82nd Airborne Division shoulder insignia

Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. Boston was a component of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of France, Operation Overlord. 6,420 paratroopers jumped from nearly 370 C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft into an intended objective area of roughly 10 square miles located on either side of the Merderet River on the Cotentin Peninsula of France five hours ahead of the D-Day landings. Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France 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... 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. ... 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. ... 101st Airborne Division shoulder insignia Mission Chicago was a pre-dawn glider-borne combat assault in the American airborne landings in Normandy, made by elements of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division on the early morning of June 6, 1944. ... Mission Detroit was a pre-dawn glider-borne combat assault in the American airborne landings in Normandy, made by elements of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on the early morning of June 6, 1944. ... During World War II, mission Elmira was the landing of a significant part of the the 82nd Airborne Division’s glider train in Normandy on the evening of 6 June 1944 as part of Operation Neptune, the assault phase of Operation Overlord. ... 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... Combatants Aircraft of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force HQ of Panzer Group West Strength 40 Typhoons 61 Mitchells Casualties None recorded Killed: Sigismund-Helmut von Dawans and 17 other staff officers Wounded: Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg The Attack on Panzer Group Wests headquarters at La Caine in Normandy... This does not cite its references or sources. ... 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 links 82_ABD_SSI.PNG // Summary SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA. Description: Upon a red square 2 3/8 inches on a side a blue disc 1 3/4 inches in diameter with the letters AA in white. ... Image File history File links 82_ABD_SSI.PNG // Summary SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA. Description: Upon a red square 2 3/8 inches on a side a blue disc 1 3/4 inches in diameter with the letters AA in white. ... 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. ... 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 is 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. ...

The drops were scattered by bad weather and German antiaircraft fire over an area 3 to 4 times as large as that planned. Two regiments of the division was to block approaches west of the Merderet River, but most of their units missed their drop zones entirely. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment jumped accurately and captured its objective, which proved essential to the success of the division. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (505th PIR) is one of three infantry regiments of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. ...

Overview

The 82nd Airborne Division was a veteran outfit, with two of its regiments making combat jumps in Sicily and Italy. The 504th PIR, however, had not arrived in England in time to train for Neptune, and had been replaced in the mission by the unblooded 507th and 508th PIRs, temporarily attached for the operation. Because of its combat experience, the 82nd was assigned the riskier of the two jump missions, into the center of the Cotentin. Its glider infantry regiment was scheduled to fly in on June 7.

The 82nd Airborne's objectives were to capture the town of Sainte Mère Église, a crucial communications crossroad behind Utah Beach, and to block the approaches into the area from the west and southwest. They were to seize causeways and bridges over the Merderet at la Fiere and Chef-du-Pont, destroy the highway bridge over the Douve River at Pont l'Abbé (now Étienville), and secure the area west of Sainte Mère Église to establish a defensive line between Gourbesville and Renouf. Sainte-Mère-Église is a small town and commune of the Manche département, in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy, France. ... 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. ...

In the process units would also disrupt German communications, establish roadblocks to hamper the movement of German reinforcements, establish a defensive line between Neuville and Baudienville to the north, clear the area of the drop zones to the unit boundary at Les Forges and link up with the 101st Airborne Division. 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. ...

To complete its assignments, the 82nd Airborne Division divided itself into three forces:

• Force A (parachute): the three parachute infantry regiments and support detachments, commanded by Assistant Division Commander Brig Gen. James Gavin,
• Force B (glider): the glider infantry regiment and artillery battalions, and airborne support elements, commanded by Division Commander Maj Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, and
• Force C (seaborne): remaining combat elements, division support troops and attached units including tanks, landing at Utah Beach, commanded by Assistant Division Commander Brig Gen. George P. Howell.

James Gavin may refer to either of the following: James Gavin (Unification Church), leader of the Unification Church in Minnesota. ... Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 - July 26, 1993) was a United States Army general. ...

Mission description

Albany was the second of two combat jumps, with "mission Albany" preceding it by one hour to drop the 101st Airborne Division. Each mission consisted of three regiment-sized air landings. Drop Zones T and N were west of the Merderet River from north to south, and Drop Zone O was east of it, just northwest of Sainte Mère Église. 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. ... 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. ...

C-47 of the 303d TCS/442d TCG in invasion markings. The 442nd TCG carried the 1st Battalion 507th PIR on D-Day.

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 369 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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The main combat assaults 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 near Les Pieux, code-named "Peoria". 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. Golden Gate Bridge in Fog Evening fog obscures Londons Tower Bridge from passers by. ... FLAK was a punk rock side project of members of the band Machinae Supremacy in 2001. ...

Parachute assault

Missed drop zones

The 82d Airborne's drop, mission "Boston", began at 0151. The 505th PIR, assigned to jump on Drop Zone O, was scheduled to arrive ten minutes after the last serial of the 101st's drop. The C-47s carrying the 505th did not experience or else overcame the difficulties that had plagued the 101st's drops. Pathfinders on DZ O turned on their Eureka beacons as the first 82nd serial crossed the initial point and lighted holophane markers on all three battalion assembly areas. The 2nd Battalion, first to jump, was accurate but jumped from above the planned altitude. C-47s carrying the 3rd and 1st Battalions were off course but adjusted in time to jump. Most flights were able to fly in formation above the clouds and none encountered serious antiaircraft opposition. As a result the 505th enjoyed the most accurate of the D-Day drops, half the regiment dropping on or within a mile of its DZ, and 75% within two miles.

