had tenuous contact with each other but none with the rest of the division. Gen. Taylor had control of approximately 2,500 of his 6,600 men, most of which were in the vicinity of the 506th CP at Couville, with the thin defense line west of Saint Germain-du-Varreville, or in division reserve at Blosville.

Air movement table - mission Albany

RAF North Witham at British national grid reference SK947229, an air station of the Second World War period, established by the British Royal Air Force, was lent to the United States Army Air Forces and is now abandoned in Twyford Wood, Colsterworth, Lincolnshire. ... Greenham Common in 2005. ... RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station that is now the location for Membury Services on the M4 motorway. ... Upottery airfield, 22 April 1944 RAF Upottery was a World War II airfield in England. ... RAF Welford is a UK Royal Air Force station which is presently occupied by the United States visiting forces. ... Merryfield airfield, 1943 RAF Merryfield was a World War II airfield in England a mile north of Isle Ahhotts just east of the Tauntonlllminstcr rail line in low lying meadows not far from the River Isle in Somerset. ... Exeter International Airport (IATA: EXT, ICAO: EGTE) is an international airport close to the city of Exeter in the county of Devon, England. ...

See also

• Carentan bayonet charge led by Robert G. Cole
• Brécourt Manor Assault
• Harrison C. Summers

Carentan is a town and commune of the Manche département in Normandy, France. ... Lieutenant Colonel Robert G. Cole (March 19, 1915 – September 18, 1944) was an American soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the days following the D-Day Normandy invasion of World War II. // Robert G. Cole was born in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Richard Winters unknown Strength 13 60+ Casualties 4 dead, 6 wounded 15 dead, 12 prisoner, Wounded unknown The Brécourt Manor Assault (June 6, 1944) during Operation Chicago of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small... Harrison C. Summers (? -- 1983) was a paratrooper during World War II who fought with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division on D-Day. ...

Externasl links

• US Army map of area of operations Large scale topographical map depicts the 101st's area on the right half.

References

• Warren, Dr. John C. USAF Historical Study 97: Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater (1956). Air University.
• "The Airborne Assault" - Utah to Cherbourg, Volume 13 of a US Army history of the campaign
• Cross-Channel Attack, Chapter VIII, US Army history of the invasion
• U.S. Airborne in Cotentin Peninsula

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