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From Utah Beach to Le Mans: Discover the extraordinary 42-day combat journey of the 90th Infantry Division through Nazi-occupied France. Their relentless advance through treacherous hedgerow country, fierce battles at Pont l'Abbe, and lightning-fast blitzkrieg tactics helped shatter German defenses and liberate an entire province.
Part I.
The 90th Infantry Division's first units landed in France on Utah Beach on D Day. Other units of the Division landed on D plus 1 and D plus 2. The troops marched inland to an assembly area in the vicinity of Loutres by way of the main road which runs from the Beach to Le Grande Chemin and thence to Loutres. No opposition was encountered en route because this particular area had already been cleared of the enemy by other American troops. The first Divisional CP was set up at Loutres with the respective units quartered in the adjoining area.
On D plus 3, the 90th Division was assigned the sector of the American front running from north to south and facing the Merderet River. Corps order assigned to the 90th, the task of crossing the Merderet River and then pushing on to capture the area embraced by the towns of Amfreville, Gourbesville and Orglandes in the north and by the towns of Picauville and Pont l'Abbe in the south.
Divisional units began the attack on the 10 June, and successfully crossed the Merderet River in the vicinity of La Fiere. The units continued to press the attack westward in the face of very difficult enemy opposition, made possible by the advantageous defensive fighting positions which the hedgerow type of terrain afforded the enemy. By the end of the day, the 90th's troops had had approached the outskirts of the town of Pont l'Abbe, where a furious two-day battle took place. The Division captured this important town on June 13th.
In the meantime, elements of the 90th spread out in a northerly direction with the goal of seizing the towns of Amfreville and Gourbesville. Extremely vigorous enemy resistance was encountered before Amfreville fell to the Division on June 14. The push to the northwest continued and resulted in the capture of Gourbesville, again after a sharply contested battle, on June 15. Elements of the 90th Division continued to press still further northward until theyreached the vicinity of St. Colomby. Here Corps directed that the 90th halt in order to allow the newly arrived 79th Infantry Division to pass through the the 90th's lines. The 79th Division was then assigned the mission of pushing on for Cherbourg while the 90th protected its rear from any possible enemy attacks from the south. The 90th continued to hold its sector in the vicinity of Orglandes until June 18th when ordered to move to a new defensive sector to the southeast. The Division moved throughout that day and the following one to a defensive line to the south of the Douve River and running roughly from the vicinity of the town of Baupte westward to the area around Pretot. From June 19th until July 3rd, the 90th Division held its new position, reforming its ranks and bringing up necessary replacements.
On July 3rd, the great drive to the south began with the 90th forming the spearhead of the attack, the 79th Division on its right and the newly arrived 83rd Infantry Division on its left. The 90th was assigned the task of also safeguarding the left flank of the 82nd A/B Division while the latter captured the important hills 121 and 131 to the west. In the meantime, it was to drive southward and capture the important height and strongly fortified area of the Foret de Mont Castre.
The units of the 90th fought savagely against picked troops of German parachute divisions as well as regular infantry outfits for three days in the attempt to capture the Foret, scene of Caesar's great victory over the ancient Gauls in the 1st century B.C. The terrain of this area is probably the most rugged area in this section of France, and affords ideal cover for defense purposes. Despite insuperable odds, the 90th Division captured the northern heights of the Foret, pressed forward over the heights and along the valley to the west, and pushed the Germans southward and out of the forest. During this same period, other elements of the 90th pushed the left sector of the battle line south to the vicinity of the town of Beau Coudray where the Germans had fortified themselves. Again after a three day battle, the town fell to the units of the 90th. Faced by a disadvantageous defensive position, the Germans were forced to withdraw to a new defensive line south of the Seves River and running roughly from the Chateau de St. Germain le Vicomte to the area around Seves and the town of Toliment. The 90th Division followed through rapidly and occupied the intervening territory. Here its units halted in preparation for new plans.
Since D day, at least one battalion element of the 90th Division has been constantly in contact with the enemy. Thus as of 18 July 1944, part of the Division at all times and the entire Division for the most of the time has been at grips with the enemy for 42 straight days. To date, the Division has captured a total of 1750 prisoners.
Pfc. Edward G. Hartmann, Historian, 90th Inf. Division. 18 July 1944
Part II
On 26 July 1944, the American 1st Army began its great drive to eliminate the enemy from the lower sections of the Cotentin Peninsula. The movement called for a general advance due southwards by the VIII Corps from the sector it had been occupying, and a swing to the right by the VII Corps, then stationed to the left of the former in the vicinity St. Lo. The latter was ordered to advance quickly on Coutances and the English Channel cutting off the enemy fighting in the VIII Corps area. Both Corps were then to eliminate the pocket of enemy resistance.
