La Jourdan Traditional Geocache

La Rivière 'La Jourdan' est un affluent de la Rivière 'La Douve'.

The river Jourdan is a tributary of the 'La Douve' River.

Carentan est située au milieu de vastes marais assainis et transformés en riches prairies, au confluent de la Taute et de la Douve. La Capitale des Marais, aux portes de la péninsule du Cotentin et de la baie des Veys, est au cœur du parc naturel régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin.

Carentan is surrounded by vast swamps, which have been transformed into rich meadows, at the confluence of the Taute and the Douve. The capital of the Marais, at the gates of the Peninsula of Cotentin and the bay of Veys, is in the heart of the regional natural reserve of the Cotentin and Bessin Marshes.

1944

During the allied invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europa on D-Day, the river was the boundary between the allied left flank landing forces on Utah Beach (on its left bank and so to the west nearest Roune) and the bloody defensive battle that occurred at Omaha Beach. The Utah beach landings were part of contingency planning only scheduled after ample landing craft became available and designed to give the allies a leg up on taking a port city, in this case, Cherbourg for without such, any sustained offensive was foredoomed to failure from lack of logistical capacity. Had the landing craft been lacking, the river would have protected the exposed right flank of the allied invasion lodgement. With Utah in the plan, it was used to originate an offensive aimed squarely at the early domination of the peninsula and capture of Cherbourg as the British-Canadian forces were to attempt an early capture of the port of Caen (and eventually Rouen) at the opposite end of the lodgement. Both cities were well protected by their German defenders.

Amongst those landing at the Douve was the unit known as the Filthy Thirteen, later the basis of the novel and film The Dirty Dozen, loosely inspired on the exploits of PFC Jack Agnew of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.