The story
While the 4th Infantry Division secured their flank and fixed the Germans on the Quineville—Montebourg Ridge, the 9th and 90th Infantry Divisions and 82nd Airborne Division attacked across the Cotentin Peninsula to cut it in two.
This so disrupted the German defenses that General Omar N.Bradley ordered an immediate advance on Cherbourg.
The 4th Infantry Division encountered significant resistance initially but, with the help of attached tanks and intelligence it had built up during four days of active patrolling, broke through the German lines along the Quineville - Montebourg Ridge within 24 hours.
The division advanced rapidly thereafter, seizing the important transportation hub of Valognes the following day.
By the evening of 20 June the division had pushed to the outskirts of Cherbourg, encountering the heavily fortified positions around its perimeter from which the Germans intended to defend.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.