82nd Airborne
Division (All
American)
The 82nd Airborne Division is the oldest
airborne
division in the U.S. Army. It had been reorganized from an infantry
division
in the early days of World War II and had undergone extensive training
stateside.
Units from the division had seen combat in North Africa, Sicily and
Italy during the early phases of the war in the Mediterranean. In
November 1943 the 82nd was recalled from Italy, where the division's
paratroopers had made a parachute assault on the beachhead near
Salerno.
For D-Day, the division was composed of the following
airborne regiments: 505th Parachute Infantry, 507th Parachute Infantry
and the 325th Glider Infantry. The 504th Parachute Infantry, which had
remained in combat in the Mediterranean, was detached to rest and absorb
replacements in England. It was reattached to the division after D-Day.
The division commander, Maj. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway,
was a highly capable, competent, and inspirational leader who had commanded
the 82nd from its inception as an airborne unit through all its earlier
campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Brig. Gen. James Gavin was
assistant division commander. This highly talented and charismatic leader
had been promoted to this position in Italy and later became division commander
after Ridgway was promoted.
The main objective for the 82nd on D-Day was to
secure the bridges over the rivers behind Utah Beach. The division was
to land astride the Merderet River and seize, clear, and hold its area
of operation. After destroying all crossings over the Douve River, the
82nd was to be prepared to move west on order.
For the invasion, the division had designated
over 6,000 paratroopers for the parachute assault and almost 4,000 glidermen
for the glider assault. Together, with the 101st Airborne Division, the
82nd was scheduled to begin landings in the early morning hours of June
6th. Gen. Eisenhower's air operations officer had predicted casualties
to be greater than 70%.
The drops went badly. Cloud cover and heavy anti-aircraft
fire made the air transports deviate from course, which resulted in wide-spread
scattering of the paratroops. Many of the aircraft were flying too fast
and some too low, often giving the green-light jump signal over the wrong
drop zones. Of the 6,396 paratroopers of the 82nd who jumped, 272 or 4.24
percent were killed or injured as a result of the drop. The 505th generally
landed in the vicinity of its drop zone, but the 507th and 508th were both
widely scattered. Many troopers landed in the center of the village of
Sainte-Mère-Église, as a fire raged out of control. German soldiers, already
alerted by the fire, shot many of the paratroopers before they hit the
ground. One paratrooper, John Steele, landed on top of the church. His
parachute caught on the steeple, where he dangled for two and a half hours,
playing dead until he was finally taken prisoner.
In spite of this, the 82nd adapted to the situation
and achieved all its primary objectives. Sainte-Mère-Église was secured
by dawn of 6 June, the first French village to be liberated. As an anti-airborne
effort, the Germans had flooded much of the adjoining area near the Merderet
River. Nevertheless, by nightfall of 6 June approximately 30 percent of
the division forces were under control, holding a line along the Merderet
River from La Fière south to include the eastern end of the causeway over
the river.
The 82nd Airborne Division continued to fight
on the Cotentin Peninsula until relieved on July 8, 1944, after 33 days
in action. On July11th, the division moved to Utah Beach in preparation
for its return to England. The 82nd later participated in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.
For
more information on the 82nd Airborne Division:
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment Page -An excellent page about the history of the 504th PIR.
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