Seine River Steamers early vessels meant that positive traction by pulling on a chain against a deadman or anchor was much more effective. In the 1830s river travel was considered dangerous, so much so that insurers would put a 25 percent premium on cargoes and vessels travelling the route. The Seine is divided into three sections, the lower or Oise section, middle or Paris Section, and upper or Marne section. Ships enter the river at Le Havre through a bad tidal bore. (Victor Hugo's favourite daughter was killed while travelling in a small boat across the bore.) Oceangoing ships can travel to Rouen,
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