04x03 - Suicide Hill

[bunniefuu]

(g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: Not long after D-Day,

the farmhouse headquarters of an

American Airborne battalion

comes under heavy counterattack

from German Fallschirmjäger units.

(rapid g*nf*re)

When the a*tillery Liaison Officer

tries to summon the U.S. g*ns

he needs to drive back them back,

he discovers the

Germans have jammed his radio.

On June 6th, 1944.

Allied forces finally

land troops in Normandy

to open the western front.

(speaking in native language)

NARRATOR: But n*zi

fanatics and diehards

continue to fight

ferociously for survival.

D-Day was a battle.

They still need to win the w*r.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: June 7th, 1944.

Normandy, France.

(rapid g*nf*re)

g*nf*re punctuates the

streets of Vierville-Sur-Mer,

a small town, on the

bluff above Omaha Beach.

As American and German soldiers

fight for control.

Not only of the shore,

but for access to a highway

that leads all the way to Paris.

The Germans must

contain the American troops to

their small foothold

after the D-Day landings,

the day before.

(rapid g*nf*re)

(expl*si*n)

NARRATOR: In the house-to-house fighting,

a patrol of combat engineers

finds a dead American officer with a

briefcase chained to his wrist.

It contains documents.

PETER: When the German officer reviews

the content of the briefcase,

he quickly understands this is

something extremely important.

It shows parts of the Allied plans,

and he knows this is

part of a bigger invasion.

NARRATOR: He holds the

operational plans for all of

the American five corps.

24 hours earlier, the allies

stormed the beaches of Normandy.

They fight desperately to secure their

beachheads and move inland.

The Germans on the coast see the

massive scale of the landings,

but Hitler is not fully convinced.

PETER: There is concern in the Führer HQ

that the Normandy landings

are not the large invasion,

that there might be another

invasion coming in the area of

Calais further up in the north.

NARRATOR: But the contents of

the briefcase are undeniable,

this is the main attack.

PETER: The German intelligence officers

quickly understand that this

is a Godsent present.

They have got now the

allied plans for D-Day plus 17.

So, this would allow

them to shift their plans,

in order to

hinder an U.S. advance.

NARRATOR: Their advance

relies on consolidating

the Utah and Omaha beachheads.

To achieve this, the

Americans must seize Carentan.

Located inland from the landings,

Carentan has the bridges, highways,

and railroads to

facilitate the push of tanks

and men further into France.

Because of its obvious strategic value,

well before the landings,

the Germans flooded an area to the

northwest to protect the town.

Based on the captured documents,

German command sends the elite

sixth Fallschirmjäger Regiment

to the defense of Carentan.

PETER:

Sixth Fallschirmjäger Regiment

is the only regiment of the

division that is combat ready.

It is well trained, well led.

Has got many veterans in its ranks,

and is considered a very reliable force.

NARRATOR: A key strength

comes from the top leadership.

PETER: Friedrich Von der Heydte

is a, an officer with a

distinguished military career.

Initially, he was quite Pro-n*zi,

but became much more skeptical in the

years before the Normandy battle.

But still, he is a officer

who has got an honor and

he's also ordered to hold

Carentan to the last man.

NARRATOR: In preparation

for the American attack,

he quickly entrenches his

paratroopers in a defensive line

on the outskirts, to target

the likely avenues of approach.

Von der Heydte is assisted by the

flooded fields to the northwest,

which force attackers

to a long causeway linked by

a series of four bridges.

Advancing from that direction,

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole,

Commander Third Battalion,

American 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment

comes under immediate attack as he leads

his airborne troops

toward Carentan on June 10th.

JOHN:

Robert Cole came from Texas.

He was a, um, graduate of the

United States

Military Academy at

West Point class of 1939.

He's a pretty young man in 1944.

He's in his late 20’s, and

he's in command of a battalion.

And so, it's an incredible amount of

responsibility on a young guy.

NARRATOR: Cole discovers

that retreating Germans

destroyed the second bridge.

And the American combat engineers

assigned to replace it,

were driven off by German a*tillery before

they could begin construction.

Angered by the delay, Cole

grabs a few men and supplies,

and begins work on a

make-shift foot bridge himself.

JOHN: He spends the better part of

two to three hours doing that

more or less himself

with this small group.

And so, you, you kind of

see this kind of can-do,

hands-on leadership

element to, to Cole as well.

But I also think that that comes from

being a kind of a young

battalion commander,

the kind of dynamism of youth that,

that Cole has.

(expl*si*n)

COLE: One at time! Come down!

Go! Go!

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: The paratroopers

begin to cross one by one,

targeted by German g*ns in the distance.

Including an ‘88 firing down the road.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: The flooded fields

on both sides mean

the airborne troops must stay on the road.

They continue their advance,

and past bridge three.

Across the Madeleine River,

Cole’s men come under fire

from the opposite bank.

Unable to pass through a Belgian Gate.

STEVEN: The Belgian Gate was a type

of defensive obstacle that

was built in the 1930’s to

defend the Belgian Frontier,

and it's a large metal structure

about the size of a big barn door.

They would have all been linked together

to form a gigantic wall.

They were captured by the Germans in 1940,

and then they were used in the

defense of the Normandy coast.

They were oftentimes broken up

into single obstacles and used

to block road networks or walls

or other type of obstructions.

NARRATOR: The Belgian Gate causes Cole’s

paratroopers to bunch up,

and makes them vulnerable

to well sighted a*tillery.

(rapid g*nf*re)

As they pry the metal apart,

b*ll*ts ricochet in all directions.

Eventually they create a gap.

JOHN: If you can imagine, a, a

battalion of 700-some odd guys

working their way

through this Belgian Gate,

one by one, man by man,

individual by individual,

doing this.

NARRATOR: It will take

hours for them to cross over.

With a damaged bridge behind them,

Cole must keep his men moving forward.

Retreat is not an option.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: Lieutenant

Colonel Robert Cole,

moves from soldier to soldier to prompt

the Third Battalion of the 502nd

Parachute Infantry Regiment to

provide covering fire for

their advancing comrades.

They have gotten themselves into what a

later generation will call a fatal funnel,

along that causeway,

through the Belgian Gates,

where you tend to have clumps

of people trying to negotiate

their way through.

NARRATOR: Under his direction,

the American paratroopers target

the hedgerows on the far bank with

small arms and bazooka fire.

(rapid g*nf*re)

(expl*si*n)

But it is not enough.

The a*tillery liaison officer,

Captain Saint Julien Rosemond,

calls in a*tillery from the

rear to provide additional cover

to the men of the battalion.

(rapid g*nf*re)

Move! Move!

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: As darkness falls,

paratroopers continue to file

one-at-a-time through

the gap at the Belgian Gate.

(rapid g*nf*re)

Suddenly, another

German machine g*n opens up,

from the swamp beside the causeway.

(rapid g*nf*re)

The crossfire poses a lethal threat.

Private Hans Brandt wades

into the water to take out

the machine g*n with a grenade.

Another paratrooper

follows close on his heels.

But as Brandt steps into the marsh,

a German dive b*mber

skims above the causeway.

(explosions)

NARRATOR: One of the bombs dropped

by the German aircraft knocks

the U.S. Private unconscious.

The Luftwaffe tried to attack

allied forces on the Normandy beaches,

but they were usually

fought off by allied fighters,

so it was very unusual

for American soldiers to be

strafed by Luftwaffe fighters during

the first few days of

the Normandy campaign.

(distant g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: As Brandt comes to,

a second German plane continues

the attack along the causeway.

NARRATOR: He discovers that his

partner who remains unconscious,

has slipped into the water.

Brandt picks him up and carries

him back for medical care.

The aftermath, leaves the dead and injured

strewn across the causeway.

The short attack kills or

injures 30 paratroopers from,

I company.

JOHN: To me, the,

the only miracle is that

it really wasn't even worse.

Uh, and I think the

reason it wasn't is that

the Germans didn't have more planes.

NARRATOR: The walking wounded

become stretcher bearers.

JOHN: The real

fighting hasn't even begun yet,

and yet he's diminished 20 to 25%.

So, that is definitely not

an auspicious way to go into battle.

NARRATOR: Cole decides they must press on

with the three remaining companies.

Cole’s third battalion

has been tasked with

attacking the French town of Carentan

with the goal of connecting the

beachheads at Utah and Omaha.

The battalion advances

along a narrow causeway,

passing one by one through a Belgian Gate

which blocks bridge four.

Cole and some others investigate

the far side of the Madeleine River.

NARRATOR: In the early morning light,

Private Albert Dieter

closes in on a hedgerow

that borders a farm.

(expl*si*n)

Without warning, German r*fle,

machine g*n and mortar fire land

around Dieter and the

paratroopers who follow him.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: Dieter’s left arm is

shredded by the salvo.

Others behind him, are also struck.

Cole calls for his

a*tillery liaison officer,

Captain Saint Julien Rosemond,

to bring down a*tillery.

(rapid g*nf*re)

Eventually American a*tillery

hammers the suspected German positions.

But enemy fire

remains fierce, if not heavier.

PETER: The

Germans quickly understand that

there's overwhelming allied firepower.

What is their reaction to that?

They just man the

first frontline very thinly,

so if the allies bombard the German lines,

casualties will be relatively low.

NARRATOR: This could mean,

the American a*tillery is

hitting the wrong targets.

The enemy fire is

coming from further back.

With his men pinned, Cole must decide.

To continue to press forward,

or to retreat and regroup.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: Third

battalion commander,

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole

knows they would only create

another bottleneck at the Belgian Gate if

he decides to retreat.

JOHN: It's a cliché,

but he literally is between

a rock and a hard place.

Because if they stay where they are,

they're of course vulnerable

along the, the causeway.

And you've got significant opposition

ahead of you, but, uh,

from Cole’s standpoint,

there's no point to just staying there.

He's moved his battalion ahead

for this particular mission,

so he feels there's

really none other option but

to go ahead and attack.

NARRATOR: Cole decides to

capture a farmhouse that has

been the source of heavy German fire.

With his men stretched out along the road,

they will cross the

700-foot-long field under smoke.

- Fix bayonets!

- MAN: Fix bayonets!

NARRATOR: He tells his

executive officer to prepare

the men for a bayonet charge.

NARRATOR: The bayonet charge is

a classic combat tactic.

STEVEN:

Bayonet is a military knife,

and typically, if it's used in combat,

the bayonet would be

attached to the front end

of the soldier's r*fle.

NARRATOR: The goal is to plunge into

tissue to damage internal organs.

But such brutality is

difficult for most people.

STEVEN: Bayonet training is a

way of hardening civilians

to get used to the idea

of k*lling enemy soldiers.

It's one thing to sh**t at

an enemy soldier with a r*fle.

It's another thing to attack

'em face to face with a knife.

NARRATOR: In battle, the

order to fix bayonets almost

always suggests desperation.

It wasn't very

common for the U.S. Infantry

to use the bayonet in

Normandy during World w*r II,

but it was amongst elite units.

Paratrooper units and Ranger units would

sometimes fix bayonets

for an attack in order

to intimidate the enemy forces.

NARRATOR: Cole also has his

a*tillery liaison call for smoke

to be dropped to conceal their advance.

JOHN: Now, it's time for the

adrenaline to kick in of what

the soldiers perceive as the main attack.

You're waiting to, to jump off,

probably with that kind of

tinged mixture of excitement,

and trepidation, and dread.

NARRATOR: Satisfied

with the smoke screen,

he instructs Rosemond to redirect

a*tillery fire past the farmhouse.

Cole initiates the

bayonet charge with his whistle

and wields his colt .45.

Charge!

NARRATOR: Halfway across,

he glances back.

His heart sinks at what he sees.

JOHN: From

Cole’s point of view, now,

this is the moment to attack,

and he's got his p*stol ready,

and his bravado ready.

And he figures the whole

battalion is going to be out

there with him, and it's only a few guys.

NARRATOR: Most had not

heard the order to charge.

JOHN: And it was like, "Did

they just go forward?

Did they, what happened here?

Are we charging or are we not?

What's happening?"

And it all looked

kind of pathetic to them.

NARRATOR: As German b*ll*ts

clip the grass around Cole,

the message sinks in.

JOHN: "Oh, I guess

we're supposed to follow him."

And it's like, "All right, I guess he

must know what he's doing."

And so, in this

kind of misbegotten way, uh,

arguably one of the most legendary moments

in the entire history of the

U.S. Airborne begins right then.

NARRATOR: Even as

the charge picks up,

his men follow one another in a line.

JOHN: Here

they've come down the causeway.

That's been your single file advance.

Now, you're going to have to

spread out more horizontally in

order to attack this objective,

and that's a lot easier said than done.

So, they're transitioning to that,

and they're tending to just

follow the guy in front of them.

NARRATOR: Cole waves his arms,

motioning for them to spread out.

They misinterpret the

signal and hit the dirt.

Cole must get them moving.

He circles back.

JOHN: So, he's firing his p*stol at

the Germans and he's like,

"I don't even know what I’m sh**ting at,

but I just know I’m

supposed to go here."

He just looks like this sort

of crazy man out there in the,

in the, in the open, firing at the enemy,

trying to inspire.

And I, I think all that adds up to,

to creating a little bit more action to,

to get out there and support Cole,

and make sure that this crazy

battalion commander doesn't get

k*lled right out there on his own.

NARRATOR: The

momentum finally builds.

Go!

NARRATOR: Even as paratroopers

around him are struck,

Cole nears the farmhouse

that is their objective.

At a full run, he hurtles

into a water-filled ditch.

NARRATOR: As the charge continues,

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole

is uninjured from his dip in the ditch.

But the a*tillery Liaison’s

Radio Operator also

lands in the water.

Other paratroopers push past

them towards the farmhouse.

Some divert to clear the structure.

Second Lieutenant Edward Provost

leads another group along

the edge of the property.

(explosions)

(rapid g*nf*re)

Only to come under heavy fire from

a concealed machine g*n nest.

Several of his men are shot.

NARRATOR: But Provost and four others

close in on the machine g*n nest

with firing lines toward the farmhouse.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: American Technician

Fifth Grade James Brune pulls

the pin on a grenade and

tosses it over the hedge.

STEVEN: Hedgerows are a natural

defensive structure.

Usually, they edge

all four sides of a field

designed to protect farm fields

against the harsh coastal winds.

And so, these hedgerows were

built up over the centuries.

And they're very, very substantial.

They could be six, ten feet high.

Combinations of rock and soil.

NARRATOR: The hedgerows can

be so thick they prove immune

to many weapons, including tanks.

They create countless

small battlefields which negate

large coordinated attacks.

And the Germans have had

a lot of time to prepare.

PETER: They have trained there for month

in these hedgerows, the bocage.

In every corner of this hedgerows,

there could be a German machine g*n,

and they can also move

their troops in concealment,

and it makes it very difficult

for the Americans to advance.

NARRATOR: Often, the

enemy presence is detected

only when it is too late.

(expl*si*n)

Fortunately, the grenade thrown

over the hedge by James Brune

stuns the German soldiers

occupying the position.

JOHN: Provost is of the mindset that

he has to preserve b*ll*ts.

That's what he's telling his people

to stick them with bayonets rather than

sh**t b*ll*ts in 'em.

And that's a rather extraordinary

order in modern combat.

NARRATOR: With

the bayonet charge,

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole

captures the objective.

The farmhouse is secure.

The battalion quickly sets

up their command post there.

With a foothold on the south

side of the Madeleine River,

Cole’s men hope to continue

their attack towards Carentan.

As early as June 7th, Eisenhower

himself ordered the drive to

close the gap between

Omaha and Utah beaches.

And Carentan is the key.

NARRATOR: From the town,

Major Friedrich Von der Heydte

positions his crack Fallschirmjäger troops

against the coming American attack.

He has been ordered

to hold to the last man.

Meanwhile the 17th SS Panzer Division

rumbles slowly toward Carentan.

PETER: The tank reinforcement

at Carentan is delayed because

the Germans can move their

troops only during nighttime.

During daytime, the skies

are full of allied airplanes.

NARRATOR: Throughout June 10th,

re-supply also remains hampered.

PETER: There's still a lot of

chaos in the German response.

It is difficult to

bring in reinforcements and

also to supply their troops,

so the Germans are

running out of ammunition.

NARRATOR: Nevertheless

Von der Heydte

follows standard German

military doctrine and

orders a counterattack before

the Americans can

consolidate their position.

Cover that hedge over here.

NARRATOR: As they secure the

area around the farmhouse

Could be more of them!

NARRATOR: Second Lieutenant Edward Provost

encounters more Germans.

(rapid g*nf*re)

During the fight, he tries

to pull the pin from a grenade,

and he is struck by a German b*llet.

Bleeding, the Lieutenant

retreats to the command post

at the farmhouse.

NARRATOR: In the yard, Cole

moves between soldiers.

He has established a makeshift

aid station where he treats

the wounded Americans who pour into

the courtyard from the battle.

JOHN:

In normal combat,

Cole would have a battalion

command post behind the lines.

He would have his medical

people there doing their thing.

But in this instance,

he's at this spear point with

whomever happens to be there with him.

And there's not many medics,

but there are wounded.

NARRATOR: Without proper supplies,

Cole improvises.

He finds a pickax handle

to stabilize a broken leg.

Cole looks up to see a young private

removing his boot.

JOHN: What Cole

really wants to impress upon him

is how vulnerable he is, how

he probably ought to move and

put himself in a better circumstance.

This is a hot spot!

Get outta here!

NARRATOR: The young soldier

brushes off Cole’s concerns.

Private! Now!

NARRATOR: And continues

to treat his minor wound.

(expl*si*n)

At that moment, a German round

hits the careless paratrooper.

JOHN: The Germans

knew the ground, they knew

which buildings were

likely to be a command post or

where Americans were likely to cluster,

because of course, they

had themselves had done

much the same thing.

It's a, it’s a pretty obvious target.

NARRATOR: As the

Germans close in,

Cole is in dire need of his

own accurate a*tillery to stop

the German counterattack.

Communication is critical.

But their a*tillery Liaison Officer,

is unable to use his radio after it landed

in the water earlier in the day.

He cannot update the

batteries to the rear.

JOHN: You want to at least be

able to provide them with

a basic sense of where you are,

so that they can fire beyond

that line of where you are

to where they know you're not.

NARRATOR: Fortunately,

just before noon,

a resupply breaks

through to the farmhouse,

with a new radio.

But it still needs to be set up.

Rosemond has two options,

go through a procedure to find the

right frequency on the new set.

Or, to switch crystals from the old radio,

to match the frequency

of the a*tillery batteries.

JOHN: He understands

that time is of the essence,

so in a way, he cannibalizes

the parts to use in a radio

that he thinks probably will work.

NARRATOR: American defensive

positions around the farmhouse

begin to crumble.

In the firefight, Sergeant William Grant

is struck in the arm, and

withdraws to get first aid.

JOHN: His

guys are watching him,

they don't see him really get hit.

They just see him start to run back.

So, in their minds, that means,

"Oh, we're withdrawing,"

and nobody wants to be left behind.

Retreat!

NARRATOR: Other paratroopers join them

and head toward the bridge.

NARRATOR: Cole can’t see this movement,

but senses something is wrong.

JOHN: He knows

how hard his guys have fought.

He knows they've been

through a rough night,

and he knows the most

likely explanation is that

they're starting to run out of

steam and maybe run out of a*mo.

And so, that puts them on the wrong side

in the, the fire superiority equation.

It's probably dawning on him,

he's starting to

lose control of this battle,

and that is never a good feeling at all.

Rosemond!

NARRATOR: Cole demands

more a*tillery support.

Rosemond continues

to work intently on the radio.

Come on!

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, a few

American paratroopers retreating

soon becomes a flood of men running back

toward the

bridge yelling, “Withdraw.”

It has the makings of a rout.

As Rosemond works to transfer

the crystals to the new radio,

Cole receives a message

from Regimental Command

with the order to cease fire.

(rapid g*nf*re)

NARRATOR: As groups of

American Paratroopers retreat

to the bridge from the battle.

A U.S. Jeep approaches the

German held city of Carentan

under a red cross flag.

Major General Maxwell Taylor,

Commander of the 101st Airborne

sends an emissary to

Major Friedrich Von der Heydte

accompanied by

two German prisoners of w*r.

Von der Heydte defends the

French city of Carentan which

the Americans want to capture

to link Utah and Omaha beaches.

This is not an American surrender.

Instead, they offer the German Major

an honorable capitulation,

to save the lives of his men

and the civilians of Carentan.

Von der Heydte declines.

