BRIEF HISTORY OF EASY COMPANY

MISSIONS / OPERATIONS

Operation Overlord (D-Day)
Operation Overlord is the most known Allied Forces invasion during World War Two. The mission of Easy Company was to be deployed from an airbase located in England, and be dropped over the area of Normandy, France. From there, their mission was to destroy German positions so that the Allied beach-front invasion could take place with a limited amount of Allied casualties as. The troops were dropped into France at early hours of the morning on June 6th, 1944. This was to deploy unnoticed to the Germans, and keep the airplanes safe from anti-aircraft fire. Their mission was to spearhead the invasion of the beaches of Normandy.


Arnhem, Holland (Remagen Bridge)
Easy Company was assigned to support the British forces in Arnhem, by defending the roads so that the British supply trucks could successfully move into Arnhem and resupply the troops. The battle of the British forces to keep control of the Arnhem occurred during September of 1944. The battle ended with the surrender of British troops to the German Army. Later, the Canadian Army regained control over the city.


Ardennes Forest and Bastogne, Belgium
During the months of December of 1944 to January 1945, Easy Company and the rest of the 101st Airborne Division fought in the Ardennes Forest in a battle known as the Battle of the Bulge. This battle was the German Army’s last great offensive, and it took place in the Ardennes Forest and the fight for cities like Bastogne and St. Vith, Belgium. Easy Company, fought for many months in the cold weather. The Allied Forces successfully turned the offensive around, and from this mission, Easy Company and the rest of the 506th PIR moved into Germany.


Occupation duties
Towards the end of the war, Easy Company was assigned to the occupation duty in Germany, specifically to Berchtesgaden, which was home to Adolf Hitler’s famous Eagle’s Nest. Following Berchtesgaden, Easy Company moved in to Austria for occupational duties. The company mostly attended to various patrols, awaited for the end of the war.

Easy Company and the rest of the 506th PIR, was disbanded in November 1945, and was reactivated in 1954, as a training unit.