Merderet
Encyclopedia
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
which is tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
to the Douve River. It runs roughly north-south down the middle of the Cotentin peninsula
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy, forming part of the north-western coast of France. It juts out north-westwards into the English Channel, towards Great Britain...
from Valognes
Valognes
Valognes is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.It lies on the Merderet river, southeast of Cherbourg.-History:...
to the junction with the Douve at Beuzeville la Bastille.
Hydrology
The river has relatively high turbidityTurbidity
Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality....
and its brownish water is somewhat low in velocity due to the slight gradient of the watercourse; pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
levels have been measured at 8.31 near the Chateau d'Isle Marie and electrical conductivity of the waters have tested at 61 micro-siemens per centimetre. At this reference location, summer flows are typically in the range of 250 cuft/s.
Airborne landings on D-Day
Running parallel to the shoreline about 5 miles (8 km) from Utah BeachUtah Beach
Utah Beach was the code name for the right flank, or westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...
, the marshes of the Merderet and Douve formed a natural defensive line protecting the western end of the Allied landing zone and at the same time limiting the Allies' potential to break out of the beachhead. Thus control of the bridges at Manoir de la Fière and Chef-du-Pont was seen as vital. The Merderet was assigned to the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division as Mission Boston
Mission Boston
Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy. Boston was a component of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of France, Operation Overlord...
, scheduled for 5 hours before the amphibious landings on D-Day. Cloud cover and German fire caused the landings to be dispersed; the paratroopers took the strategic town of Sainte-Mère-Église
Sainte-Mère-Église
Sainte-Mère-Église is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Founded in the eleventh Century, the earliest records include the name Sancte Marie Ecclesia, Latin for "Church of St. Mary", while a later document written in Norman-French mentions Saincte...
but failed in their original mission to clear the west bank of the Merderet on D-Day and blow the bridge over the Douze at Pont l'Abbé (now Étienville). The extent of their control of the bridges over the Merderet is disputed, but it was sufficient to hold off German counterattacks. These included an attack over the causeway at La Fiere by the 1057th Grenadier Regiment and light tanks of the 100th Panzer Replacement Battalion. This appears to have been the inspiration for the climactic battle in the film Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, which is set around a bridge over the Merderet in the fictional town of Ramelle.
After the Battle of Carentan
Battle of Carentan
The Battle of Carentan was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy. The battle took place between 10 and 15 June 1944, on the approaches to and within the city of Carentan, France.The objective of the...
on 9 June, Allied forces moved up the Cotentin Peninsula on either side of the Merderet. This advance culminated in the Battle of Cherbourg
Battle of Cherbourg
The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. It was fought immediately after the successful Allied landings on June 6, 1944...
which saw the port captured by the end of the month.
Sources
- http://www.geoportail.fr
- The Merderet at the Sandre database
