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Carentan: Linking Utah and Omaha Beaches

WW2TV

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Carentan: Linking Utah and Omaha Beaches
With Steven Zaloga
Part of our DDay and Battle of Normandy series
DDay and the Battle of Normandy
And our Airborne Forces playlist
Airborne Forces
And also our US Army playlist
US Army in WWII

The Battle of Carentan marked the culminaion of the US Army’s D-Day amphibious operation in Normandy. The Operation Neptune plans expected that Omaha and Utah Beach would be connected within a day or two. This did not occur and led to a series of pitched battles between the two landing beaches lastng over a week. Carentan was at the centre of these battles since it controlled the road network between the two beach-heads as well as many of the critical river
crossings. Utah and Omaha were separated by the Vire and Douve river estuary. The ground was marshy on the western side of the estuary near Carentan. The Germans atempted to exploit this liquid geography by obstructing the river tributaries to further flood the area. They expected that this would limit the ability of an Allied invasion force from moving out of the beach-head into the flat farmland beyond.

Today's presentation is drawn from Steven's forthcoming Carentan book for Osprey.

Steven J. Zaloga received his BA in History from Union College and his MA from Columbia University. He has worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry for four decades, covering missile systems and the international arms trade, and has served with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think tank. He is the author of numerous books on military technology and history, including NVG 294 Allied Tanks in Normandy 1944 and NVG 283 American Guided Missiles of World War II. He currently lives in Maryland, USA.

Steven's appearances on WW2TV
Tanks in Operation Bagration
https://youtube.com/live/ZXkA-bvjySA
The Disaster of the DD Tanks on DDay - Omaha Beach (Amphibious Sherman Tanks)
https://youtube.com/live/2nabCopaVrY
Smashing Hitler's Guns - Part 1. The German guns and defences at Pointe du Hoc
Smashing Hitler's Guns - Part 1. The Germa...
Smashing Hitler's Guns - Part 2. New Perspectives - The Rangers at Pointe du Hoc
Smashing Hitler's Guns - Part 2. New Persp...
Smashing Hitler's Panzers - The Battle of the Bulge
Smashing Hitler's Panzers - The Battle of ...

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20 Comments

@K-Nyne 1 year ago

That film of the battle of Hill 30 deserves it's own episode. I really want to see that now.

@garyaugust1953 1 year ago

Just another superlative presentation from Steven, no more to say.

@randallreed9048 2 months ago

When we were both younger men and I was neck-deep into designing Avalon Hill's monster wargame The Longest Day, Steve Zaloga was one of my go-to authors for my research. I have never met him, but after all these years, I feel like I should know him! I am gratified to see that he is still sharp as hell and doing fabulous history.

@davidlavigne207 1 year ago

Always love to listen to Steve and Woody discussing a subject that they both know so well. Steve also did a bit of myth busting, and record correcting too.

@grobsop 6 months ago

Fun fact: The SS commander who joined the battle later actually belittled the Fallschirmjäger, blaming them for retreating from Carentan. In reality, the Fallschirmjäger had been fighting fiercely with extremely limited ammunition and had held the town against overwhelming pressure. Many of them reportedly despised the SS, viewing them as arrogant and incompetent. Ironically, testimonies from the fighting suggest that it was the SS who eventually broke and withdrew during the battle, despite blaming the Fallschirmjäger beforehand. Respect to the Fallschirmjäger who defended Carentan as long as they did under such difficult circumstances.

@misterbaker9728 1 year ago

Huge thanks for this fine fellow. Much love and respect from Cleveland!!

@willierobertson862 1 year ago

You know when Steven Zaloga is on the channel, you are going to get a top quality presentation. This was no exception and doesn't disappoint.

Watching these 2 excellent historians discuss a subject they both know extremely well is amazing, if you have had the opportunity to "walk the ground" in this area, you can then visualise the areas that are mentioned.