The Merderet is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, which is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

to the river

Douve The Douve () or Ouve is a river, in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near Cherbourg in the department of Manche. ''Ouve'' is considered its old name (''Unva'' in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the cours ...

. It runs roughly north-south down the middle of the

Cotentin peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

from

Valognes Valognes () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. Geography Valognes is situated in the Cotentin Peninsula, southeast of Cherbourg. Valognes station has rail connections to Caen, Paris and Cherbourg. His ...

to the junction with the Douve at Beuzeville la Bastille.

Hydrology

The river has relatively high

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

and its brownish water is somewhat low in velocity due to the slight gradient of the watercourse; pH levels have been measured at 8.31Hogan, C. Michael, ''Water quality of freshwater bodies in France'', Lumina Tech Press, Aberdeen (2006) near the Chateau d'Isle Marie and

electrical conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called volume resistivity or specific electrical resistance) is a fundamental specific property of a material that measures its electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity in ...

of the waters have tested at 61 microsiemens per centimetre. At this reference location, summer flows are typically around .

Airborne landings on D-Day

Running parallel to the shoreline about from Utah Beach, 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. They had been flooded to further impede movement. 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 The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

Mission Boston Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by Major General Matthew Ridgway's U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. Boston was a component element of Ope ...

, 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 () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern French Departments of France, department of Manche, in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Beuzeville-au-Plain, Chef-d ...

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'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...

'', which is set around a bridge over the Merderet in the fictional town of Ramelle. After the

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 Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy. The battle took place from 10 to 14 June 1944, on the approach ...

on 9 June, Allied forces moved up the Cotentin Peninsula on either side of the Merderet. This advance culminated in the

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 6 June 1944. Allied troops, mainly American, isolated and captured the fortified port, which was ...

which saw the port captured by the end of the month.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Merderet River Bridge at La Fière
Rivers of Normandy Rivers of France Rivers of Manche 1Merderet