NEUVILLE-AU-PLAIN Manche - 3 km north of Sainte-Mère-Eglise
The Americans held the ground in Sainte-Mère-Eglise
At 6 a.m. on 6 June 1944 paratroops of the 82nd Airborne Division seized Sainte-Mère-Église. Lieutenant-colonel Vandervoort commanding the 2nd Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment could not be informed of this success. He had been assigned the same objective, but simultaneously he moved a paras unit toward Neuville-au-Plain. Under Lieutenant Turnbull the column crossed Neuville-au-Plain cleared out of enemy, and took up a defensive position north of the town. The parachutists were soon joined by Lieutenant-colonel Vandervoort. The Americans pushed back a German counter-attack and suffered human losses. They withdrew on Sainte-Mère-Église at the end of the afternoon. The next day on 7 June the Americans were reinforced by the 746th Tank Battalion just landed on Utah Beach. A new German assault led by General von Schlieben was kept in check. The Americans entered again Neuville-au-Plain at the end of the day.