He doesn't surrender

because surrendering is against

the sense of duty of the

German officers of this time.

And it's also a danger for him,

his career and also his family.

When Von der Heydte receives

the offer to capitulate,

he just answers, "Would you capitulate

in the same situation?"

JOHN: Maybe

I look at it too much from

the German point of view

that it's so absurd.

The battle for the town

has really kind of just begun.

It's almost analogous to someone

getting a foot in your door and saying,

"Okay, when are you going to

turn your house over to me?"

NARRATOR: But the

cease fire helps the Americans

to stabilize their line.

JOHN: Their

lead unit is in crisis.

They are not particularly well-supplied.

So, any kind of truce like this, I think,

is much likely to help them

much more so than the Germans.

NARRATOR: Von der Heydte

also takes advantage of the ceasefire.

German a*tillery Observers use

the opportunity to crawl closer

to the American command post.

They can now radio back

more accurate information.

As soon as the truce expires,

Von der Heydte orders a heavy bombardment

of the American positions.

PETER: Von der Heydte does what

almost any commander would do in

the similar situation

during the ceasefire.

He reorganizes his men,

reinforces their position,

with a message,

“We’re not going anywhere.”

NARRATOR: But the Americans have their own

a*tillery observer back online.

Rosemond uses his new radio

to relay updated targets

to the American batteries.

But the hedgerows mean he

can’t really confirm where

the a*tillery lands.

JOHN: In this case he may be able

to, to get a little sense

of where explosions occur by blasts,

or some smoke here and there.

But that's really

nowhere near as good as your,

as your eyes on.

And he's relying on sound,

which is very problematic, too,

in the context of a battle,

where there's probably a decent number of

weapons cooking off.

NARRATOR: The Germans move along

the tree line before slipping to

the flank on the inside of the hedgerow.

They have moved in under

the American a*tillery screen

invisible to the defending paratroopers,

until they start to sh**t.

As their need for supporting

a*tillery fire increases,

Rosemond gets dealt another blow.

What did I just say!

(radio static)

NARRATOR: The

Germans jammed his radio.

(radio static)

JOHN: Basically,

your communications are out,

they are jammed.

And so now, you're going to have

to figure out a way around that.

And it's just kind of one

more headache that you have,

and one that could

be fatal, in this instance.

So, uh, it is a matter of

tremendous importance that

those radios come back online.

NARRATOR: As the

Fallschirmjäger close in,

the paratroopers start

to run low on ammunition.

Without resupply, it will

be impossible to hold off

the German attack.

MAN: I need more a*mo!

MAN 2: Last one! Make it count!

NARRATOR: The farmhouse command post sits

at the south end of a long causeway,

connected by bridges and

obstructed by a Belgian Gate.

Vehicle traffic to

bring ammunition forward

is virtually impossible.

The causeway is still a dangerous place.

Uh, the Germans can still target it.

NARRATOR: Wounded soldiers

also clog the route.

(explosions)

Even individual a*mo runners

find it difficult to advance.

They decide to use the traffic jam along

the ditches to their advantage,

they create a human conveyor belt.

JOHN: There's lines

of wounded waiting to get out,

people taking cover, whatever it is.

And so, they just pass the a*mo,

in the direction of what they know is the

front-line positions.

And so, once again, this is improvised.

NARRATOR: a*mo boxes and belts

pass through hundreds of hands

to resupply the American

main line of resistance.

Major Friedrich Von der Heydte of

the German Sixth Fallschirmjäger Regiment

faces similar challenges of his own.

PETER: It may not seem to Cole,

but Von der Heydte is

running out of ammunition.

So, for him, this barrage

is a kind of last-ditch effort

to keep the Americans at bay.

NARRATOR: Von der Heydte

throws everything he has

into the counterattack.

NARRATOR: Under the acute pressure,

Cole’s men succumb to wave after

wave of intense enemy fire.

The American defenses give way,

and the Germans push in even closer.

(distant g*nf*re)

(explosions)

NARRATOR: Lieutenant

Colonel Robert Cole

joins his a*tillery liaison.

The two men can hear and see a change.

Cole would later

describe it as a dying rattle.

JOHN: The term dying rattle I

think is really quite poignant,

because it sort of

equates to death rattle.

That would happen

with an individual dying.

