Sailing at the 1900 Summer Olympics Seine near Meulan. For the larger yachts an Olympic regatta was held at Le Havre. During the Olympic regattas of the Exposition Universelle of 1900 there were more than 100 yachts racing from Paris, Rouen, Cannes, Nantes and Arcachon and yachts from England, Germany, the United States and Holland. The Bassin Olympique was the river Seine near the that served as the Olympic harbor. The race conditions at Meulan during the Olympic regatta were not ideal. A light breeze could hardly make the sailing interesting. Since the river Seine mainly runs from east to west, the light north-easterly breeze was
Seine River Crossing at Mantes-Gassicourt fulfilled a prophecy made a week earlier—that "the battle of Normandy is rapidly developing into the Battle of Western France." Having decided to send part of Patton's force down the west bank of the Seine, the Allied commanders saw a coincident opportunity to seize a bridgehead on the east bank of the river as a springboard for future operations. The XV Corps thus drew a double mission—the 5th Armored Division was to attack down the west bank while the 79th Infantry Division established a bridgehead on the east bank. In his order issued on 20 August, General Montgomery cautioned: "This