Battle of Bloody Gulch The Battle of Bloody Gulch took place near Hill 30 ( U . S . Army designation ) approximately one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) southwest of Carentan in Normandy , France on June 13 , 1944 , between elements of the German 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division and 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment , and the American 501st , 502nd and 506th , Parachute Infantry Regiments ( PIR ) of the U . S . 101st Airborne Division , reinforced by elements of the U . S . 2nd Armored Division . Battle . When the 101st Airborne entered the town of Carentan on June 12 , 1944 ( D - Day + 6 ) after heavy fighting on the two previous days , they met relatively light resistance . The bulk of the surviving German defenders ( from the 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment ) had withdrawn to the southwest the previous night after a heavy Allied naval and artillery bombardment . Both sides realized the importance of the city : for the Americans , it was a link between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach , and would provide a base for further attacks deeper into German - occupied France . For the Germans , recapturing Carentan would be the first step towards driving a wedge between the two U . S . landing beaches , severely disrupting and possibly even destroying the Allied invasion . The remnants of the 6th Fallschirmjäger resupplied and were reinforced by assault guns and panzergrenadier s of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division on the night of June 12 – 13 . The combined force counterattacked northeast towards Carentan at dawn on June 13 , just as the 506th and 501st PIR were attacking southwest to enlarge the American defensive perimeter around the town . The 506th took the brunt of the attack , and by 10 : 30 a . m . , the outnumbered and outgunned paratroopers were pushed almost back to the outskirts of the city . Under intense German fire , F Company of the 506th ' s left flank broke and fell back . This exposed D Company ' s right flank , who also fell back , leaving E Company all alone . CPT Thomas P . Mulvey , the commanding officer of F Company , was relieved on the spot by Colonel Strayer . When a German StuG assault gun attempted to penetrate the left flank , Lt . Harry Welsh and Pvt . John McGrath of E Company successfully destroyed it with a bazooka . This gave time for battalion headquarters to stop the retreat of D and F companies , pushing them forward 150 meters to cover the left flank . The 2nd Battalion of the 502nd PIR took up positions to the right of the 506th , but by 1 : 00 p . m . they too had suffered many casualties , and the German attack was on the edge of breaking through their defenses . At this critical point , sixty tanks from Combat Command A of the 2nd Armored Division and accompanied by infantry of the 29th Division , counterattacked southwest from Carentan at 4 : 30 p . m . , inflicting severe casualties on the Germans and forcing them to withdraw . The American victory led to the linkup of forces from Utah and Omaha beaches , creating a secure lodgement area for further American operations . The actions of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment during the Graignes incident ( better known as the Battle of Graignes ) south - west of Carentan , played a part in the successful capture of Carentan and the Battle of Bloody Gulch . Had the miss - dropped paratroopers of the 507th not stopped the advance of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division , it is possible that the German division could have made it to Carentan before the 101st Airborne Division . What ' s more , the 507th caused the Germans significant losses in the few days that they were holding Graignes and this likely influenced the battle at the Bloody Gulch . The battle in popular culture . The fight was popularized with the release of the HBO series " Band of Brothers " ( in the third episode " Carentan " ) , which portrays the 506th PIR ' s part in the battle . The video game " and " portrayed a fictional group of soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Robert G . Cole ( a Medal of Honor recipient ) , on their journey to take Carentan . The final level of " Road to Hill 30 " is the Battle of Bloody Gulch , which concludes with the tanks of the 2nd Armored Division arriving on the battlefield . The strategy game " Company of Heroes " also features the defense of Carentan . The game " Call of Duty 2 " features a multiplayer map set in Carentan . The " " modification " " also features a Carentan map .