Brécourt Manor Assault

The Battle of Sainte-Mère-Église took place at the French town of Sainte-Mère-Église just inland from the Normandy coast.

Prelude
The 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne divisions both parachuted into Sainte-Mère-Église during the opening hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Background
Two Airborne soldiers Martin and Heath landed just outside the town of Sainte-Mère-Église, however Heath got caught in his parachute and got killed by hanging as a result, leaving Martin to set the beacon alone. After activating the beacon, the paratrooper drops end up being scattered, causing Martin to work with units from multiple companies. Martin and the other Airborne troops cleared nearby farmhouses of German soldiers. The group then fought through the streets of Sainte-Mère-Église, destroying several Flakpanzers on their way and manage to capture the town and Martin was reunited with his unit. The Airborne troops held it the next morning with a German's counter-attack with mortar fire, infantry, and a Panzer IV tank. The Airborne troops held the position before they are ordered to reinforce the northern approach to the village, where another Panzer IV appears. The Airborne troops managed to defeat all of the opposition before beginning an assault on German mortar crews in the area.

Aftermath
After repelling the German troops, Captain Foley decided to call for reinforcements and assigned Martin, along with Elder and Moody, to drive to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont in a captured vehicle. Through Highway N13, they meet fierce German opposition and are eventually disabled by a German Panzer IV. Taking refuge from the tank's fire in a nearby garage, Moody discovers an operational Kubelwagen and drive away and arrive safely at the battalion headquarters where reinforcements are brought up and sent to Sainte-Mère-Église. As a result, Sainte-Mère-Église became one of the first towns in Europe liberated from Nazi control. D-Day became a success and the liberation of France began.