Remains of the "Filthy Thirteen" Bridge Carentan-Les-Marais

The Filthy Thirteen, part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, were tasked on D-Day with capturing two bridges on the Douve River. These bridges were intended to connect the Utah Beach bridgehead with the Omaha Beach bridgehead.

They did indeed capture the bridges, but due to communication problems, they were unable to report this to headquarters. Colonel Robert Sink, commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, feared that intact bridges would allow the Germans to launch a flanking attack on the American troops. He therefore ordered the bridges to be bombed, which the RAF carried out.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Koos Winkelman