Seine River Steamers The Élise was the first steam ship to cross the English Channel. She was bought in England 1814 by Pierre Andriel as" Margery", and renamed "Élise". Andriel intended to accomplish a spectacular crossing of the Channel to convince public opinion that steam ships could be ocean-worthy. She sailed up the Seine and arrived in Paris on 28 March, becoming a popular sensation. Two small saluting guns were mounted at the bow and fired in honour of Louis XVIII Early tugs used chains in the river to tow trains of barges up river. The low steam pressure and low power of
Seine River Crossing at Mantes-Gassicourt Seine River Crossing at Mantes-Gassicourt General George Patton's Third Army's Seine River Crossing at Mantes-Gassicourt was the first allied bridgehead across the Seine River in the aftermath of Operation Overlord, which allowed the Allies to engage in the Liberation of Paris. During the two days of the bridge crossing, American anti-aircraft artillery shot down almost fifty German planes. After the successful allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, The United States Third Army was formed in France to assist in the breakout from Normandy, code named Operation Cobra. The drive to the Seine began on 3 August, when General Bradley