The Battle of

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an Offensive (military), offensive launched by the United States First United States Army, First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Invasion of Norman ...

. Saint-Lô had fallen to Germany in 1940, and, after the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, the Americans targeted the city, as it served as a strategic crossroads. American bombardments caused heavy damage (up to 95% of the city was destroyed) and a high number of casualties, which resulted in the martyr city being called "The Capital of Ruins", popularized in a

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

Background

300px, Front lines shortly before the battle France was invaded in 1940 and the 7th Panzer Division, commanded by

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

, entered

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, with the objective of capturing Cherbourg Harbor. Saint-Lô fell under German control on the night of June 17, 1940. During the occupation, the statue of ''la Laitière normande'' (the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

milkmaid), created by Arthur Le Duc was dismantled and melted down to make cannons, despite opposition from local politicians. In 1943, the Germans began digging an underground hospital, which remains today, using the slave labor of the

STO STO may refer to: Businesses and organizations Government * Science & Technology Organization, a NATO organization * ''Service du travail obligatoire'', French men & women between certain ages deported to Germany during WWII to work as slave la ...

. A German soldier was shot in January 1944, and many Saint-Lô residents were detained. The movie theater, theater, and bars were closed, radios were confiscated, and the curfew was moved to 8 p.m.

American bombardment

Due to its strategic importance as a crossroads, a bombardment by the Americans, focusing on the railway station and the power plant, began on the night of July 6, and lasted into the morning of July 7. The objective was to cut off German reinforcements in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

from the front. Warning leaflets were dropped the day before, but high winds dispersed them to neighboring communities, failing to alert local residents. Over two hundred prisoners were killed at the local prison, including seventy-six imprisoned French patriots (all that remains of the prison today is the gate). File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1984-043-03, Frankreich, St. Lô, Zerstörungen.jpg, Saint-Lô after U.S. bombing, July 1944 File:Saint-Lô Railway station destroyed.jpg, Saint-Lô Train Station ruins File:Saint-Lô - Porte de la prison.jpg, The old prison gate

The capital of ruins

Photograph of the Flag-Draped Body of Major Thomas D

The task of taking control of Saint-Lô was entrusted to the XIX Corps of the

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

, under General Charles H. Corlett. As of July 15, 1944, the corps included: * The 29th Infantry Division, located on the Bayeux road from La Luzerne to Saint-André-de-l'Épine and moving southwest into the city. It was commanded by Major General

Charles H. Gerhardt Major general (United States), Major General Charles Hunter Gerhardt (June 6, 1895 – October 9, 1976) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. During the latter, he commande ...

. * The 30th Infantry Division, located on the road to Périers to the west of Saint-Lô, near

Le Mesnil-Durand Le Mesnil-Durand () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Livarot-Pays-d'Auge.Leland S. Hobbs. * The 35th Infantry Division, located on the Isigny road and fighting south to Saint-Lô in a line extending from

Pont-Hébert Pont-Hébert () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Le Hommet-d'Arthenay was merged into P ...

to the vicinity of Hill 122, commanded by Major General

Paul W. Baade Major general (United States), Major General Paul William Baade (April 16, 1889 – October 9, 1959) was a highly decorated United States Army officer. The United States Military Academy (USMA) alumni and veteran of World War I, he is most noted ...

. Opposing them, the German army had two divisions protecting the Saint-Lô front: * The 352nd Infantry Division, commanded by ''Generalleutnant''

Dietrich Kraiß __NOTOC__ Dietrich Kraiss (16 November 1889 – 6 August 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Military career World War I On 24 March 1909 Krai ...

. * The 3rd Division of the 2nd Parachute Corps, commanded by ''General der Fallschirmtruppe''

Eugen Meindl __NOTOC__ Eugen Meindl (16 July 1892 – 24 January 1951) was a German paratroop general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Life and career Born in 18 ...

The 29th Infantry Division enters the city

The 29th Infantry Division attacked through the hedgerows to the northeast of Saint-Lô, near the Madeleine quarter, taking heavy casualties. On July 15, the 1st Battalion of the 116th Infantry Regiment, led by Major Sidney Bingham (called the "lost battalion"), unwittingly advanced ahead of other division elements and found itself isolated 1,000 yards east of Saint-Lô for an entire day without ammunition and with little food. They had 25 wounded, with only three medics, and were surrounded by German forces. Planes were called in to drop

plasma Plasma or plasm may refer to: Science * Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter * Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral * Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics Biology * Blood pla ...

. Martainville hill was continuously showered by German artillery. On July 17, the 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry, under Major Thomas D. Howie, joined up with the "lost battalion" around 4:30 in the morning. Hidden by dense vegetation, the 3rd Battalion had orders not to return enemy fire, and use only their bayonets. The mission was successful, but Howie was fatally wounded by a mortar shell explosion. Their position was then heavily attacked, preventing any further movement that day. On July 17, Captain William Puntenney, Major Howie's

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

, requested artillery and air support to disperse the German troops. Short of munitions, still at the crossroads of the Madeleine, they found themselves at a mine depot, abandoned by the Germans. Meanwhile, the

115th Infantry Regiment The 115th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It traced its roots back to the American Revolutionary War, although its official U.S. Army lineage begins in 1881. The units to which ...

passed through La Luzerne, deploying at the bottom of the Dollée Valley. On July 18, a company from the 116th established position along the Madeleine and the Germans retreated west to

Rampan Rampan () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France. The communes cooperate in the following inte ...

. An operations group was placed under the direction of General

Norman Cota Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota, Sr. (May 30, 1893 – October 4, 1971) was a senior United States Army officer who fought during World War II. Cota was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in June 1944, co ...

to form Task Force C. Around 3:00 p.m., the tanks along the road to Isigny were followed by ranks of soldiers. They fought their way into the Bascule district of Saint-Lô, near the Saint-Croix (Holy Cross) church. When Major Howie died of his wounds, room was needed in the ambulance for the living wounded, and his body was placed on the hood of the lead jeep, symbolically making him the first American soldier to enter the city. His body was then placed on some rubble and draped in a flag, in a photo that was widely circulated.

Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program '' 60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 201 ...

, who witnessed the event as a '' Stars and Stripes'' reporter, called this "one of the truly heartwarming and emotional scenes of a gruesome and frightful war".

Legacy

In memory of this battle, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

''Midway'' (CVE-63) was renamed USS ''St. Lo'' on October 10, 1944. The ship was sunk on October 25, 1944, during the

Battle of Leyte Gulf The Battle of Leyte Gulf ( fil, Labanan sa golpo ng Leyte, lit=Battle of Leyte gulf; ) was the largest naval battle of World War II and by some criteria the largest naval battle in history, with over 200,000 naval personnel involved. It was fou ...

, by a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

attack. In 1946,

wrote a piece of reportage called " The Capital of the Ruins", in which he referred to the city as having been "bombed out of existence in one night". On 2 June 1948, the city was decorated with both the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

and the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

. A monument to Major Howie, the "Major of St-Lô", was erected in the city (see adjacent photo), near the cemetery. Image:USS St. Lo Cve63.jpg, USS ''St. Lo'' Image:Monument Major Howie.jpg, Major Howie Memorial Monument

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Lo 1944 in France Battles and operations of World War II involving the United States Military operations of World War II involving Germany Operation Overlord July 1944 events