Sainte-Mère-Église
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Commune of Sainte-Mère-Église The church of Sainte-Mère-Église with Parachute Memorial |
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| Location | |
| Longitude | 01° 19' 05" W |
| Latitude | 49° 24' 32" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Basse-Normandie |
| Département | Manche |
| Arrondissement | Cherbourg-Octeville |
| Canton | Sainte-Mère-Église (chief town) |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes de Sainte-Mère-Église |
| Mayor | Jean-Paul Bouet (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 1 m–41 m (avg. 34 m) |
| Land area¹ | 17.68 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
1,585 |
| - Density (1999) | 90/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 50523/ 50480 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Sainte-Mère-Église is a small town and commune of the Manche département, in the Cotentin Peninsula near the coast of Normandy, France.
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[edit] History
The town's main claim to fame is that it played a significant part in the World War II Normandy landings because this village stood right in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha Beaches. In the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town in Operation Detroit, giving it the claim to one of the first towns liberated in the invasion.
[edit] D-Day Battle
The early landings, at about 0140 directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose. The German defenders were alerted.
A famous incident involved paratrooper John Steele, whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could only observe the fighting going on below. He was later captured by a German soldier. The incident was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day.
Later that morning, about 0500, a force led by Lt. Colonel Edward C. Krause of the 505th PIR took the town with little resistance. Apparently the German garrison was confused and had retired for the rest of the night. However, heavy German counterattacks began later in the day and into the next. The lightly-armed troopers held the town, until reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of June 7. Other notable soldiers in the Allied assault on the town:
- Lt. Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort
- Lt. Turner B. Turnbull
Krause and Vandervoort both received the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions in the capture of the town.
[edit] Sights
Modern day Sainte-Mère-Église trades heavily on its invasion history. There are many small museums and World War II-related giftshops and eating places. A dummy paratrooper hangs from the church spire, commemorating the story of John Steele.
Behind the church is a spring, reputed by pilgrims to have healing powers, dedicated to Saint Mewan (Saint Méen).
 Parachute Memorial in Sainte-Mère-Église |
 One of the two stained glass windows of the church commemorating the liberation of Sainte-Mère-Eglise on 6 June 1944 by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. |
 Monument to John Steele who was caught on the church spire during D-Day |
[edit] External links
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