What he's telling you

with that term is that,

"My unit is dying if

this continues much longer."

NARRATOR: Cole believes

that his line has been cracked.

He must start preparations for a retreat.

Rosemond remains determined.

If he can just make contact

with the a*tillery batteries,

American firepower could

hold off the German onslaught.

(radio static)

With his radio still jammed,

he keeps changing frequencies,

hoping to get his message out.

STEVEN: The

problem is during World w*r II,

the radios are not especially reliable.

The Germans know what frequency

the U.S. radios are on and

so they will use jammers,

which are oftentimes just

a radio tuned to that particular channel,

and then you just broadcast noise on it.

Do you copy?

Sir! We’re through!

NARRATOR: Captain Rosemond finally breaks

through on a different channel.

He calls for a barrage dangerously

close to the farmhouse.

JOHN: If you are willing to call

down fire on your position,

what military circles

are called, “Danger close,”

it means basically that you're willing to

take some friendly casualties in order

to save the larger unit,

and break up the enemy attack,

and destroy the Germans here.

NARRATOR: But the a*tillery officer

on the line says they have no ammunition.

Rosemond is out of options.

He needs the officer to find something to

fire at the Germans.

Cole prepares for the worst-case scenario.

JOHN: He thinks

he's going to have to actually

leave his wounded behind

for the care of the Germans.

And that tells you how desperate

he perceived the situation to be

if he was willing to

leave his wounded behind.

So, this was the last option,

but it was one that he

was actually contemplating.

NARRATOR: In a turn of luck,

the batteries finally

receive their shipment.

Load up!

NARRATOR: The American g*ns

let loose, all of them.

Where Rosemond previously had support from

two battalions of a*tillery,

this call receives every g*n.

JOHN: To have every g*n within

command supporting this battle,

it certainly tells you that

it's a desperate situation.

NARRATOR: With a

critical objective.

The a*tillery barrage

devastates the German attackers.

Unfortunately, the barrage

is so close to the farmhouse,

that it likely strikes some

American defenders as well.

JOHN: But, uh, pretty much

everyone who was there

later said it was necessary,

that it had to be done this way.

As they put it, "We lost some good men,

but we needed that barrage."

NARRATOR: Major Von der Heydte

pulls his men back to

the southwest edge of

Carentan for a last stand.

PETER: He knows

he's running out of ammunition.

He had suffered heavy casualties.

So, in the end, he decides to do

what any responsible commander

would do in the similar situation.

He orders his troops to retreat.

NARRATOR: Cole’s

men have won the day,

at a heavy cost.

JOHN: The scale

of losses is just staggering.

You start out with about 700 guys.

And by the time the fighting is over,

you end up with 132.

The Third Battalion,

502nd Cole’s battalion,

is rendered almost combat

ineffective for most of the rest

of the battle in Normandy.

NARRATOR: But, they have

opened the door to Carentan.

Von der Heydte holds out for

six days but without ammunition,

he can no longer wait

for their SS reinforcements.

He orders a retreat from the town and

the Americans seize the precious hub.

PETER: For the SS,

Von der Heydte is the scapegoat

for the defeat at Carentan.

However, Von der Heydte is covered by

Senior Army and Para Officers

so that he's not being court-martialed.

And in contrast, he gets even nicknamed,

"The Lion of Carentan."

NARRATOR: Captain Saint Julien Rosemond

earns the distinguished service cross

for repeatedly moving forward

in the face of enemy fire to

hold his position to direct a*tillery.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole

is celebrated for the heroic fight.

COLE: Go!

COLE (over TV): Of course,

coming across this field,

we were exposed to these men

over here in the hedgerows,

here all the time.

And they had us perfectly covered.

So it was simply a matter of

getting across the open ground

as quickly as possible

and getting in amongst them.

NARRATOR: He earns the

highest b*ttlefield award,

The Congressional Medal of Honor.

But Cole is k*lled by a sn*per

at Operation Market Garden

before receiving word.

The capture of Carentan

springboards the Americans off

the beaches of Normandy and

consolidates the allied gains.

But the delay has allowed more

German reinforcements to close

in on the beaches.

The allies face stiff opposition

for every inch of French soil.

The w*r in Europe will rage

for nearly 11 more months.