Military Patch
c 1941-1945
9th US Infantry Division Cloth Shoulder Patch

The 9th U.S. Infantry Division captured the port city of Cherbourg on June 27, 1944, in hopes of opening up another supply base for the invasion. However, the Germans had destroyed or mined most of the dock facilities and it would be some time before the sea port could be repaired.

VII Corps commander Major General “Lightning Joe” Collins oversaw the American ground forces, which included the 9th Division, west of the town of St. Lo, France. It was in this sector that Eisenhower hoped for a breakthrough in OPERATION COBRA. This plan called for a massive carpet bombing of a segment of the German line by Allied air forces prior to the attack.

On July 25, 1944, several thousand Allied bombers unleashed a devastating blow to the enemy defenses. Three divisions, including the 9th Infantry, broke through on this narrow front once it had been pulverized by the aerial bombardment. As follow up, several armored divisions and one mechanized infantry division were also sent in. The success near St. Lo enabled the American First Army to break out of the Normandy hedgerow country seven weeks after D-Day.

Cloth. Dia 6.6 cm
Eisenhower National Historic Site, EISE 10377