The 90th Infantry Division formed part of the VIII Corps drive, being flanked on the right by the 8th and 79th Infantry Divisions, and on the left by the 4th Armored and 83rd Infantry Divisions. The 90th, in planning its strategy, by-passed the island of resistance at Seves which had frustrated all efforts of the 358th Infantry Regiment to advance in that area two days previously, by sending the 357th Infantry Regiment into the sector of the 83rd Division, where it attacked southwestwards of the island in conjunction with the 329th Regiment of the 83rd Division. The 359th Infantry Regiment attacked due south along the St. Jores-Periers highway, while the 358th Infantry Regiment maintained contact with the enemy south of the Seves River. Considerable resistance was encountered by elements of the 90th during the first day of the attack, the enemy resisting savagely all efforts of the Division to advance. Only small progress had been made by the end of the day. The advance of the VII Corps' armored units on Coutances, however, had progressed so rapidly, that the enemy soon realized the danger of entrapment and determined to withdraw from the VIII Corps sector. It soon became apparent to the 90th Division the following day that such a withdrawal was taking place. Both Regiments continued their advance encountering little enemy resistance. Extensive anti-personnel mine fields, booby traps, and mined highways were encountered en route. These necessitated slow and careful movement forward. No enemy contact was made until the Division's units ran into rear guard elements of the enemy just south of the town of Periers, which had been overrun by the 90th during the day. The Division thereupon halted for the night and continued its advance on the 28th of July. No enemy contact was made except with small isolated groups of Germans cut off or left behind in the general withdrawal of their units. These were quickly killed or captured. The town of St. Sauveur de Lendelin was occupied during the course of the day, and by nightfall, units of the 90th had reached their objective--the newly captured sector of the 1st Division of the VII Corps which flanked the 90th's path directly south. Here the Division halted according to plan, and awaited orders as to the next move. The 90th Infantry Division had covered a total of twelve miles during the three day period of advance. Compared to the type of fighting experienced by the Division previously in Normandy, this was blitz-krieg movement, typical of better things to come. From 28 July until 1 August, the 90th remained bivouaced in the vicinity of St. Sauveur de Lendelin, utilizing the period for reorganization and training.
On 1 August 1944, the 90th Division passed from the 1st Army and VIII Corps and into the 3rd Army and XV Corps, and received orders to move southward by motor to St. Hilaire du Harcouet, seize and secure the bridges over the Selune River near that town, and block any advance of the enemy from the east on the newly captured city of Avranches--particularly in the region between the Selune and See Rivers. Two special Task Forces were organized to initiate the move. The first, under the command of Lt. Col. George B. Randolph (commanding officer of the 712 Tk Bn.) and composed of the 90th Rcn Troop and D Company of the 712th Tk Bn, led the move of the Division. The other, under the command of Lt. Col. Christian H. Clarke (commanding officer of the 358th Inf. Regt.) and composed of the 3rd Battalion of the 358th Regiment, motorized, the 344th FA Bn, 1 Platoon of the 315th Engr Bn, and A Co. of the 607th TD Bn, followed directly behind Randolph, ready to clean up any enemy resistance encountered en route. The rest of the Division's units followed in convoy groups throughout 2 August.
Randolph's force moved southward with all possible speed, encountering only light resistance which it promptly destroyed or pushed aside. Clarke followed to his rear. Upon reaching the vicinity of St. Hiliare du Harcouet, Clarke found that the railroad bridge across the Selune River had been destroyed but the main highway bridge to the west of the town still remained intact. The enemy was found to be occupying the town in considerable strength. Clarke attacked the town at 1100 2 August in order to seize and secure the bridge. Back by artillery fire, Lt. Colonel Jacob W. Bealke, commanding officer of the 3rd Bn, directed a frontal attack on the town from the west, captured the bridge before the enemy could destroy it, and drove the enemy through the town and on to the east and south. He then pushed on to Louvigne du Desert where he encountered no enemy resistance, nor at the town of Ernee farther to the south which his patrols occupied by 0100 4 August. In the meantime, the remaining elements of the 90th had arrived in the vicinity of St. Hiliare after a march of ninety miles, and had taken up defensive positions--the 357th contacting elements of the 1st Division to the northeast at Juvigny, and the 359occupying the right sector of the Division's front and guarding the dams across the Selune River south of St. Hiliare from possible damage or destruction by the enemy.
