William Cavanagh Battlefield Guide - Presents Bulge and Normandy battles - The Battle Of The Bulge and Normandy Battles






		"On the night before the invasion , the U.S. 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions would land by parachute and glider close to the town of Ste Mere Eglise, securing the roads that led from the shoreline and preventing enemy troops from reinforcing the beach defenders. Early the next morning General Bradley's First Army would arrive. V11 Corps would assault Utah beach near the Dunes de Varreville while to the east V Corps comprising the 29th and 1st Infantry Divisions were to land on Omaha Beach. Once V Corps had a secure foothold in Normandy they were to head south while V11 Corps cut across the Contenting Peninsula then wheeled north to take the port of Cherbourg. Once Cherbourg was captured V11 Corps was to turn south and take the town of St. Lo. As soon as Bradley held the St. Lo to Periers road he would be in a position to use his mechanized forces.
		To the east, the 2d British Army was to operate between Bayeux and Caen, an area that included suitable sites for airfields. Like in the American sector the British 6th Airborne Division would seize the Orne River bridges before dawn as well as the Merville German gun battery. The British 50th Division was to land on Gold Beach where an artificial harbor would be built at Arromanches. Canadian troops were to land on Juno Beach while the British 3rd Division landed at Sword Beach."