Operation Chicago

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Battle of Normandy
Sword – Juno – Gold – Omaha – Utah – Pointe du Hoc – Brécourt Manor – Chicago – Villers-Bocage – Cherbourg – Epsom – Goodwood – Atlantic – Spring – Cobra – Bluecoat – Lüttich – Totalise – Tractable – Falaise – Brest – Paris

Operation Chicago was the airborne insertion of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division into Vierville in Normandy on the early morning of June 6, 1944. It was part of the Allied invasion of northern France, Operation Overlord.

The 101st Airborne Division's objectives for Operation Chicago were:

Secure the four causeway exits behind Utah Beach
Disrupt German communications
Setup roadblocks to hamper German movements
Capture Sainte-Come-du-Mont
Destroy coastal batteries including the Saint-Germain-de-Varreville battery
Capture and destroy bridges on the Carentan causeway, and those spanning the Douve River at Brevands
Capture Douve River lock at la Barquette
Reach Highway 13 at Les Forges
Link up with the 82nd Airborne
Secure the Douve River valley

The 101st's Pathfinders jumped from 11 C-47 transports. The first on the ground was Capt. Frank L. Lillyman, who touched down at 0015 (12:15am). They would then mark out the three landing zones (located behind Utah Beach) for the each of the three Parachute Regiments of the Division. 6,789 men embarked on 432 additional C-47s would land around 1am. 38 C-47s were lost to various causes enroute, and the rest were badly scattered by poor weather (leading to an inability to find the drop zone) and German anti-aircraft fire. The vast majority of the 101st landed in an area 25 miles long by 15 miles wide, and 75% of those landing inside this area landed in an area of higher density roughly 8 miles by 8 miles west of St. Mere Eglise.

Some paratroopers drowned after falling into the sea or into areas deliberately flooded by the Germans. Others landed directly on fortified areas and were quickly captured or killed. Almost all were scattered. After 24 hours, only 2,500 of the 6,000-strong 101st had rallied. Many of the isolated continued to roam and fight behind enemy lines for days. Despite the difficulties of the night drop, the troopers did confuse and engage the enemy, and they also saw successes. Lt. Col. Ed Krause, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 505th PIR landed approximately 1 mile west of the village of St. Mere Eglise. Rounding up 180 scattered soldiers in the space of an hour, he and his men advanced on the village. The German soldiers stationed in the village had gone back to bed after the initial excitement was over. By 0600 (06:00am), Lt. Col. Krause's men captured 30 German soldiers, killed 10 and drove the remaining German soldiers in the nearby woods, thus securing the village. It is often said that St. Mere Eglise was the first village to be liberated, that is untrue; in fact, the first village to be liberated was taken over 4 hours earlier, by troops of the British 6th Airborne Division. During the "coup de main" to capture the bridge over the River Orne (now called "Pegasus Bridge, in honour of the 6th Airborne), these troops captured the village of Benouville at around 01:00 on June 6th.

The approaches to Utah Beach were secured, resulting in a very successful landing there. Final casualties for the 101st were 1,240, or about 20%.