Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin (Manche)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
Liberation: July 28, 1944
Deployed units:
51st Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division
2. SS Panzer-Division “Das Reich”
Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6, 91. Infanterie-Division
History:
On July 24, 1944, the Americans launched Operation Cobra to pierce the front line south of Cotentin: 1,600 bombers of the 8th U.S. Air Force are engaged and the launch of the ground offensive begins the next day. On the right flank of the starting base of the operation, the American units are instructed to pin down the opponent to prevent it from containing the breakthrough.
As of 28 July, the day after the liberation of Périers, the 4th Armored Division commanded by Major General John Shirley Wood was hired on the first rung and progressed along the departmental road 971 in the direction of Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin. The German paratroopers of the Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6 (91. Infanterie-Division) and the elements of the SS Panzer-Division “Das Reich” charged with defending this sector retreated and abandoned the city to the Americans: the progression of the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion is quick and does not meet any particular opposition: at 8:30 pm, this unit seizes Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin without fighting.
The Mares castle west of Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin is requisitioned by the American army on the liberation of the city and hosts the staff of Lieutenant-General Omar Bradley commanding the 1st Army in Normandy. He received, among others, the visit of Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 7, 1944 and that of General Eisenhower on August 8.
Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin maps:
