Sainte-Mere-Eglise

Start your tour in Sainte Mere Eglise. The town played a significant part in the World War II Normandy landings because of its position in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have used to counterattack Allied landings 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 Mission Boston, making it one of the first towns liberated in the invasion.

La Fiere Bridge and Iron Mike Monument

Fought largely by paratroopers and glidermen from the 82nd Airborne Division, the battle to secure the bridge at La Fière is described as “probably the bloodiest small unit struggle in the experience of American arms.” Victory at La Fière cost more than 250 American lives, and yet the fateful engagement’s story is largely untold.