A primary objective of the operation Overlord is to capture the town of Carentan.
This will not happen without difficulty.
Normandie, France, 6 juin 1944. Il est à peine 00h15 lorsque les parachutistes américains de la 101ème Airborne Division du Général Maxwell D. Taylor sautent sur la Normandie et deviennent ainsi les premiers soldats à toucher le sol français; leur mission principale, s’emparer de la ville de Carentan.
Celle-ci est défendue par l’élite des troupes allemandes, les parachutistes du Major von der Heydte, les Diables Verts du 6ème Fallschirmjäger Regiment.
Les Allemands sont retranchés à Saint-Côme-du-Mont, dernier bastion aux portes de Carentan. Ils ont reçu l’ordre de défendre la ville jusqu’au dernier. Pour les américains, il est vital de s’emparer au plus vite de Carentan. Ils attendent le soutien du 70ème Bataillon de chars légers débarqués à Utah Beach. Pour eux, une seule route possible, celle d’Utah Beach.
Celle-ci venant de la plage traverse Sainte-Marie-du-Mont et se termine à mi-chemin sur la route Carentan/Saint-Côme-du-Mont. Au croisement des deux routes se trouve une seule maison ; elle sert successivement de QG et d’infirmerie aux paras allemands.
Le 8 juin, traversant les haies et les champs du bocage normand, les Américains lancent toutes leurs forces dans la bataille et atteignent les environs de St-Côme-du-Mont.
Le premier char arrive à l’intersection des deux routes, et tente de s’engager vers Carentan. Il est stoppé net par un coup direct tuant le chef de char, le Lieutenant Walter T. Anderson du Minnesota. Dès lors, et ce pendant plusieurs jours, l’épave du char et le corps d’Anderson pendu en dehors de la tourelle resteront sur place. D'abord appelé "the corner with the dead guy in the tank", pour les américains, ce lieu restera à jamais le « CARREFOUR DE L’HOMME MORT ».
Source : Centre Historique des Parachutistes du Jour J
Normandy, France - Beginning at 00:15, in the darkness of June 6th, 1944, General Maxwell D. Taylor's paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division became the first Allied soldiers to touch French soil. They had been assigned the mission of capturing the key Norman city of Carentan.
Before them lay Saint-Côme-du-Mont, defended by a well-entrenched, crack German unit - the Fallschirmjagers of the Luftwaffe - the famed German parachutists. Here, the troopers of the 101st were to be committed in the first large-scale attack launched by the Division during the invasion. The Germans had been issued orders to hold Carentan at all costs.
For the Americans, it was vital to capture the city, so they waited for the supporting light tanks landing on Utah Beach to move inland. Only one road was open to the tankers. This one road led from the beach, passed through Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and terminated at the Carentan/Saint-Côme-du-Mont road. A single house located at this intersection served as both a Headquarters and, later, as an Aid Station for the German paras.
On June 8th, from hedgerow to hedgerow, through field after field, then onto the road and on into town, fierce fighting raged as the Eagle troopers swept into the streets of St. Come-du-Mont.
As the first American tank reached this intersection and drove toward Carentan, it was struck in the turret by a German rocket. The tank was disabled and the commander, lieutenant Walter T. Anderson from Minnesota, was killed. For several days thereafter, the hull remained abandoned at the intersection, with the dead lieutenant hanging out of the turret. The paratroopers at first referred to 'the corner with the dead guy in the tank', but soon shortened it to 'Dead Man's Corner', by which name it will always be remembered.
Source : D-Day Paratrooper Historical center
