This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Duane Kimbrow-Historian
to remember
Cobb, Albert L., Jr., PVT.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Savannah
Last Address Chatham County, Georgia.
Casualty Date Jun 06, 1944
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Multiple Fragmentation Wounds
Location France
Conflict WWII - European Theater of Operations/Normandy Campaign (1944)
Location of Interment American Cemetery - Normandy, France
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Normandy Campaign (1944)/Operation Overlord/D-Day Airborne Landings
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
June / 1944
Description
The American airborne landings in Normandy were the first United States combat operations during Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. Around 13,100 paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne Divisions made night parachute drops early on D-Day, June 6, followed by 3,937 glider troops flown in by day. As the opening maneuver of Operation Neptune (the assault operation for Overlord) the American airborne divisions were delivered to the continent in two parachute and six glider missions.
Both divisions were part of the U.S. VII Corps and provided it support in its mission of capturing Cherbourg as soon as possible to provide the Allies with a port of supply. The specific missions of the airborne divisions were to block approaches into the vicinity of the amphibious landing at Utah Beach, to capture causeway exits off the beaches, and to establish crossings over the Douve River at Carentan to assist the U.S. V Corps in merging the two American beachheads.
The assault did not succeed in blocking the approaches to Utah for three days. Numerous factors played a part, most of which dealt with excessive scattering of the drops. Despite this, German forces were unable to exploit the chaos. Many German units made a tenacious defense of their strong-points, but all were systematically defeated within the week.
