Ste. Marie du Mont Fridge Magnet

Ste. Marie du Mont. 147mm x 50mm Fridge Magnet
Acrylic fridge magnet /freestanding desk sign

Ste. Marie du Mont is best known for being the scene of a military engagement between the American 101st Airborne Division and the German Wehrmacht on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont was occupied by sixty German soldiers of the 191 Artillery-Regiment (91. Infanterie Division). The Germans used the church tower as an observation post and on a clear day they could see all the way to the sea. Far away from an expected invasion near Calais, they could not know the village was at the southern edge of D-Day’s ‘drop zone c’. After heavy coastal bombardment by Allies just after midnight on 6 June 1944, the first American Paratroopers were dropped in dark early hours over occupied Normandy.

Plans were for troops of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 3rd Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division to land in ‘zone c’. Here behind Utah beach they were responsible for clearing a route for thousands of soldiers arriving by sea from England. A thick fog bank and heavy flak from coastal guns forced pilots away from their targets and left paratroopers in unknown territory, some facing enemy fire while still in the air. Just two thirds of troops designated for zone c were accurately dropped. A number found themselves landing in and around Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and quickly fighting for their lives with the rather surprised Germans.