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Lt. Comm. Walsh & the Capture of the Port of Cherbourg by Avi Heiligman
The Jewish Home | JUNE 23, 2022 Forgotten Her es Lt. Comm. Walsh & the Capture of the Port of Cherbourg
By Avi Heiligman
The landings on the Normandy coast on D-Day on June 6, 1944 were just the beginning of the Allied invasion of mainland Europe.
Planners in charge of logistics were concerned about not having a deep-water port suitable to unload ships. Artificial harbors were constructed but a storm on June 19 wrecked the port that was built on Omaha Beach. The port of Cherbourg was chosen as the next target but everyone, including the Germans, knew that an assault was coming and they fortified the port. A coast guard officer along with a unique group of hand-picked sailors were an integral part of that battle and captured hundreds of Germans while opening up the port to American ships.
Quentin R. Walsh from Providence, Rhode Island, graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1933 and spent time on cutters up and down the East Coast. He was given a spy-like type of mission in the late-1930s while on a Norwegian whaling ship, and in the months leading up to D-Day was given the highest security clearance. This made him privy to the invasion plans, and he saw that the navy would be in charge of clearing and operating the harbor. The planners of the invasion said that it would be easier to train sailors to fight to take over a port than to have soldiers operate the port. Walsh knew that if he had a reconnaissance team, he could figure out what was left in the harbor and wouldn’t have to rely on the army.
While the Navy SEALs weren’t formed until the 1960s, their predecessors, known as UDTs, were very active during World War II. Their missions included charting coastlines and re-
moving obstacles in the water. However, their missions did not include any land-based operations; those went to Special Forces like the Rangers. There were land-based sailors during the war including beach masters and construction battalions known as Seabees. The Seabees’ main responsibilities were to take over the construction duties from civilian contractors. They were trained to fight in addition to their construction skills and often found themselves in bitter firefights and took casualties.
Naval Task Unit 127.2.8 consisted of 52 Seabees and one intrepid coast guard commander who was on a mission given to him by top navy officers.
The men Walsh recruited for his special reconnaissance unit were Seabees
already stationed in Great Britain. He also commandeered equipment needed for the mission which included four motorcycles, nine jeeps, three trucks, rifles, submachine guns, pistols, ammunition and anti-tank weapons.
The unit came ashore on Utah Beach just days after the initial landings. They were with the 79th Infantry Division when they came up on Cherbourg on June 26. The eastern part of the port city was quickly captured, but the Germans retreated to the western part and fortified the area. The fighting was bitter, the shooting was constant, and casualties from both sides were mounting. On at least one occasion, the Americans captured the upper floors of a building, but the basement was occupied by German machine gun nests.
Two days later, in the morning, Walsh was a leading a sixteen-man element of his unit when they captured a German sailor. In broken English, he told Walsh where the German arsenal that was full of enemy troops and munitions was located.
As they approached, a machine gun opened fire; their translator said that these were drunken crazies who would never surrender. Still, the Americans pressed on to the arsenal until they came upon a German soldier waving a white flag. He said that 200 men wanted to surrender.
After the surrender of this contingent, Walsh sent four of his men to guard the prisoners while they were tak-
American troops in Cherbourg German prisoners in Cherbourg, June 1944
en to the American lines. As they continued to advance, Walsh and his men captured another 200 German soldiers. Walsh was left with only seven men and himself when they came across another 85 enemy combatants, all of whom surrendered. One of the Germans that they had captured said there were fifty American paratroopers being held prisoner by fanatical Nazis at Fort du Homet. Together with another officer, Walsh approached the fort waving a white flag. To his surprise, the Nazis waved a white flag in response. They set up a meeting in which Walsh said that he had 800 men waiting for the signal to attack the fort. The Nazis fell for this bluff and agreed to surrender. In all, 750 Germans were captured and 52 American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division were released from German captivity through Walsh’s and his men’s heroic efforts.
Three Seabees from Walsh’s unit were killed and another ten were wounded in the successful push to drive the Germans out of Cherbourg. Once the port was in American hands, the unit was disbanded, and Walsh and the Seabees got to work making the port functional. Later, the unit was reassembled and grew to over 400 men. The goal this time was the port of Brest, and later the unit captured the city of Le Havre in just two weeks.
For his role in capturing Cherbourg, Lieutenant Commander Walsh was awarded the Navy Cross. The importance of having a deep-water port must not be overlooked in the Allies’ eventual victory – Walsh’s unit made a significant contribution to the war effort. Supplies, food and ammunition were now able to be easily unloaded and distributed to Allied troops.
The Normandy Campaign lasted until the end of August with the liberation of Paris.
Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.
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