Saint-James (Manche)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
- Liberation: 2 August 1944
- Deployed units:
79th Infantry Division
8th Infantry Division
825th Engineer Aviation Battalion
373rd Fighter Group, 19th Tactical Air Command, 9th Air Force
- History:
On August 1, 1944, the breakthrough south of the Cotentin Peninsula was largely exploited by General Patton’s Third Army. While the 6th Armored Division pushed westward into Brittany toward Dinan, the 79th Infantry Division (ID), which reached Pontorson on August 2, was preparing to follow it to support its advance. But shortly before noon, General Patton’s counter-order arrived at Major General Ira T. Wyche’s command post: his division was now attached to the 15th Corps and was to seize the Fougères road junction that evening to prevent a German counteroffensive that would threaten the American entry into Brittany. This reorganization required multiple road movements, which caused significant delays for General Wyche’s division.
To maintain up-to-date intelligence on the intentions of the opposing forces, the 79th Reconnaissance Troop of the 79th Infantry Division was dispatched toward Fougères early in the evening of August 2nd, reconnoitering the axis between Pontaubault and Fougères. These troops crossed the undefended village of Saint-James, which they did not hold for long. On August 3rd, at 6:00 PM, the 313th Infantry Regiment began its advance, halting only under cover of darkness south of Saint-James, followed by the 314th Infantry Regiment in second echelon. Elements of the 8th Infantry Division also crossed Saint-James on the evening of August 3rd.
On August 6th, part of General Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division, attached to the 15th Corps, stationed itself in Saint-James before continuing the next day toward Le Mans. A few days later, on August 11, work began on the installation of the airfield named « ALG A-29 » south of the town. It was carried out by sappers from the 825th Engineer Aviation Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Woods G. Talman. On August 18, P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers from the 373rd Fighter Group, arriving from A-13 Airfield in Tour-en-Bessin, moved into Saint-James until September 19. The land was returned to its owners on September 28.
Near Saint-James, in the commune of Montjoie-Saint-Martin, the Americans began installing a temporary cemetery on August 5. When temporary cemeteries in France closed, this site was chosen to remain: 4,410 military graves are now gathered in a space administered by the American Battle Monument Commission, under the name « American Cemetery and Memorial of Brittany », commonly called « Saint-James Cemetery ».
Saint-James map:
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