View source for Merderet

{{Refimprove|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox river
  | name              = Merderet
  | image             = 
  | image_caption     = 
  | pushpin_map       = France#France Normandy
  | source1_location  = [[Normandy]] 
  | mouth_location    = [[Douve]]
  | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|49|21|48|N|1|21|16|W|display=inline,title}}
  | subdivision_type1 = Country
  | subdivision_name1 = [[France]]
  | length            = {{convert|36|km|abbr=on}}
  | source1_elevation = 
  | discharge1_avg    = 
  | basin_size        = 
  | progression       = [[Douve]]→ [[English Channel]]
}}
[[File:Map10.jpg|thumb|300px|US Army map of the Cotentin peninsula in 1944, showing the Merderet]]
The '''Merderet''' is a {{convert|36.4|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|abbr=off}} [[river]] in [[Normandy]], [[France]], which is a [[tributary]] to the river [[Douve]].<ref name=sandre>{{sandre|id=I51-0400|nom=Le Merderet}}</ref> It runs roughly north-south down the middle of the [[Cotentin peninsula]] from [[Valognes]] to the junction with the Douve at [[Beuzeville-la-Bastille|Beuzeville la Bastille]].

==Hydrology==
The river has relatively high [[turbidity]] and its brownish water is somewhat low in velocity due to the slight gradient of the watercourse; [[pH]] levels have been measured at 8.31<ref>Hogan, C. Michael, ''Water quality of freshwater bodies in France'', Lumina Tech Press, Aberdeen (2006)</ref> near the [[Chateau d'Isle Marie]] and [[electrical conductivity]] of the waters have tested at 61 microsiemens per centimetre. At this reference location, summer flows are typically around {{convert|250|cuft/s|m3/s|order=flip|0|abbr=on}}.

==Airborne landings on D-Day==
{{main|Mission Boston}}
Running parallel to the shoreline about {{convert|5|mi|km|0|order=flip|abbr=off}} from [[Utah Beach]], the marshes of the Merderet and Douve formed a natural defensive line protecting the western end of the [[Normandy landings|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]] as [[Mission Boston]], 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]] 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]]'', which is set around a bridge over the Merderet in the fictional town of Ramelle.

After the [[Battle of Carentan]] on 9 June, Allied forces moved up the Cotentin Peninsula on either side of the Merderet. This advance culminated in the [[Battle of Cherbourg]] which saw the port captured by the end of the month.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070629123409/http://nora.embl-heidelberg.de/gallery/v/Travel/Champagne_Normandie_2003/083_Legendary_Merderet_river_bridge_La_Fiere.jpg.html Merderet River Bridge at La Fière]

[[Category:Rivers of Normandy]]
[[Category:Rivers of France]]
[[Category:Rivers of Manche]]
[[Category:Coastal basins of the English Channel in France|1Merderet]]