July 1944

Western Front

The US 1st Army opens a general offensive, to become known as the Battle of the Hedgerows, on the western flank. The VIII Corps, in a driving rain that prevents air support and hampers movement, attacks soouthward down the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula toward La Haye-du-Puits with the 79th, 82nd Airborne, and 90th Divisions, from west to east abreast. Progress is limited by firm opposition in hedgerow country, but the 82nd Airborne gains Hill 131, northeast of La Haye-du-Puits.