"Do you think we can get some ship fire dropped on St. Come-du-Mont and Carentan?" They crawled together into an exposed area for a better view. Quickly, Farrel got through to the USS Quincy, which was steaming in figure eights not far off the coast. From the Quincy he got a "roger." Five minutes later, 8-inch shells screamed over La Barquette on the way to the high ground. -- S.L.A. Marshall, Night Drop

The task of the 101st Airborne Division is to seize the immediate exits from UTAH Beach with two regiments while protecting the southern flank of VII Corps by seizing the crossings over the lower Douve River with another parachute regiment dropped close to Carentan. The glider regiment of the 101st will come ashore across UTAH Beach.

The 101st is carried by 7x C-47 (US) and 1x CG-4A (US) to 17A:0811. The two American drops are carried by 805 transport planes of which only 20 are lost to anti-aircraft fire. However, the evasive tactics that lower losses to AA cause widespread scattering and severe problems for the paratroopers once they reach the ground.

Although the 101st comes down against initially lighter opposition, the German 6 th Parachute Regiment quickly arrives in the area of Carentan.

The 101st battle culminates in a daring assault across the Carentan causeway that pushes back the German 6th Parachute and secures a linkup with V Corps from OMAHA.

Disruption. Modifiers are -1 for an enemy occupied hex, -1 for non-clear terrain, and -2 for night - a total of -4. Only a '6' will allow a unit to land without any type of disruption.

The 502nd rolls a '4' and is disrupted. The 501st rolls a '4' and is disrupted. 506th rolls a '6' and is OK. 101st XX HQ (on gliders) rolls a '2' and is badly disrupted.

The German 6th Parachute III reacts into the hex, rolling a 6.

[All the involved parachute regiments took losses. Sacrificing the 501st makes the most Europa sense. A 'better' result from a historical perspective, unavailable on the Europa CRT, might destroy the German infantry regiment but force 6th Parachute Regiment to retreat in hex 17A:0912.]

Exploitation Phase: 327th Glider III lands directly in the hex. 2nd Armored XX enters the hex after landing on OMAHA.

Battle for Normandy Europa as History

The Players
The Plans
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Set Up
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Douve and Carentan
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Merderet Valley
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Utah Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Omaha Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Gold and Juno Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Sword Beach
The Game (Axis June II 1944 Turn)
The Game (Allied and Axis Jul I 1944 Turn)
The Game Poised for a Breakout