4. Assault of Brecourt Manor
In the mid-morning hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, a German battery of four 105mm cannons shook the soil.
Five miles distant, on Utah Beach, the Brécourt battery’s steel rained upon American soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division as they disembarked from their landing craft.
Within minutes of that first salvo, an ad hoc squad of paratroopers from Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th P.I.R., 101st Airborne,
departed the French village of Le Grand-Chemin with a mission to silence those guns.
Lt Richard Winters and his squad were given the task to take out German artillery battery of unknowing strength, which is firing on Utah beachhead.
It is an classic example of small infantry unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force.
The success of this mission saves lives and prevent more causalities at Utah Beachhead.
By the engagement’s end, Easy Company, had captured and destroyed three 105mm cannons .
Five Dog Company troopers, led by Lt. Ronald Spiers, arrived after the third gun had been taken; they then captured and destroyed the fourth gun.
For valor displayed at Brécourt, the 506th P.I.R. decorated the battle’s participants. Compton, Guarnere, Lorraine, and Toye received the Silver Star.
Hendrix, Liebgott, Lipton, Malarkey, Petty, Plesha, Ranney, and Wynn received the Bronze Star.
Colonel Robert Sink, the commander of the 506th P.I.R., nominated Winters for the Medal of Honor.
However, there is an arbitrary limit of one Medal of Honor for the division in Normandy, and because Lt. Col. Robert Cole was the man picked to receive the award,
hence, Winters was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross.
During the days following the D-Day invasion, in a grassy field in Normandy, General Omar Bradley personally awarded Winters the Distinguished Service Cross,
the military’s 2nd highest award, in recognition of Winters’ actions and leadership in the silencing of the guns at Brécourt Manor.
(This is my favourite part) :thumbsup:
Later, Richard Winters reflected on his first day in combat :
“That night, I took time to thank God for seeing me through that day of days . . . .
And if somehow I manage to get home again,
I promise God and myself that I would find a quiet piece of land someplace,
and spend the rest of my life in peace.”
Winters knew he must endure until that day came.
The action in Brecourt Manor as shown in HBO series “Band of Brothers”
[vid]Irqh310Ya4E[/vid]
In the mid-morning hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, a German battery of four 105mm cannons shook the soil.
Five miles distant, on Utah Beach, the Brécourt battery’s steel rained upon American soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division as they disembarked from their landing craft.
Within minutes of that first salvo, an ad hoc squad of paratroopers from Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th P.I.R., 101st Airborne,
departed the French village of Le Grand-Chemin with a mission to silence those guns.
Lt Richard Winters and his squad were given the task to take out German artillery battery of unknowing strength, which is firing on Utah beachhead.
It is an classic example of small infantry unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force.
The success of this mission saves lives and prevent more causalities at Utah Beachhead.
By the engagement’s end, Easy Company, had captured and destroyed three 105mm cannons .
Five Dog Company troopers, led by Lt. Ronald Spiers, arrived after the third gun had been taken; they then captured and destroyed the fourth gun.
For valor displayed at Brécourt, the 506th P.I.R. decorated the battle’s participants. Compton, Guarnere, Lorraine, and Toye received the Silver Star.
Hendrix, Liebgott, Lipton, Malarkey, Petty, Plesha, Ranney, and Wynn received the Bronze Star.
Colonel Robert Sink, the commander of the 506th P.I.R., nominated Winters for the Medal of Honor.
However, there is an arbitrary limit of one Medal of Honor for the division in Normandy, and because Lt. Col. Robert Cole was the man picked to receive the award,
hence, Winters was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross.
During the days following the D-Day invasion, in a grassy field in Normandy, General Omar Bradley personally awarded Winters the Distinguished Service Cross,
the military’s 2nd highest award, in recognition of Winters’ actions and leadership in the silencing of the guns at Brécourt Manor.
(This is my favourite part) :thumbsup:
Later, Richard Winters reflected on his first day in combat :
“That night, I took time to thank God for seeing me through that day of days . . . .
And if somehow I manage to get home again,
I promise God and myself that I would find a quiet piece of land someplace,
and spend the rest of my life in peace.”
Winters knew he must endure until that day came.
The action in Brecourt Manor as shown in HBO series “Band of Brothers”
[vid]Irqh310Ya4E[/vid]
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