Brécourt Manor Assault The Brécourt Manor Assault ( June 6 , 1944 ) during the U . S . parachute assault of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small - unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force . Objective . As a result of the crash of a C - 47 having killed its company commander , Thomas Meehan III , command of Company E , 2nd Battalion , 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division devolved to the company executive officer , 1st Lt . Richard Winters . After linking up with his parent unit at the hamlet of Le Grand Chemin on the morning of June 6 , 1944 , Winters was ordered up front away from his company . With minimal instructions of " " There ' s fire along that hedgerow there . Take care of it , " " and no briefing , Winters found himself given the task of destroying a German artillery battery . The battery had initially been reported to be 88 mm gun s firing onto causeway exit # 2 leading off Utah Beach and disrupting landing forces of the U . S . 4th Infantry Division advancing inland on this route . Several other units had stumbled onto the German position earlier in the morning and had been repulsed . Winters undertook a reconnaissance at about 0830 , after which he collected a team of 12 men from his own and other companies . Beyond knowledge of the general location of the gun emplacements south of Le Grand Chemin and without information of the other side of the hedgerow , Winters ' team attacked Brecourt Manor , located three miles southwest of Utah Beach and north of the village of Sainte - Marie - du - Mont . There he discovered No . 6 Battery of the 90th Artillery Regiment , consisting of four 105 mm howitzer s connected by trench es and defended by a company of soldiers . Winters held that the unit was part of the 6th Fallschirmjägerregiment ( 6th Parachute Regiment ) with emplaced MG42 machine gun s . The 1st Battalion of the 6th had been ordered to Sainte Marie - du - Mont from Carentan during the afternoon but arrived after dark . The 1st Company 919th Grenadier Regiment ( 709th Infantry Division ) was posted at Sainte Marie - du - Mont and was responsible for the area . Elements of 1058th Grenadier Regiment ( 91st Luftlandedivision ) were defending throughout the vicinity , and the artillery was part of this division also . The 795th Georgian Battalion , attached to the 709th ID , was to the northwest at Turqueville but is less likely to have been present because of terrain difficulties . Whichever unit defended the battery , the U . S . paratroopers were opposed by approximately sixty German soldiers . The crew originally assigned to the four 105mm guns had apparently deserted during the night of the airborne landings . Oberstleutnant Frederich von der Heydte of the German 6th Parachute Regiment , upon discovering they had been abandoned while observing the landings at Utah Beach , traveled to Carentan where he ordered his 1st Battalion to find men and work on the artillery battery . Battle . Upon arrival at the battery location , Winters made his plan . He positioned a pair of M1919 machine guns for covering fire and sent several soldiers ( 2d Lt . Lynn D . Compton , Pvt . Donald Malarkey and Sgt . William J . Guarnere ) to one flank to destroy a machine gun position with grenade s and provide covering fire . While the trenches connecting the artillery positions provided the Germans with an easy way to supply and reinforce the guns , they also proved to be their biggest weakness . After destroying the first gun position , Winters and the rest of his team used the trenches as covered approaches to attack the remaining guns in turn . Each gun was destroyed by placing a block of TNT down its barrel and using German stick grenades to set off the charges . Reinforcements from Company D , led by 2d Lt . Ronald C . Speirs , arrived to complete the assault on the fourth and last gun . Speirs had a reputation as an excellent and extremely aggressive officer and he led his men against the last gun position by running outside the trenches and exposing himself to enemy fire . After the four guns were disabled , Winters ' team came under heavy machine - gun fire from Brécourt Manor and withdrew . He had discovered a German map in one gun position that was marked with the locations of all German artillery and machine gun positions throughout that area of the Cotentin Peninsula . This was an invaluable piece of intelligence , and once Winters returned to Le Grand Chemin passed it on to the 2nd Battalion intelligence officer ( S - 2 ) ( and close personal friend ) 1st Lt . Lewis Nixon . Nixon , realizing this to be an essential piece of intelligence , ran the 3 miles to Utah Beach and passed the information up the chain of command . Command was so thrilled with the information provided by Nixon and Winters that it sent the first two tanks to reach Utah Beach to support the paratroopers . Winters also directed the fire of two American tank s which arrived later from Utah Beach to eliminate remaining German resistance . Winters lost one man , Pfc . John D . Halls from an 81mm mortar platoon , and Private Robert " Popeye " Wynn was wounded during the attack ( Wynn was evacuated back to England , recovered from his wound and rejoined Easy Company just before Operation Market Garden ) . Another casualty was Warrant Officer Andrew Hill , who was killed when he came upon the battle while searching for the headquarters of the 506th PIR . Sgt . " Rusty " Houck from F Company , who was with Speirs , was killed as well . One soldier from D Company under Speirs ' command was also killed , as well as one soldier wounded from D Company . Aftermath . Troops landing at Utah Beach had a relatively easy landing , due in part to this successful assault . Colonel Robert Sink , the commander of the 506th PIR , recommended Winters for the Medal of Honor , but the award was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross due to the policy of only one Medal of Honor awarded per division which was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Robert G . Cole . There was a campaign to upgrade Winters ' Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor as many felt he deserved , but the bill to award the Medal of Honor to Winters , H . R . 796 , died in committee at the end of the 110th United States Congress and has not been reintroduced since by its sponsor , Tim Holden . The official Army history of these events on D - Day is quiet about the battle . Army historian S . L . A . Marshall interviewed Winters about the attack , but the interview was not private - many of Winters ' superior officers were present - and , according to his memoir " Beyond Band of Brothers " , he may have downplayed his description of the event to avoid personal accolade and to keep the account succinct . In fact , Marshall stated in his report that Winters had about two hundred men under his command . However , nearly every man involved was later recognized for his role in the attack . A documentary produced by filmmaker and trial attorney Vance Day titled " " The Battle at Brecourt Manor " " was premiered in August 2010 in Salem , OR during an event for Donald Malarkey who served in Easy Company and during the engagement at Brecourt Manor . Day is a good friend of Malarkey ' s and the two travel extensively to conduct Frontline Leadership seminars around the country , primarily for law enforcement , military , and leadership organizations . Lynn " Buck " Compton also was regularly involved in both events for Frontline Leadership and " The Battle at Brecourt Manor " showings . Medals Awarded . Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Bronze Star Purple Heart