The 90th Division maintained these respective positions until 5 Aug. at which time it received orders to march on the city of Le Mans, 82 miles behind the enemy lines to the southwest, in conjunction with the 79th Division on its right and with the 5th Armored Division in reserve, ready to lend support if required. As the step in its drive on Le Mans, the 90th received the mission of capturing the city of Mayenne and holding it until relieved by elements of the 1st Division. It was then to push on to its objective. To accomplish this mission, a special Task Force was organized and placed under the command of Brigadier-General William G. Weaver, Assistant Divisional Commanding General, which consisted of the 357th Infantry Regiment, motorized, the 343rd FA Bn; the 712th Tk Bn; Co. A, 315th Engr Bn; Co. A, 315th Med Bn; Co. A, 607th TD Bn; 1 Btty, 537th AAA Bn; and detachments from the 90th Signal Company, the III's, and Divisional Staff. Task Force Weaver set off for Mayenne from the vicinity of St. Hiliare du Harcouet at 0630 5 August and moved by way of Ernee, thence directly east to Mayenne. It arrived just west of the city at 1200 after eliminating several small pockets of resistance and after having marched a distance of thirty-seven miles. Weaver found the bridge that crossed the Mayenne River at the city still intact, and determined to capture it before the enemy could destroy it. He organized his force into two sections and sent Colonel G. B. Barth, commanding officer of the 357th Infantry, with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 357th to cross the river south of the town and make the main attack on Mayenne from the south in an attempt to secure a bridge-head. The remaining elements he dispatched under Major Edward S. Hamilton in a direct frontal attack down the road from the west, across the bridge, and on into the town. Although Barth's effort was planned to be the chief weight of attack, Hamilton's progress forward was so rapid, that the bridge was seized and the enemy pushed to the other side of the city by the time Barth had made the crossing and could organize his men for combat. The bridge was found to have been prepared for demolition but that the speed of the attack had been such that the enemy could not find time to destroy it. The Task Force then occupied the city of Mayenne and organized all around defense for the night. In the meantime, both the 358th and 359th Regiments had marched southeastward to the vicinity of the Mayenne River just below Mayenne. They continued the advance on Le Mans the following day, reaching the vicinity of Montsurs and Vaignes respectively by nightfall of 5 August on down the highway to LeMans, encountering successive centers of resistance on route to the east of Vaignes. These consisted of high velocity weapons, infantry, and automatic weapons fire. Due to superior coordination of air and artillery fire, many of these enemy resistance points were knocked out of action prior to the approach of the Task Force. The advance was exceedingly rapid, the artillery being continuously displaced forward and having at all times two batteries in constant fire. Air support was practically perfect. Immense numbers of enemy tanks, anti-tank weapons, vehicles, and personnel were found to have been completely destroyed along route. In many cases, pursuit was so rapid that the enemy soldiers abandoned their tanks and vehicles with motors still running. Task Force Barth had reached the junction of the two roads at L'Arche in the meantime, and had organized an effective blocking force across the Laval Highway at that point. Here his forces eliminated great numbers of enemy personnel and equipment as they fled down the highway to the east from the approaching Task Force Weaver. Colonel Clarke, leading the 358th Infantry Regiment along Barth's route, now appeared on the scene, and forming a solid column with Barth faced his troops southeast along the Bernay Highway, making an effective barrier to any enemy attempts to escape in that direction. Task Force Weaver finally reached L'Arche shortly after midnight 8 August after having destroyed all enemy resistance along its path or having driven it into the waiting hands of the forces of Clarke or Barth. The whole move had been a complete success, and had resulted in the effective destruction of the enemy forces defending the city of LeMans from the west.
Upon Clarke's arrival, Barth ordered his second battalion to continue the advance on the city, which it accomplished in the face of minor resistance. It reached the city limits at 0030 9 August and found that the elements of the 79th Infantry Division had already preceded it, having entered from the southeast, while the 5th Armored Division had encircled the city to the east and north. Continuing on into the city, the 357th Infantry took up its assigned position along the banks of the Sarthe River. The situation having clarified back at L'Arche, General McLain ordered Clarke to cross the Sarthe River to the north of LeMans and to sever the main highways leading out of the city in that area. Clarke moved promptly, erecting the necessary barriers and capturing many of the enemy who were attempting to flee to Mans in that quarter. He then moved the bulk of his Regiment south into the city during the night. The following morning 9 August all combat units of the Division moved through the city and took up positions north and east of LeMans, prepared to move north, northeast, or east as the occasion demanded.
The Division had marched a total of 177 miles in ten days fought three hard engagements, and numerous skirmishes. It took 1517 prisoners in the five day advance from the Mayenne River to the Sarthe at Le Mans, most of which were captured in the pocket Ste. Suzanne-Vaignes-LeMans. Many of the enemy were killed. The 90th's killed, wounded, and missing, totaled less than 300. Large numbers of tanks, armored and other vehicles of all types were captured or destroyed. The force defending Le Mans completely so. The 90th Infantry Division had successfully completed a movement of blitz-krieg proportions which served no little in weakening the German strategic position in the French province of Maine.
Pfc. Edward G. Hartmann Historian, 90th Inf. Division 25 August 1944
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