 Two days later, the City Council declared the city open, and "Generalmajor" Erwin Rommel, commander of the 7th Panzer Division, received the surrender of the city from the hands of the maritime prefect, Vice-Admiral , who had earlier destroyed submarines under construction at the arsenal and East Fort.Four years later, Cherbourg, the only deep-water port in the region, was the primary objective of the American troops who had landed at Utah Beach during the Battle of Normandy.The Battle of Cherbourg was required to give the Allies a point of logistic support for human resupply and material of the troops.