Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves
Encyclopedia
Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves is a commune
in the Manche
department in Normandy
in north-western France
.
Prior to Operation Cobra
in World War II
it was an impediment, a small island in a stretch of marshy area. The position was held by a kampfgruppe
of the Das Reich Division and the 6th Parachutist Regiment. The 358th Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division under General Landrum started the attack on 22 July, but without air support because of bad weather. The 1st Battalion suffered heavy losses but held on to the island. The 2nd battalion failed to cross the marshes. In the evening the German
s counterattacked with tanks of the 2nd Panzer Regiment. The Americans were driven back, in one hour they had suffered losses of a 100 soldiers killed, 400 wounded and 200 prisoners. Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves was liberated a few days later in the same operation.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Manche
Manche
Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
in north-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Prior to Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was an impediment, a small island in a stretch of marshy area. The position was held by a kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
of the Das Reich Division and the 6th Parachutist Regiment. The 358th Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division under General Landrum started the attack on 22 July, but without air support because of bad weather. The 1st Battalion suffered heavy losses but held on to the island. The 2nd battalion failed to cross the marshes. In the evening the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
s counterattacked with tanks of the 2nd Panzer Regiment. The Americans were driven back, in one hour they had suffered losses of a 100 soldiers killed, 400 wounded and 200 prisoners. Saint-Germain-sur-Sèves was liberated a few days later in the same operation.