Couvains (Manche)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
- Liberation: 13 June 1944
- Deployed units:
115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division
116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division
121st Engineer Combat Battalion
747th Tank Battalion
353. Infanterie-Division
- History:
In a bid to delay German reinforcements heading for the fragile bridgehead at Omaha Beach, the Allies bombed dozens of villages crossed by potential German routes. Couvains was the target of a violent air raid on the night of 7 to 8 June 1944, killing seventeen of its inhabitants and turning the village into a heap of ruins. Some of the population took refuge for several days in the Château de Vains, in very rudimentary hygiene conditions.
Less than a week later, on 12 June, the survivors of the landings at ‘Bloody Omaha’ were on their way to Saint-Lô. The infantrymen of the 116th Infantry Regiment (29th Infantry Division) had managed to repel their opponents, who were trying to resist despite a catastrophic logistical situation. The latter lined up scattered units belonging to the 353. Infantry Division and fought together in joint battle groups.
Before they could take Saint-Lô, the Americans initially ordered the 115th Infantry Regiment (IR) to cross the River Elle at 5am and then attack Couvains, while the divisional artillery carried out interdiction fire on the outskirts of the village to prevent any counter-attack. But German resistance was stronger than expected and the 3rd Battalion, 115th IR, came under heavy machine-gun and mortar fire, suffering heavy casualties between Couvains and Saint-Jean-de-Savigny. The defenders were particularly mobile in this sector, taking advantage of the bocage to infiltrate to the north and then breaking contact to the south on several occasions, completely confusing the Americans. Three tanks of the 747th Tank Battalion, engaged in support of the infantry, were neutralised by the Germans.
At 4.30 p.m., the 116th IR was put on alert to relaunch the action: its first units crossed the Elle from 8.30 p.m. until nightfall, reinforced by the 3rd Battalion of the 115th IR and supported by Company B of the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion. The village of Couvains was secured on the morning of 13 June and the Americans set up a defensive perimeter in the immediate vicinity of the town to stop any further enemy counter-attacks.
On 14 June, with the 29th Infantry Division in a defensive position, German infiltration attempts continued. That same day, Technical Sergeant Frank Peregory (K Company, 116th IR) was killed while attacking a German machine gun south of Couvains, just six days after having distinguished himself during the liberation of the village of Grandcamp-les-Bains, without having had time to learn that he would be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour.
Until 11 July, the division was unable to cross the front line towards Saint-Lô, despite numerous attempts through the bocage, which was particularly suitable for defence. Meanwhile, Brigadier General Normand D. Cota, second in command of the 29th ID, was given the task of training his troops in the specific tactics of this highly compartmentalised environment. He selected the outskirts of Couvains as a training ground for armoured and infantry units. In particular, the units tried out the new techniques of ‘breaching’ hedges, the lessons of which were summed up under the heading ‘one combat group, one tank, one field’.
Map of Couvains :