The other regiments were more significantly dispersed and 8 aircraft were shot down, several with paratroopers still inside. The 508th experienced the worst drop of any of the PIRs. Its serials had not see the clouds and flew through rather than over them, with C-47s taking evasive action to avoid collisions. Minutes later they emerged into fierce antiaircraft fire. In need of pathfinder aids, the pilots discovered that the sets near DZ N were ineffective or not turned on. The flight leaders navigated accurately to the drop zone, but most of their flights were no longer in formation. 25% of the 508th PIR came down within a mile of the DZ, and another quarter within 2 miles. Fully half the regiment was unavailable for its assigned taks, however, because it dropped east of the Merderet, and half of those jumped more than 10 miles away or were missing.^[1]

1st Lt. Malcolm D. Brannen, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion 508th PIR came down between Picauville and Etienville, south of the DZ. Near dawn, just after observing the landing of reinforcements by gliders in mission Chicago, Brannen and the group of paratroopers he had assembled fired on an automobile headed for Picauville at high speed, and in a brief firefight, Brannen shot and killed Generalleutnant Wilhelm Falley, division commander of the 91st Air Landing Division. Lieutenant-General Wilhelm Falley (b 25 Sept 1897) was the first German General killed in the Normandy Landings. ...

The 507th PIR's pathfinders landed accurately on DZ T, but because of Germans nearby, marker lights could not be turned on. Many of its C-47s straggled and only 3 sticks jumped on the DZ. From 30 to 50 sticks (450-750 troops) landed nearby in grassy swampland along the river. Estimates of drowning casualties vary from "a few"^[2] to "scores"^[3] (against an overall D-Day loss in the division of 156 killed in action), but much equipment was lost and the troops had difficulty assembling. Temporary grave of an American machine-gunner during the Battle of Normandy. ...

Almost 30 sticks of the 507th came down in 101st Airborne areas and became temporarily attached to that division. The headquarters company of the 1st Battalion, carried by the last serial of the night, was dropped 5 mles beyond Carentan at Montmartin-en-Graignes. They rallied other stragglers and fought off attacks by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division for five days before 150 managed to infiltrate back to Carentan in small groups. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The 17. ...

Sainte Mère Église

Timely assembly enabled the 505th to accomplish two of its missions on schedule. The 3rd Battalion captured Sainte Mère Église by 0430 without firing a shot. It set out roadblocks and took up defensive positions against expected counterattacks. The 2nd Battalion established a blocking position on the northern approaches to Sainte Mère Église with a single platoon (3rd Platoon, D Company) while the rest of the unit reinforced the 3rd Battalion when it came under heavy attack from the south by infantry and armor at mid-morning. The platoon delayed two companies of the 1058th Grenadier Regiment at Neuville-au-Plain for eight hours, allowing the troops in Sainte Mère Église to repel the southern threat. Sainte-Mère-Église is a small town and commune of the Manche département, in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy, France. ...

Along the Merderet

The 1st Battalion did not achieve its objectives of capturing bridges over the Merderet at la Fière and Chef-du-Pont. Company A was unable to take the bridge near la Fière, a farm two miles west of Sainte Mère Église, despite the assistance of several hundred troops from the 507th and 508th PIRs that had jumped in the area. After several attempts to force a passage over the causeway or outflank the defenses had failed, Brig. Gen. James Gavin, the assistant division commander of the 82nd Airborne, began committing troops elsewhere and accompanied one force to take the bridge at Chef-du-Pont. James Gavin may refer to either of the following: James Gavin (Unification Church), leader of the Unification Church in Minnesota. ...

Col. Roy Lindquist, commander of the 508th PIR, was left in charge at la Fière and led an assault at noon that eradicated the German defense, effecting a link up with an isolated group on the west bank. Through miscommunication and poor assumptions, the lodgment was not consolidated and was overrun by a German counterattack an hour later. A U.S. counterattack by Company B 508th PIR crossed the bridge but was broken up and the survivors forced to swim the river to safety.

Lindquist brought the entire 1st Battalion 505th PIR into the line to defend against further counterattacks. Supported by intense artillery and mortar fire, the 1057th Grenadier Regiment and the 100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion (a unit with captured French tanks and three obsolete German tanks) overran the 1st Battalion command post late in the afternoon of June 6 before being stopped by bazooka fire. Gen. Gavin returned from Chef-du-Pont and withdrew all but a platoon to beef up the defense at la Fière. For other uses, see Bazooka (disambiguation). ...

None of the 82nd's objectives of clearing areas west of the Merderet and destroying bridges over the Douve were achieved on D-Day. However one makeshift battalion of the 508th PIR seized a small hill near the Merderet and disrupted German counterattacks on Chef-du-Pont for three days, effectively accomplishing its mission. Two company-sized pockets of the 507th held out behind the German center of resistance at Amfreville until relieved by the seizure of the causeway on June 9. Amfreville is a commune of the Manche département, in the Basse-Normandie France. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...

Air movement table - mission Boston

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. ... RAF Cottesmore is a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. ... Spanhoe Airfield - 2 March 1944. ... Saltby Airfield - 18 April 1944. ... Location within the British Isles RAF Folkingham at British national grid reference SK0530, an air station of the Second World War period, was established in phases on a convex hilltop, by the British Royal Air Force and was lent to the United States Army Air Forces. ... RAF Barkston Heath is a Royal Air Force station near Grantham, Lincolnshire. ... RAF Fullbeck during World War II, 18 April 1944. ...

External links

• US Army map of area of operations Large scale topographical map depicts the 82nd's area on the left center.

References

• Warren, Dr. John C. USAF Historical Study 97: Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater (1956). Air University.
• U.S. Airborne in Cotentin Peninsula