Goustranville (Calvados)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
- Liberation: 17 August 1944
- Deployed units:
8th Battalion Parachute Regiment, 3rd Para Brigade, 6th Airborne Division
346. Infanterie-Division
- History:
Crossing the Dives marshes, a natural obstacle overcome by German fire, presented a real headache for the 6th Airborne Division, tasked with moving east. Its commander, General Gale, desperately wanted to escape from what he nicknamed “the island”: a stretch of land in the middle of the marshy area, between Saint-Samson and Goustranville.
After an initial offensive movement on August 17, 1944, between Bures-sur-Dives and Basseneville by the men of the 8th Battalion Parachute Regiment (3rd Parachute Brigade, 6th Airborne Division), the British paratroopers reached the outskirts of Goustranville, not without difficulty: they were caught under fire from German artillery shells, whose observers, stationed on the ground movements south of Dozulé, enjoyed a remarkable depth of view to the west. The Germans, belonging to the 346th Infantry Division, defended the houses but were unable to withstand the enemy pressure. At nightfall, they broke off contact to the east, abandoning Goustranville to C Company of the 8th Para Regiment and reorganizing along new defensive positions near Putot-en-Auge.
Immediately, the Royal Artillery headquarters of the 6th Airborne Division received orders to counter any enemy offensive aimed at retaking Goustranville from the British and to stand ready to support the continuation of the Allied attack from the east. The day of August 18 was devoted to reconnaissance of the roads crossing the Dives Valley: German gunners continuously harassed the men of the 6th Airborne Division, preventing any forced crossing towards Dozulé. Thus, any frontal assault in broad daylight was doomed to failure: the continuation of the Allied offensive had to be rethought and continued towards Pont-l’Évêque.
Brigadier Nigel Poett, commanding the 5th Parachute Brigade, set up his command post in Goustranville, from where he could observe the ground movements surrounding Dozulé. From August 18th to 19th, the paratroopers stationed in Goustranville received multiple reinforcements to hold their position, in particular a battery of Canadian Centaur tanks.
Goustranville map:
