Normandy Tour - Day 5 - Lounges-sur-Mer/Battles Around Caen

[Gunner]

I thought I would revive these for the 75th anniversary of D-Day
These are from 2014 when my brothers and nephews took a grand six day tour of Normandy.
I see some of the pictures have issues.
I'll fix those at a later date...
I hope you enjoy the tour




Day 5 - Various

Longues-sur-Mer - Gun battery original coastal guns
Cristot - Sunken lane CSM Stan Hollis VC action against 12SS
Audrieu - Chateau - HQ 12SS Reconnaissance Battalion - Scene of executions
Audrieu - Monument to the murdered
Putot-en-Bessin - Monument in the village to the Canadian units - Royal Winnipeg Rifles and Canadian Scottish
Bretteville L'Orgueilleuse - Regina Rifles/12th SS Panzer Division/knocked out Panther tank and destroyed church
Rots - 46 Commando Memorial
Rots - Canadian Scottish/Chaudiere/Fort Garry Horse Memorial & Passage Leon Gagne (married the bakers
daughter)
Rots - Church square - tank battles with 12th SS
Abbey d'Ardennes - 12th SS Panzer/25th Panzer Grenadiers Regimental HQ - Kurt Meyer - Canadian prisoners
executed 7th (plus other dates) June 1944.

Lunch at Bretteville-sur-Odon

Hill 112 - 43rd Wessex Division v various SS units 1/9/10 and 12
Villers Bocage
Tilly-sur-Seulles - British Cemetery

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Note-This will be the longest post of Day 5 because there were so many good photo opportunities.)

First thing we did on Day 5 of the tour is head over to the gun battery at Longues-sur-Mer.
This, I would guess, is the best preserved battery in all of Normandy.

But first, right next to the Longues-sur-Mer Battery is a memorial who commerates the Allied airfield (B11) which was in service between 21 June and 4 September 1944. The airfield was located 300 metres east of the battery.

Longues-sur-Mer airfield (Advanced Landing Ground B-11 Longues-sur-Mer) was an airfield on the Normandy beachhead in France, 7 kilometers north of Bayeux.
The airfield became operational on 26 June 1944.
To cover the runway, the British set up anti-aircraft guns on the roof of the Longues-sur-Mer coastal artillery bunker .
Inside the former German bunker they stored the ammunition for the airfield.
An explosion in this makeshift magazine caused the deaths of four soldiers.
The violence of this explosion was so great it led to the total destruction of a blockhouse built by the Germans and a twisted gun barrel in front of the casemate.
The airfield was used by the Royal Air Forces 125 Wing (132 Sqn (RAF), 602Sqn (RAF), 453 Sqn (RAAF), 441Sqn (RCAF).

During their operations from Longues-sur-Mer, both 602Sqn and 453Sqn claimed to have strafed a German staff car.
(The same claim was also made by 412Sqn RCAF)

The attack severely injured Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, who fractured his skull.
Generalfeldmarschall Rommel had to be hospitalised for weeks, keeping him from the battlefield.

This was an area without much bocage and ideal for airfields.


Monument to the fliers of airfield B11


A Spitfire of the Royla Air Force under the protection of apple trees on the airfield ALG B-11 Longues


A picture taken here of the Wing Commander, AG Page, leader of the No. 125 Wing , in the cockpit of a Supermarine Spitfire.



From here we drove over to the battery and started our walk down the path that circles the battery.


The Longues-sur-Mer battery was a World War II artillery battery constructed by the Wehrmacht near the French village of Longues-sur-Mer in Normandy. It formed a part of Germany's Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications.
The battery was completed by April 1944. Although constructed and manned initially by the Kriegsmarine, the battery was later transferred to the German army. The site consisted of four 152-mm navy guns, each protected by a large concrete casemate, a command post, shelters for personnel and ammunition, and several defensive machine-gun emplacements.



The battery at Longues was situated between the landing beaches Omaha and Gold. On the night before the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944, the battery was subjected to a barrage comprising approximately 1,500 tons of bombs, although much of this landed on a nearby village. The bombing was followed from 0537hrs on the morning of the landings by bombardment from the French cruiser Georges Leygues as well as the U.S. battleship Arkansas. The battery itself opened fire at 0605hrs and fired a total of 170 shots throughout the day, forcing the headquarters ship HMS Bulolo to retreat to safer water. Three of the four guns were eventually disabled by British cruisers Ajax and Argonaut, though a single gun continued to operate intermittently until 1900hrs that evening. The crew of the battery (184 men, half of them over 40 years old) surrendered to the 231st Infantry Brigade the following day.
The heaviest damage was caused by the explosion of the ammunition for an AA gun, mounted by the British on the roof of casemate No.4, which killed several British soldiers.



At 05:30 hrs on D-Day, the batterie was engaged by the French cruiser, FFS Georges Leygues and the American battleship USS Arkansas.The batterie opened fire on the destroyer Emmons stationed off Omaha beach. Due to the fact that the underground cables from the Fire control bunker had been destroyed by the previous bombing raids, the gunners used their direct sights to engage the invasion fleet.
The batterie then engaged the Arkansas..The French cruiser Montcalm also became involved in the exchange of fire.


30 minutes later, the guns then turned their attention to Gold sector and engaged HMS Bulolo, the Gold flagship with the Army Corps commander on board.The accuracy of the batterie forced the ship to weigh anchor. After a further 20 minutes of bombardment, it fell silent.
Ajax was joined by HMS Argonaut in shelling the batterie which was put out of action at 08:45hrs.It had taken 179, 6" and 5.25" shells from the two cruisers. Two of the casemates received direct hits through their embrasures....
The French and the British both claimed the defeat of the batterie as their own....
The two remaining guns opened up again in the late afternoon but were silenced by the French cruiser, FFS Georges Leygues The batterie's 120 survivors out of 184 crew , surrendered the next day to the British 231st Infantry Brigade. The batterie had fired a total of 115 rounds.
(From the Cool Blue Blog)

Here you can get a sense of the results of sea and air bombardment on the battery.
The obeservation bunker is on the left at the edge of the cliff. Two of the batteries are circled.


A closer view:


D-Day Action

There is a degree of controversy between the British and French over the naval engagement of Longues-sur-Mer. However, naval logs of the ships concerned provide a precise record of the action.
At 0500 hours, HMS Ajax was lying at anchor six nautical miles to the north of Longues-sur-Mer. Captain Weld, searching the coastline through his binoculars in the early dawn light, saw the low silhouette of the battery on the cliff top. At 0530 hours (sunrise minus forty minutes) he ordered his eight 6-inch guns to open fire. At first, there was no response. However, the battery opened fire, initially at the destroyer USS Emmons at 0537 hours, but switched its fire to the battleship USS Arkansas lying off Omaha at a range of ten miles.
Arkansas and the French cruiser Georges Leygues joined Ajax’s engagement, firing twenty twelve-inch and one hundred and ten five-inch shells, and the battery fell silent. At 0557, the battery again opened fire, this time to the east, at the anchored HMS Bulolo off Gold, with the first rounds from Number 3 and 4 guns straddling the target.
Bulolo was a prime target, being the Naval Force G’s flagship and 50th Division’s HQ ship and, therefore, a vital nerve centre. She quickly weighed anchor and moved seaward. At 0605 hours Number 1 and 2 guns re-engaged Arkansas and the two French cruisers. In response, FFS Montcalm joined HMS Ajax in her redoubled rate of fire and, by 0620 hours, the battery was again silenced. Over the next two hours, the battery came into action again several times, engaging targets in the Gold area. HMS Argonaut joined Ajax and fired twenty-nine and one hundred and fifty rounds respectively before the battery was silenced at 0845 hours. The guns in casemates 3 and 4 were knocked out, while numbers 1 and 2 were damaged.
By late afternoon, the Kriegsmarine gunners had repaired Number 1 gun, which, because the open front was facing slightly to the west, had been more difficult for Ajax to engage effectively. This gun opened fire on shipping off Omaha, where the battle was only just swinging in the Americans favour.
George Leygues, under command of Naval Bombardment Force C, replied. There was a terse exchange of Aldis Lamp signals between Captain Weld and Admiral Jaujard, the former claiming the battery as Ajax’s exclusive target. The French were not impressed and George Leygues continued to engage! Number 1 gun was finally put out of action at 1800 hours, by the fire of both ships. From the number of empty cylinders in the casemates, it is estimated that the battery fired approximately one hundred and fifty rounds during the course of D-Day. Without the air and naval bombardment, the effect of these shells, and 1,050 rounds found in the battery’s magazines, would have been highly significant, especially off Omaha, where the battle hung in the balance for most of the day.
Commander Edwards attributes Longues-sur-Mer’s neutralisation to some exhibition shooting on the part of Ajax, which will long be quoted as an instance of amazing gunnery by a ship against a shore battery. 2 Devon’s ground attack planned for D-Day did not take place as scheduled. The delay on the beach and more determined resistance than expected caused the battalion to halt at Ryes for the night.

HMS Ajax on D-Day against Longues-sur-Mer Battery.


The Attack on D+1

.........At 0530 hours, B Company led 2 Devon’s advance westward from Ryes to the Masse de Cradalle, which was occupied without opposition at 0700 hours. C Company rejoined the battalion from its overnight location in la Rosiere and took the lead towards the village of Longues with Lieutenant Colonel Nevill’s Tactical HQ and the remainder of the battalion following. The commanding officer recorded that:

“When we got to within 3,000 yards of the village we had our first view of the battery itself Lieutenant Frank Pease, now commanding C Company, and I, looking through our field glasses, wondered whether in fact it was occupied. Our doubts were soon dispelled by the appearance of two Germans walking slowly across the area. At this moment, the Brigade Commander arrived to say that HMS Ajax and a squadron of fighter-bomber’s would be available to support the attack. As we knew the strength of the position was still formidable, in spite of the RAF softening up, we gladly made use of their assistance. It was decided that Ajax would fire from 0815 until 0845 hours, at which time the squadron of fighter-bombers would blast the place for five minutes. The MG Platoon of 2 Cheshire, under Capt Bill Williams, would give direct support to the infantry attack, timed to take place at 0900 hours.”

C Company was to deliver the attack. Lieutenant David Holdsworth recalled that the bombardment was “a marvellous spectacle, and we wondered how anybody could still be alive in the great concrete-faced battery”. The plan was to attack through the village, astride the road, where the minefields appeared to be fewer. Lieutenant Holdsworth described C Company’s advance, which began at 0852 hours, “accompanied by a party of Brigade and Divisional staff officers who had come along for the fun of it”:

“This was a set piece battle and, apparently, a lot depended upon it. The two leading platoons and the acting company commander (Lieutenant Pease) made their tortuous way towards the battery. There was no sound from it, either because the enemy were holding their fire or because they were dead.”

There is no mention in any accounts of casualties from mines during the attack. Presumably, a high proportion of the minefields were dummies and the Royal Navy and RAF bombardment had sympathetically detonated many others. It is highly likely that, with landmines not being a normal Kriegsmarine inventory item, the number laid was limited. Lieutenant Holdsworth continued:

“In the rear came my platoon. To my surprise, the two leading platoons made their way beyond the place from which they were expected to carry out the final assault. My platoon was just about level with it. The acting Company Commander realized this. Time was against a complete reorganization to carry out the original assault plan by 0900 hours. There was only one thing to do. And he did it. He ordered an about turn. The effect was to make my platoon into the lead platoon and, therefore, commit it to immediate attack. Faced with barbed wire encircling the whole of the approach to the battery, and with those wretched “Achtung Minen!” signs generously scattered round the area, we felt pitifully inadequate to the demands of the situation. The only pleasant feature about the whole affair was the fact that no-one was firing at us from the battery. We advanced to the wire in a very open formation. Still there was no sound from the enemy. Gingerly we stepped over the wire and down one of the criss-cross paths. At that moment one of the massive iron doors of the battery swung open. Out came the enemy with white flags held out in front of them.”

However, not all of the Kriegsmarine gunners were prepared to surrender so easily and machine-gun and rifle fire was directed at the Devon’s from across the battery. This complicated and slowed down the clearance of the positions, which was a labyrinth of bunkers, blown-in trenches and a few tunnels. With some enemy still active, the Devon’s had to assume the worst and methodically clear the battery. In doing so, they suffered a number of casualties, including Captain Nobby Clark, who was killed near the German command post on the cliff edge, which held out longer than other parts of the battery. Private Kerslake recalled:

“We attacked one of the gun bunkers, where we had to go round to the front as we couldn’t make any impression on the heavy door at the back. As we went around the mounds of earth, we came under fire from a very heavy calibre machine gun, probably one of the 20mm guns, and only survived as there were plenty of craters from near-misses to hide in. After my experience of the landing the day before, I was not looking forward to clearing the gun bunker and, even though it was hot, I was in a cold sweat. Under covering fire we went in. After the bright daylight, we couldn’t see anything. There were shots that dangerously ricocheted off the walls. I never did find out if they were ours or theirs. We went through the bunker; we had been warned not to use grenades, as we would have in normal buildings, as we could have exploded ammunitions and ourselves with it. We reached the back door and opened it and I nearly got shot by a very young lad from our platoon who was on his own; very jumpy and very white.”

At 1053, the battery was reported as captured; in addition to the naval guns, a 76mm field gun was captured, along with its crew, dug-in within the perimeter. Following the German surrender and the taking of ninety prisoners, out of a reported strength of 184 Kriegsmarine gunners, Lieutenant Holdsworth explained:

“Tension eased immediately. The enemy walked down one of the paths towards us. We walked up the same path towards them. The battery was ours. Over a hundred enemy soldiers came out of the concrete-covered chambers inside the battery, all with their hands up. Inside the chamber was a smell, which I can only describe as the smell of human fear. Having witnessed the bombardment to which they had been subjected, it wasn’t really surprising that they had surrendered. I would have done the same.”

A Devon recalls a chance meeting at the battery with one of the German prisoners many years later:

“The German told us he was a sailor not a soldier but he had never been to sea. This we had not known and I began to feel for him when he explained how the RAF had hit his battery regularly and how they felt like sitting ducks on the cliff top. The sight of the invasion fleet was intimidating and it was only our Navy’s gunfire that prevented many of them from running away! They had no instruction what to do but the officers said that they were to fight us “Tommies” when we came but the final bombardment convinced several groups to surrender.”

Overall, the Longues-sur-Mer Battery, arguably a formidable fortification, did not prove to be as dangerous as was thought. The weight of well coordinated Allied firepower was brought to bear and effectively neutralized the enemy guns and gunners. So shocked were the Germans that 2 Devon’s ‘attack’ was more a mopping-up operation than a true attack.

Lieutenant Holdsworth described the aftermath of the attack:

“Having disposed of the battery successfully and, to their relief without much trouble, my platoon displayed many of the usual symptoms of a victorious army. Inside the fortified central chamber were pictures of Hitler and other German leaders. Possibly because we hadn’t had to shoot anyone in anger, mixed feelings of relief and achievement found expression in the destruction of all the pictures hanging on the walls. Fortunately, this mood of destruction didn’t last long, and within a few minutes we collected ourselves together and formed again into a fairly recognisable, disciplined unit. Some pockets bulged with loot but, on the whole, we had behaved as well as any soldier can be expected to behave on these occasions. It had been exciting and, thank goodness, an entirely successful military operation for us, and we now indulged in noisy high spirits. Back we went to our company transport.”

Overall, the Longues-sur-Mer Battery, arguably a formidable fortification, did not prove to be as dangerous as was thought. The weight of well coordinated Allied firepower was brought to bear and effectively neutralized the enemy guns and gunners. So shocked were the Germans that 2 Devon’s ‘attack’ was more a mopping-up operation than a true attack.
(From a post by “Jim” on the War44.com forum)







The first gun was severly damagaed. Not by gun or bombs but the RAF at the nearby airfield stored munitions in here and an accident blew it up.



Here you can see the damage done to the bunker on the upper right hand side.
Must've been quite the explosion.


Remains of the gun:


Moving down the path to Gun#2:


Gun#2, The holes in the top of the bunker were not caused by bombs or shells but were intentionally put there so as to be able to attach netting and camoflage.


Gary (our guide) explaining the workings of the gun inside Bunker# 2

 

[Gunner]

Normandy Tour - Day 5 (Longues-sur-Mer) Continued

Bunker#3 makes for the best photo op because of the gun pointing up and out to sea.






Photo Op (with credits)
Don's son Chris, my brother Jerry, my brother Don, Don's son Andy, and myself.
(Manly men doing manly things in a manly way. )


Inside Gun#3


A view of the English Channel from the view port.


Bunker#4


Andrew checking out the guns rifling while Gary explains where the guns came from. (naval guns transferred of of a ship).


A view of the other bunkers from atop of bunker#4


and out in to the Channel


Looking at bunker#3 from the top of #4


From the row of bunkers we walked towards the coast and the command bunker.
Cautiously I may add.



On the way were smaller fortifications such as this tobruk (with interesting war time graffiti)


A view of the bunkers looking back from the coast (cliff) line.





And here we have the command bunker made famous by the scene in "The Longest Day" by Major Werner Pluskat.


Werner Pluskat was a German Major who died in 1996, commander of the 352nd Artillery of the German 352nd Infantry Division during Allied invasion in Normandy 1944. He was the first German officer who saw the Allied invasion fleet on June 6, 1944, heading toward their landing zone at Omaha Beach. In the film The Longest Day, about the D-day invasion, Pluskat was a military consultant. In the movie, he was portrayed by Hans Christian Blech. Pluskat was with Generalleutnant Kurt Dittmar when they surrendered to soldiers of the U.S. 30th Infantry Division at Magdeburg on 23 April 1945.



"Major Werner Pluskat in his bunker overlooking Omaha Beach had heard nothing from his superiors since 1am. He was cold, tired and exasperated. He felt isolated. He couldn't understand why there had been no reports from either regimental or divisional headquarters. To be sure, the very fact that his phone had remained silent all night was a good sign; it must mean that nothing serious was happening. But what about the paratroopers, the massed formations of planes? Pluskat could not rid himself of his growing uneasiness. Once more he swung the artillery glasses over to the left, picked up the dark mass of the Cherbourg peninsula and began another slow sweep of the horizon. The same low banks of mist came into view, the same patches of shimmering moonlight, the same restless, white-flecked sea. Nothing was changed. Everything seemed peaceful.

Behind him in the bunker his dog, Harras, was stretched out asleep. Near by, Hauptmann Ludz Wilkening and Lieutenant Fritz Theen were talking quietly. Pluskat joined them. "Still nothing out there", he told them. "I'm about to give it up". But he walked back to the aperture and stood looking out as the first streaks of light began to lighten the sky. He decided to make another routine sweep.

Wearily, he swung the glasses over to the left again. Slowly he tracked across the horizon. He reached the dead centre of the bay. The glasses stopped moving. Pluskat tensed, stared hard. Through the scattering, thinning mist the horizon was magically filling with ships - ships of every size and description, ships that casually manoeuvred back and forth as though they had been there for hours. There appeared to be thousands of them. It was a ghostly armada that somehow had appeared from nowhere. Pluskat stared in frozen disbelief, speechless, moved as he had never been before in his life. At that moment the world of the good soldier Pluskat began falling apart. He says that in those first few moments he knew, calmly and surely that "this was the end for Germany".



He turned to Wilkening and Theen and, with a strange detachment, said simply, "It's the invasion. See for yourselves".

Then he picked up the phone and called Major Block at the 352nd Division's headquarters. "Block", said Pluskat, "it's the invasion. There must be ten thousand ships out there." Even as he said it, he knew his words must sound incredible.

"Get hold of yourself, Pluskat!" snapped Block. "The Americans and the British together don't have that many ships. Nobody has that many ships!"

Block's disbelief brought Pluskat out of his daze. "If you don't believe me," he suddenly yelled, "come up here and see for yourself, it’s fantastic! It's unbelievable!" There was a slight pause and then Block said, "What way are these ships heading?" Pluskat, phone in hand, looked out of the aperture of the bunker and replied "Right for me."



Pluskat, phone in hand, looked out of the aperture of the bunker and replied "Right for me."


Finally, it was back to the van and on to Cristot to revisit Stanley Hollis (remember him from Gold Beach) and to the sunken lane where the action took place to eanr him his V.C.

 

[Gunner]

Cristot - Sunken lane CSM Stan Hollis VC action against 12SS


In this area was a large battle.
Unfortunatley I didn't take many photographs.
Everything seemed to be the same, hedgerows, farmfields and dirt lanes.
When Gary told us the Green Howards attacked across this field (and were severely punished) I didn't grasp the scope until later when I did some research.
Really all we concentrated on was Hollis's VC.

Please take a momement and read an account of the battle of Cristot.
Most of this and more can be found at:
http://www.creullyclub.freeuk.com/sept11.htm

If you do a search you can find many wargame scenarios created about this battle including an artcile with Bill Hardenberger's scenario from the original CMBO release.

From http://thetacticalwargamer.blogspot.com/
"Bill Hardenberger's THE SUNKEN LANE from the original CMBO release disc. Forgotten now is the fact that this may have been the first CM scenario to orient the battle at 45 degrees to the map edge."


Gary holding up pics of Stanley Hollis


Sunday the 11th June



The battalion headquarters was to move up a sunken lane that led towards the summit of the hill. As the leading companies crossed the road south of Cristot and started to climb the slope leading up to Point 102, C Company came under fire from the area of a white farmhouse. They had failed to observe the hidden positions of panzergrenadiers of the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitler Jugend (Youth) who had been rushed forward to secure the Cristot line. Lying silent after the passage of the tanks, the SS poured a devastating fire on the Green Howards advancing through the field, while anti-tank guns disposed of the British armour from their rear. B Company also came under heavy fire.

With the leading companies were pinned down, Hastings ordered A Company to move up on the right and attempt to outflank the enemy. When the battalion headquarters began to move forward to sort out B and C Companies, they came under such heavy fire that Hastings called up D Company, his last reserve, to clear the way ahead.

They advanced up the sunken lane with Platoon 16 on the left and Platoons 17 & 18 on the right with a tank between the platoons. The company came under fierce fire from a German MG-42 machine-gun with Platoon 17 taking casualties. Company Sergeant Major Stan Hollis (Platoon 16) crawled forward to see a spandau team at the foot of a tree at the end of the sunken lane

Noticing the methodical burst and pause of the spandau, Hollis threw a grenade at the Germans — without pulling out the pin! But the Germans did not know this, so as they crouched and waited, CSM Hollis sprinted up the lane and neutralized the spandau crew with his Bren-gun.

For his outstanding bravery in clearing the pillbox at Mont Fleury and in the orchard at Crepon on D-Day, Company Sergeant Major S.E. Hollis was awarded the Victoria Cross, the only man to be decorated for his actions on D-Day.
(Green Howards history and “ham and jam”)

The enemy machine-gun post was at the end of this lane. Advancing up the lane under fire Stan Hollis took out a hand grenade from his haversack but it was a roll of socks. Finding the grenade he threw it but realised he had not taken the pin out to activate it. The grenade rolled in front of the machine-gun post and the enemy ducked. Knowing that the grenade would not go off Stan Hollis rushed up and overcame the opposition.
(Gary pointed out that there was aburning Sherman in this lane at the time also)


This is the lane the Shermans came down.
I understand this "road" was created by William the Conquerer.







Cristot is a hamlet 12 Kilometres south east of Bayeux. It comprises one main street and at the east end there is the church. In the porch there is an oak case containing an oak carved plaque by the late Tom Rennocks who took part in the action on 11th June 1944 and a Roll of Honour to the thirteen soldiers of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the twenty-eight 6th Battalion Green Howards who were killed on that day. The hamlet has been rebuilt and so has the church except for the east end of the nave left with half demolished walls and rubble as a memorial to the dreadful consequences of war.

What is so striking visiting the site which is about half a kilometre south of the hamlet of where the action took place during the late afternoon and evening of` 11th June is that the area is so small. Also that the landscape must have altered considerably, as indeed has the majority of Normandy over the years. The small meadows and ‘bocage’ have given way to larger fields after hedgerows have been uprooted because of the prosperity of post-war farming. However there are still good examples of what the British infantry and tank men had to face. This terrain of deep lanes, bocage and high hedges was an item that was overlooked by the military planners and came as an unpleasant surprise to those who had to fight in Normandy.

The action took place less than a week from the landings and for ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons the first major action with infantry. ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons were amphibious DD Squadrons concentrated on training exclusively, except for gunnery practice, in launching and landing operations. The tank crews had little battle experience up to the action at Cristot.

The task on which the Regiment was to be engaged was against a fanatical enemy - the 12th SS Reconnaissance Regiment and Panther tanks of the 2nd Panzer Company - and was indeed formidable.

It was thought that there was a ‘window of opportunity’, a gap in the enemy defences. To capture the area would have protected the left flank of the proposed 8th Armoured Brigades drive towards the key enemy position of Tilly-sur-Seulles. That there was a gap in the enemy defences could be borne out by the reconnaissance in force carried out in the morning of the 11th June 1944. “The Brigadier gave orders that the attack should be preceded in the morning by a reconnaissance in force; this was carried out by ‘B’ Squadron with the Colonel. They reached the village and saw a great many infantry about, but met no organised resistance. The probability is that they disorganised an enemy counter-attack as it was forming up; but also that the enemy were forewarned of the impending attack in the evening”. (The First and The Last)

Jackie Weir adds ‘What we must remember is that it was ‘B’ Squadron that went in with 9 tanks only. I have vivid memories of the probing recce before the action later in the day. I sat in the driver’s compartment just before we turned back, and could have dismounted and walked into Cristot it was so close, and if my memory serves me correctly I saw a woman pushing a pram down the street about two hundred yards away. The whole thing was unreal. I am inclined to believe the theory about us running into some sort of counter-attack that was just getting underway when we put the second push in’.

Lack of preparatory time had prevented an artillery plan being arranged and implemented.

The attack in the evening reached the Cristot - les Hauts Vents road and crossed it. Opposition was met at ‘The Sunken Lane’. The attack then continued along the ‘sunken lane’ and it was here that CSM Stan Hollis of D Company, The Green Howards, overcame a machine-gun post at the head of the lane; he had already distinguished himself by earning the VC.

The main enemy defensive positions were at the top of the lane and to the right, the route to Point 102, which was the objective of the attack by the Green Howards and the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. B and C Company Green Howards were in fields on each side of the track; B to the right and C to the left. Both came under heavy fire and so D Company were ordered to advance up the track with A Company on the right in an endeavour to outflank the enemy

Out of the nine tanks of ‘B’ Squadron only two survived, one being towed from the scene of the battle. Tanks from the other Squadrons of the Regiment rescued as many of the casualties as possible.
The infantry held their position but by nightfall they were back at le Haut d’Audrieu.
Point 102 was never reached and Cristot itself was not liberated until later.

The attacking force didn’t have a chance. The enemy anti-tank gun positioned just to the south on the bend of the Tilly-sur-Seulles road was waiting for the ‘B’ Squadron tanks passing in front of it from west to east. Those that were not hit then passed in front of what was described as a ‘Tiger’ tank. (Newsletter 17/7) The position of this tank, most likely a ‘Panther’ can be ascertained by the pit where it was dug-in

(Newsletter No 30/3 – The May Recce – The enemy anti-tank gun was located on the bend to the road to Haut Vents aiming north. The two ‘B’ Squadron tanks were in the field just to the south of the track from Point 103)

In five days since D Day ‘B’ Squadron lost 70% of their Duplex Drive amphibious tanks.

If this action at Cristot had been successful the entire German positions west of Caen would have been very exposed and the way open for an attack by the 8th Armoured Brigade.

Cristot was liberated on 16th June 1944 by 49the Division mounting a massive attack involving a navel bombardment, rocket attacks by Typhoons and supported by seven field regiments of 25 pounders and four regiments of medium guns When the KOYLI arrived in the destroyed hamlet, it was deserted with 17 German dead, two enemy armoured cars and one soft-skinned vehicle. The price paid was grievous; 13 of our regiment, 28 killed of the 6th Battalion Green Howards and 3 of the KOYLI. Two of our regiment who had been captured were shot dead by the 12th SS (Newsletter No 17/7) and an officer it now transpires, captured, tied to a log, left in the open and killed by our own mortars (Newsletter No 26/3.)


Key
1c-4c Track from –Point 103
4c– 5c The Sunken Lane
2c two tanks hit here and were still in place after the end of the war observed by M Henry
Area 7a – 9a & 7c – 9c The 2i/c of the Squadron’s tank was hit & it is believed where some of the remaining 5 tanks were hit
Area 4c – 5c & 4d – 5d Where some of the remaining 5 tanks were hit
5c – 6e Track 103 -102 leading to 12th SS lines
6e – 9e 12th SS lines
6e Panther tank in dug-in position with filed of fire north. The dug-in pit still extant, pond in winter.
1h Site of 88mm anti-tank gun with field of fire north as observed by M Henry
7e Where Lt Moore murdered by the 12th SS
9b Where two members of Jackie Weirs crew were murdered by the 12th SS






The field the Green Howards tried to cross.
This is at the top of the lane and at the location Hollis took out the MG.
You can see what a good tactical location it really is covering both the lane and the open field.




--Another Incident at Cristot by Standarten-oberjunker Paul Dienemann

(From the 12th SS: The history of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division by Hubert Meyer)

"My Zug of 5 Panthers was assigned to Sturmbanfuhrere Bremer of the Aufkärungbeitlung. Ahead of us we had open terrain of approximately 100 metres. Behind this was a thick row of bushes which obstructed our vision with the village behind them. A 10-man scouting party of the Aufklärunsbeitlung under the command of an Ober-scharfuhrer was sent out at approximately 18.00 hours to determine the enemy location and intentions.
One of my Panthers, commanded by Unterscharführer Helmle, driven on the left flank to provide cover and protection. After approximately 150 metres the scouting party came under rifle fore. The commander dropped to the ground hit in the stomach. The Panther continued to advance to get out of hollow. At a bend in the path the Panther’s gun became entangled with that of a Sherman tank. Neither could knock out the other... The English tank commander left his tank and was bending over the badly wounded scouting party commander, dressing his wound. He said, in German” You’re all right now; you’ll be going home to hospital. For you the bloody war is over”.

The Englishman climbed back into his tank and waved at Unterscharführer Helmle to indicate that there would be no shooting. Both tanks pulled back. The wounded Ober-scharführer was laid on the Panzer. On its return the scouting party reported ‘Contact with the enemy after 150 metres.’

I didn't realize we were going to see these things so had little or no knowledge of what happened here before hand.
If you ever do take a tour be sure and find out in advance what you may be seeing so you can do some homework."

Time, of course, was always a factor.
We had time to follow Hollis's course but not that of the complete battle.
Perhaps, someday, I will be able to walk this field again and follow the battle in more detail.
But I suppose the odds are against. there are so many more sites to see and so little time.

Now we mount up again and move down the road to Audrieu and the HQ of the 12SS Reconnaissance Battalion.....
(How cool is that )

 

[Gunner]

Audrieu - Chateau - HQ 12SS Reconnaissance Battalion - Scene of executions
Audrieu - Monument to the murdered

Just a note, this morning we are touring the area east of Caen where major fighting between the 12SS and the British and Canadian forces took place.





On the 8th and 9th of June 1944, the 12th SS Hitler Jugend commandeered le Château d’Audrieu in Normandy France and captured a group of Canadians fighting at nearby Putot en Bessin. The Canadians were marched to the Château, interrogated, and then brutally gunned down as they stood disarmed and helpless.

A memorial stele of white marble, with three mounted plaques, was erected in Audrieu, France, in memory of the members of the Regiment killed while prisoners of the 12th SS Hitler Jugend. The monument, erected in part by The Royal Winnipeg Rifles Association, lists all the men killed from The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and others captured from The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, the 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, and the 6th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers.

For a detailed description see:
Excerpts from Conduct Unbecoming:
The Story of the Murder of Canadian Prisoners of War in Normandy

http://ssns.frontiersd.mb.ca/Senior...ranceDay/EducationalGuides/BremerMurders.html

A picture of the Chateau d Audrieu, HQ 12SS Reconnisance


Today it is a four star hotel:




The monument in the town of Audrieu on the wall, opposite the church, who gave their lives.....

 

[Gunner]

Putot-en-Bessin - Monument in the village to the Canadian units - Royal Winnipeg Rifles and Canadian Scottish



On 8 June, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 under command of SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Wilhelm Mohnke arrived on the battlefield. Their orders were to drive over the Canadians and force a deep wedge between them and the British division to the west. The attack, launched at 03:30 but had little initial success. The various companies in the attacking 12th SS Panzer Division failed to co-ordinate their moves towards the Canadians, and, despite heavy casualties during repeated attempts by the infantry, Canadian artillery and supporting heavy machine guns of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa took a heavy toll on each attacking company of SS troops. The Regina Rifle Regiment held their ground and the I Battalion fell back.

On the Canadian right the II Battalion attacked the Royal Winnipeg Rifles defending the village of Putot-en-Bessin. The battalion managed to break into the village and surround several companies, effectively pushing the Winnipegs out of the village, inflicting 256 casualties – of which 175 were taken prisoner. A counter-attack launched at 20:30 by the Canadian Scottish Regiment, however, regained Putot-en-Bessin, and the II Battalion withdrew and dug in south of the village.

Following the battle SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 12 deployed to the west of Mohnke's regiment and, by the evening of 8 June the division, while having failed in its assignment to drive the Canadians into the sea, had effectively halted the units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, in the Allied advance on Caen.

Spending much of the next four weeks in static positions, the division participated in the battles to capture Caen in early July, which included Operation Totalize and Operation Tractable and the battles around Verrières Ridge, during the rest of the month.
The brigade then took part in the pursuit across France, and clearing the Channel ports, most notably Boulogne, Calais and Cape Gris Nez.

The attack on Putot en Bessin




-- On the 6th june 1944. 7.55AM, soldiers of the 7th Canadian Brigade landed at Juno Beach from Courseules to Graye-sur-Mer.

The next day, at 10.30AM, members of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Regiment took over Putot en Bessin without encoutering resistance. They took positions along the railway (Caen-Cherbourg)

On the morning of june 8th, A Co. positioned near the bridge of Brouay, faced the first elements of the 26th Regiment of the 12th SS-Pz. Div.H.J. The German 5th, 6th and 7th Companies of II Pz.Gren.Abt. launched their attack and entered as far as the centre of the village. They encircled 3 of the 4 companies of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. When the canadian soldiers finaly ran out of ammunition, they tried to withdraw by means of an artificial smoke screen. Some men reached Bois Gervais, on the East side of the village, where they joined the D Co. that had already taken cover. On the West side the British tanks of the 24th Lancers succeded in blocking the German offensive.

The Waffen SS had takenback the village but for a few hours only. In fact the Canadians of the 1st Batalion, the Scottish Regiment struck back at about 8.30PM supported by the 1st Hussars tanks, the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa machine-gunners (CHO) and the 12th and 13th Regiment RCA artillerymen.

Reduced by the earlier fights, the German were soon unable to contain the Canadians and were pushed out of Putot en Bessin by the Canadian Scottish Regt.

The villagers were finallly free.

Did you know? The liberation of the village cost 98 German losses, on the Canadian side, losses number 256 including 105 killed on the battlefield and 45 prisoners who had been murdered ar chateau Audrieu.



Here's a map showing the battle for the town and the location of the Canadian Memorial




Another picture then and now from Putot en Bessin, located 6 miles West from Caen
Soldiers of the Canadian Scotish Regiment in front of the Calvary Cross of Putot.

 

[Gunner]

Bretteville L'Orgueilleuse - Regina Rifles/12th SS Panzer Division/knocked out Panther tank and destroyed church

Canadian soldiers move into Bretteville France June 20 1944


Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse is a small town just 10 km west of Caen. The town was captured by 7th Canadian Brigade on 7th June. German Mark V Panthers and Mark IV tanks of the 12th Panzer Division re-took the town again.
‘C’ squadron of the 6th Canandian Armoured Regiment had lost contact with their infantry on D-Day and advanaced through Bretteville with no opposition. Later they withdrew again from Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse. The town was eventually captures by 7th Canadian Brigade on 7th June. German Mark V Panthers and Mark IV tanks re-took the position again.



On the night of June 8-9, 1944, the 1st Abteilung and the 25th Panzergrenadier Regument made an attack on the 1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, 3rd Canadian Division, with twenty-two panthers under SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Max Wunsche, two batteries of self-propelled artillery and a motorcycle company led by SS-Oberfuhrer (later SS-Brigadefuhrer) Kurt "Panzer" Meyer. The Reginas had suffered heavy casualties in the landing on Juno Beach on June 6, but with reinforcements moved towards Caen and occupied Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse, Norrey, and Cardonville; other Canadian units occupied other towns, including Putot.

Witt (centre) with Max Wünsche (left) and Kurt Meyer (right)


The 12th SS "Hitlerjugend" Division was made up of sixteen- and seventeen-year-old Hitler Youth and commanded by SS-Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt. Witt received orders to drive the Canadians into the sea. Meyer expected the Canadians to falter under a concentrated armored attack, a successful tactic on the Eastern Front. At 1100 Hours the attack began.



Lacking heavy anti-tank weapons, the Reginas had to stop the Panthers with 6-pounder 57mm (2.24 inch) guns and Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT), a spigot mortar with a 12 pound (5 kilogram) high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge; the 6-pounders and the PIATs could only penetrate the lesser rear armor of the Panthers. The Reginas also had a large quantity of small arms and aummunition.

One PIAT team - Rifleman Joseph E. LaPointe, Rifleman Gill A. Carnie and Lance Corporal Clarence V. Hewitt - took up a position 15 yards (14 meters) from the Regina Rifles Headquarters near Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse's Church.

The flaw in Meyer's plan was that his units, having just arrived at the front, lacked coordination with other attacking Hitlerjugend elements; he also sent his Panthers without much infantry down the Rue de Bayeux, allowing the Reginas to deal with them one at a time. The Reginas claimed twelve Panthers were destroyed; Meyer would only later admit to six lost.

Meyer was able to reclaim the nearby town of Putot from the Winnepeg Rifles, but the Reginas held Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse throughout the campaign for Caen.

Witt was killed on June 14 in a naval bombardment. 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend ceased to exist during the Normandy campaign; some 1,500 of their 21,500 officers and men were killed, wounded or captured by September 1.

Kurt Meyer was captured on September 6, 1944 and after the war was tried for the war crime of killing thirty-seven Canadian prisoners at the Abbey Ardennes on June 7, the day before the battle for Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse. Canadians were outraged that he was given only nine years in prison.

Max Wunsche was captured on August 20 after driving a German vehicle through the liberated town of St. Lambert.

This Panther was the first to be knocked out in ground combat in the Normandy campaign.

Caption Written By:
Jason McDonald

Here, where I am standing to take this picture, and just to my right is the HQ of the Regina Rifles.



And this is how close the tanks came to over running the town.


The Panther in this photo closed to within 30 yards (27 meters) of the Regina's Headquarters at 0000 Hours; LaPointe, exposing himself to the tank's machine gun fire, struck the Panther with repeated PIAT hits. The Panther, attempting to escape, hit an improvised mine of 75 grenades. LaPointe received the Military Medal. A second Panther, seeing the first explode, fired wildly but only struck the first Panther, fracturing the rear of the turret. The crew of the stricken Panther bailed out and was shot down by the Canadians.

PIAT anti-tank gunners of The Regina Rifle Regiment who knocked out a German PzKpfw V Panther tank thirty yards from Battalion Headquarters, Bretteville-l’Orgeuilleuse, France, 8 June 1944. (L-R): Riflemen Joe E. Lapointe and Gil A. Carnie, Lance-Corporal Clarence V. Hewitt. Lapointe was awarded the Military Medal for this action. (Library and Archives Canada photo and caption)



The fighting in this town was intense.
Here you can see the damage in and around the center of town and the town church.

 

[Gunner]

Rots - 46 Commando Memorial

Rots (I believe it is pronounced something like "Row" in French, correct me if I am wrong.) is in the lower middle, Caen is in the lower right.



Canadian Memorial


46 Commando Memorial


Attack on Le Hamel and Rots. In the first phase the bulk of the Commandos would go to the west bank of the river, and with two troops would clear the woods on the east bank. Tanks would move onto the higher ground on the west side. It was completed without difficulty by 1100 hrs. 8 POWs were taken in the woods.

At the town of Rots the Commando approached the town held by the 12th S.S. Hitler Jugend through a corn field. When the Germans opened fire the commandos continued to advance firing tommy guns, rifles & bren guns from the hip. Although the commandos lost 20 men 122 German bodies were found after the town was taken.

11 June 1944
0615 hrs
Commandos left Anguerny and married up with the supporting units, and the operation was in 4 phases:-
1. Clear the woods from Barbiere to the outskirts of Cairon.
2. Clear Cairon.
3. Attack on Rosel.
4. Attack on Le Hamel and Rots.

In the first phase the bulk of the Commandos would go to the west bank of the river, and with two troops would clear the woods on the east bank. Tanks would move onto the higher ground on the west side. It was completed without difficulty by 1100 hrs. 8 POWs were taken in the woods.
On reaching the outskirts of Cairon, the Commandos came under fire from 105mm Battery at Rosel. When the village was entered it was found to be occupied by the Canadians. Further progress was prevented by enemy harassing fire from the Rosel Battery.

1320 hrs
The Third Phase commenced, and the attack was supported by Artillery concentrations, also machine-guns firing from the high ground above Lasson. Two troops formed up north-west of the outskirts of Lasson supported by tanks, and swept through Lasson and Rosel without difficulty meeting only a small amount of enemy fire.

1500 hrs
Both the villages were cleared. The unit re-formed on the west bank to prepare for the final phase. Information on the enemy strength in Le Hamel and Rots was rather scanty, but the Canadians attacked earlier and were beaten off.

Phase 4. During the assault on Le Hamel, Rots was to be contained by one Field Battery firing HE and smoke. As soon as Le Hamel was captured two troops were to pass through to Rots. The plan worked well and the days action represented a gain of 7 miles with the flanks making little gain. If they remained in Rots overnight it would be precarious, so they were ordered back to Cairon. The counter-attack expected during the night did come.

12 June 1944
0400 hrs
One company of the Regimet de Chauderie arrived with carriers and anti-tank guns, and the whole force was ordered to withdraw before dawn.

Casualties:-
Killed – 20
Wounded – 9
Missing – 31

When Rots and Le Hamel were re-occupied by the Canadians two days later they found 122 dead Germans.

A description of the battle for ROTS that involved 46RM Commando. This photo was found in the album of John Fairhurst 46 RM Commando, courtesy of Ruben van Ratingen. Originally posted by Pete R.


A typical Rots side street


German troops in Rots




British POWs captured by the Hitlerjugend, 21 June 1944 (possibly 46th Commando)

 

[Ithikial]

Great stories as always Gunner.

 

[robslion]

Very informative and obviously very well described and illustrated!!

And....and it made me very sad again!
To see how young people have been robbed around her youth, around her health were brought, on body and soul were injured and, in the end, many died.

Let us for the fact provide that this can never again happend

 

[Gunner]

Rots - Canadian Scottish/Chaudiere/Fort Garry Horse Memorial & Passage Leon Gagne (married the bakers daughter)

Near the memorial was a story I will always remember.
The short version:
Leone Gagne was in charge, every morning of bringing bread to his camp. He was buying it from the local baker who had a beautiful young daughter, who he fell in love with. He told her that after the war he would come back to marry her. But a few days before the war was over, he stepped on a mine and lost his two legs.
From the hospital he wrote to his love, explaining to her that they won't be able to get married as he lost his legs. The young women replied, that she did not fall in love with his legs and she went to Canada to marry him.
They use to come back almost every year to the Ceremonies; he passed away 6 weeks before the 60th Anniversary.

The full version you should read here or follow the link for easier viewing:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...5EjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=taUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1118,1814674





The little bakery is no longer there but the French have preserved it's footprint and the memorial to the Canadian Scottish, the Chaudiere and Fort Garry Horse is inside the Passage Leon Gagne.



Me, going through the "Passage"


As you enter the Passage you can see the memorial to the Canadian Scottish, the Chaudiere and Fort Garry Horse




God rest all their souls.

 

[Louis]

I love those pictures of before and after.

 

[Gunner]

Our final stop in the town of Rots
Rots - Church square - tank battles with 12th SS

At about the same time as the attack on le Mesnil-Patry, the 46th Royal Marine Commando, reinforced with a company of Sherman tanks from the Fort Garry Horse, attempted to take Rots from the 1. Kompanie of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26. Two anti-tank guns, a pioneer company and a panzer company supported the Panzergrenadiers. They had been dug in since the 9 June.

The battle was horrific. The initial attack, preceded by an artillery barrage, had the Royal Marines and Sherman tanks penetrate the northern part of Rot, which forced the 1. Kompanie back. A German counterattack by two squads of infantry and two panthers knocked out six Shermans and took 40 prisoners clearing the edge of town from east to west.

The Royal Marines and eight more Sherman tanks renewed the attack, causing the remaining Germans to waver.
The fighting continued throughout the night before the Germans finally retreated from the town in the early morning. Losses on both sides were substantial. A French villager reported, “The whole battle for Rots took place between the church and the schoolhouses. They fought with cold steel, with Panzerfaust, shot each other in the cellars. A German Panzer went up in flames in the church square, as did a Canadian tank. The number of dead on both sides surpassed one hundred.”

Thus ended the initial battles between the Canadian 3rd Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, and the 12. SS-Panzerdivision. All told the Canadian armoured brigade had suffered over 50 lost tanks, while the 12..SS had lost over 30 in the first five days of fighting.
The fighting had been fierce and the losses great on both sides. Whenever one side or the other assaulted the defenders usually won the day. The only exception being the Royal Marine Commando and the Fort Garry Horse securing Rots on the last day. But even there, a high price was paid.

The Canadian armoured experience on the beaches of Normandy gave prelude to the bloody fighting ahead in Caen. Every kilometre gained took a high price in men and material. The defense would be the order of the day and any offensive manoeuvres would be extremely costly.

Most of the fighting took place between the church and the school.....




Canadians celebrating mass



SS-Schütze Günther Streelow looks at the camera while III.Zug of SS-Aufklärungs Kompanie 15 walks through the streets of Rots, after fierce fighting against the Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade in Norrey-en-Bessin, Normandy. 9 June 1944.



Panther "326" of 3. Panzerkompanie I./SS-PzRgt 12, commanded by SS-Unterscharführer Frederick Eismann, KIA (09.06.1944) during attack at Norrey-en-Bessin, is cleaning for crew in the street of Rots. 9 June 1944.



SS-Sturmmann Otto Funk, photographied after an assault. He was from SS-Aufklärungs Kompanie 15, III Zug, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 at Rots, who were to follow up the attack at Norrey-en-Bessin by the Panthers of 3. Panzerkompanie. 9 June 1944.



This ended the touring of the battles east of Caen for us.
We just touched on these battles.
I believe you could spend at least several days following the tactics and fighting in this small area.
As always I wish we had more time.

Next we visited Kurt Meyers 12th SS Panzer/25th Panzer Grenadiers Regimental HQ.
I can't tell you how many documentaries on the battle of Normandy I've seen with footage of the with Abbey d'Ardennes.
It's hard to believe I will really be going there.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, this was a trip of a lifetime.

 

[Gunner]

I love those pictures of before and after.

Me too!
Our guide, Gary, would stop the van and we would all pile out on to a street or someplace and he would tell us an account of what happened here and then break out his book(s) of pictures and there would be a "before" picture on the very spot we were standing.
Amazing.

 

[Gunner]

Very informative and obviously very well described and illustrated!!

And....and it made me very sad again!
To see how young people have been robbed around her youth, around her health were brought, on body and soul were injured and, in the end, many died.

Let us for the fact provide that this can never again happend

Thanks robslion, I am glad you are enjoying this.
I've received so much knowledge and enjoyment from "The Few Good Men" that it makes me very happy to return the favor in some way.
And yes I agree with you about the young people. As I post many of the pictures I start to feel the same melancholy over the loss of so many. It's truly tragic.
In fact you may notice when I finish several of these threads I am feeling somber and ask that god rest all their souls.

 

[Gunner]

Great stories as always Gunner.

Thanks Ithikial, thanks for saying so.
It was truly an amazing experience and reliving it through these posts brings great memories for me.
Also doing the research and finding the maps, for these posts actually helps me understand what I saw and where I was then.
In some cases I had no clue what I was really seeing or even where the heck I was in Normandy.

 

[Gunner]

Abbey d'Ardennes - 12th SS Panzer/25th Panzer Grenadiers Regimental HQ



The 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitlerjugend) had not yet fired a shot in anger. The division had been formed in1943 - officers & NCOs from the elite 1st SS Panzer Division (Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler) with rank & file from the fanatical teenagers of the Hitlerjugend. On the morning of June 6th, the Division had been called forward from their cantonment area 50 miles away around Liseux. The difficult journey to the front took 24 hours. Mechanical breakdown and constant attention from Allied aircraft had taken their toll. West of Caen, they formed into two battle groups for their assault. Kampfgruppe Meyer, based around the 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, was to attack up the line of the junction between the British forces from Sword Beach and the Canadian forces moving inland from Juno Beach. Meyer was going to carry out his threat to “throw those little fish back into the sea”. From his headquarters in L’Abbaye d’Ardenne, Meyer had a panoramic view of the battlefield. As his units formed up for the attack, he was watching the Canadian’s advance and waiting.

Once the Canadians were through Authie, they had moved out of range of their artillery support. Radio communication problems hampered efforts to secure naval gunfire support from HMS Belfast. Forward units were establishing themselves in Franqueville when Panzer Meyer’s tanks and grenadiers struck. Over the next couple of hours, the battle see-sawed between Franqueville and Buron. The Canadians were pushed out of Franqueville and then from Authie. A fierce tank battle raged outside Buron, which briefly fell to the Germans. A counterattack, supported by artillery and naval gunfire, forced the Germans back to Authie. Overnight, the Canadians withdrew their forces from Buron.

The Canadian advance west of Caen had come to an abrupt halt. It was to be another month before the Allies would gain control of this area from the Germans. However, they had forced Rommel to commit of one of his counterattack Panzer Divisions. This pattern was repeated along the line and Rommel was never able to execute his plan of uniting his three Panzer Divisions for the immediate counterattack to throw the Allies back into the sea.

Meyer could see all the way to the sea from one of the turrets of the Abbey where he is purported to have said "We will throw those little fish back into the sea."



Kurt Meyer (left), Fritz Witt (center)and Max Wünsche (right) in the courtyard of Ardenne Abbey in June 1944.


The front gate that we walked through (from back then)


SS Troops driving into the Abbaye d'Ardenne



Walking through the gate towards the Abbey




Today the Abbey is a government hall of records


And then:




Side view of the abbey

 

[Gunner]

And infamously......






At the end of June 6th 1944, the Canadian unit North Nova Scotia Highlanders, assisted by the Canadian Armored Regiment (CAR) The Sherbrooke Fusiliers, had reached Anisy, 8 kilometers north of Caen. The next morning they moved further south towards Buron and Authie. Here they encountered the 12SS Panzer Division. 37 were killed, 23 of them lay down their weapons.
(from http://www.strijdbewijs.nl/normandie3/abbey.htm)

During the Normandy Campaign, Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, commander of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, used the Ardenne Abbey for his regimental headquarters, as the turret allowed for a clear view of the battlefield.[1] The abbey is the location where in June 1944, 20 Canadian soldiers were illegally executed by members of the 12th SS Panzer Division.

Both the method by which the killings were carried out and upon whom the blame rests remain points of contention. Some basic facts, however, are certain. During the evening of 7 June, 11 Canadian prisoners of war, soldiers from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment), were shot in the back of the head. This was a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention (of which Germany was a signatory) and therefore these actions constituted a war crime.
(wikipedia)

The stables to the right is purportedly where the prisoners were held.



They were then marched one at a time along the wall to this entrance...



They then went through the entrance and out a back door....



and in to a courtyard where they were shot.



Along the wall are pictures of the slain



With the wall of photos to the right, you can see a little memorial to the fallen.
Next to it is a box with a book in ti that you can write a little something.
In the background along the fence you can see placrds that describe what happened here.









It was all very, very, moving.

From here we went on to lunch to refuel and discuss what we saw.
It was quite a full morning.

 

[Lighthorse]

Thanks all, for sharing this information....very interesting.

 

[Gunner]

My pleasure Lighthorse.
I hope you are enjoying it.

 

[Gunner]

Hill 112 - 43rd Wessex Division v various SS units 1/9/10 and 12

After lunch in the town of Bretteville-sur-Odon we headed out south of Caen to Hill 112.

It's at this point in the touring that the scale of battles has drastically changed.
The last several days we were dealing with mostly individual and small unit actions.
But now the terrain is opening up and we are dealing with the actions and maneuvers of Divisions and thousands of men and material.

The Battle for Hill 112 in Normandy the fighting raged for over six weeks in June, July and August of 1944.

Cornwall Wood and the crest of Hill 112




Operation Epsom:



Background

The River Odon runs from south-west to north-east, and enters the river Orne at Caen. Both north and south of the Odon are ridges of high ground, which dominate the surrounding area. The sides of the Odon valley roll gently down to the Odon river, which is more of a narrow stream than a broad river. Though not deep, it is an obstacle for vehicles, including tanks, because of the boggy flood plains and many trees along each bank. A few narrow stone bridges crossed the Odon, but most had been destroyed by the Germans. Access to the intact bridges was through killing zones of anti-tank guns and minefields. The numerous small villages in the area consisted of a few stone farms and cottages, clustered round a church. Most of the buildings were old, well constructed of local stone, and natural fortresses for the defending Germans. The northern ridge of the Odon valley was dominated by the British, but the start line for the operation was further back, along the line of the Bayeux-Caen railway. The aim of Epsom was to secure the southern ridge, culminating in Hill 112, which overlooked Caen to the east (still in German hands). Hill 112 is not really a hill at all. It is the highest point on a ridge with many false crests, but the view from the trig point reveals its tactical importance.

On June 18th 1944, Montgomery issued a directive for the capture of Caen, ordering an attack principally to the west, with the aim of capturing the high ground above the Orne and Odon rivers, which overlooked the city. He allotted the four divisions of Lieutenant-General Dempsey’s VIII Corps to the task – 7th and 11th Armoured, 15th Scottish and 43rd Wessex, totalling some 60,000 men and 600 tanks. The attack was due to begin on 22nd June, and was code-named Epsom.

The Channel storm of 19-22 June delayed the arrival of the three new divisions (the 7th Armoured had already landed), with the result that Epsom was postponed until 26th June. Because of strong German positions on high ground to the west (the British right flank), 49th Division (known as the Polar Bears after their distinctive shoulder badge) were to attack Fontenay and Rauray a day before the main assault to secure the high ground the Germans occupied. This attack went in on 25th June, so by 26th, the German defenders – mostly 12th SS Hitlerjugend Division (Hitler Youth) – on Hill 112 were expecting an attack. The attack was launched at 0730 hours with a tremendous artillery barrage, rather like a First World War set-piece infantry attack. Amongst the indirect fire support assets were three RN cruisers anchored offshore and firing shells accurately fifteen miles inland! The first objective was to reach and force a crossing over the Odon river. As the opening barrage crept forward one hundred yards every three minutes, the infantry of the 15th Scottish division, moved confidently forward, supported by Churchill tanks. John Keegan describes the advance of the Scotsmen:

"…The division was attacking two brigades up, which meant that six of its infantry battalions were in the first wave, with the other three waiting in the rear to support the leaders. As each brigade also attacked two up, however, this meant there were in fact only four battalions on the start line, each strung out along a front of about 1000 yards. And since each battalion, about 750 men strong, likewise kept two of their four companies in reserve, the true number of men who started forward into the cornfields that morning was probably no more than 700. They are best pictured, as they would have looked from the cockpit of any passing spotter aircraft, as 24 groups of 30 riflemen, called platoons, separated by intervals of about 150 yards…Each platoon consisted of three smaller groups, called sections, which were led by a corporal, and were based on the Bren machine gun which gave them their firepower…".



The Germans - initially the 12th SS Panzer Division - had turned the route of the advance into three lines of fortifications of barbed wire entanglements, machine gun nests, trenches, minefields and artillery and mortar positions. Battle-hardened on the Eastern front, the SS had been taught to with-hold their fire until point-blank range, to inflict maximum casualties, then switch positions so that they would seem more numerous to the attackers than they actually were. Sometimes, as the British swept past the German positions, snipers who had laid low opened up on the British second wave, aiming for the infantry officers leading their men, and tank commanders.

(Infantry from the 10th SS-Panzer Division counterattack British positions on Hill 112 southwest of Caen, in late June 1944)


The Scottish battalions, supported by the tanks, had battled their way through the bocage as far as Cheux by nightfall and the following morning (27th) had advanced through Mondrainville, and surprised the Germans troops guarding the bridge over the Odon river at Tourmeauville. This route became known as the ‘Scottish Corridor’. When all the battalions of the 15th Scottish Division had been committed to the battle and the exhausted Scotsmen had advanced as far as Baron, they were relieved by the infantry of the 11th Armoured Division, following close behind. Here, we look at the experience of the 4th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry (4KSLI) of 159th Infantry Brigade at Baron in detail.

The basic aim of Epsom was to sweep round to the west and south of Caen and reach the main Caen-Falaise road. This would almost encircle the German defenders around Caen, particularly those at the Carpiquet aerodrome who were preventing any further progress on Monty’s left flank. Despite the Field Marshal’s claims after the war that his intention was to ‘fix’, or hold, the enemy armour in the east whilst the Americans swept round from the west, Epsom was clearly designed for the British to achieve the breakthrough. The Corps plan was to advance on two axes. The left one stretched from Cheux, via Baron, to Hill 112. On the right, the axis was from Grainville, via Gavrus, to Evrecy. Heavy German defensive fire meant that the right axis could make no headway towards Gavrus, and the major effort became the advance to Baron. The ‘Scottish Corridor’ thus stretched from Mondrainville, via the Tourmeauville bridge. This little stone bridge was rushed by a company of the 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders at 1700 hrs on the afternoon of 27th June, and taken intact. For much of Epsom it was the only crossing point over the Odon, and thus a considerable bottleneck. Armoured support in the form of the 23rd Hussars followed, whilst 4KSLI, who had been following the Scottish advance in lorries, were waiting their turn to advance. 4KSLI left their trucks at Cheux, and advanced on foot via Mondrainville, crossing the bridge at 2130 and arrived in Baron at 2330 hours on 27 June.

The advance down the Mondrainville-Baron road (which was not then metalled) was like this:

"…the march up was one of the most unnerving actions of all, with all the wounded coming back on jeeps; dead, mutilated bodies lying around; blazing up-ended Bren carriers with their crews still in them; refugees with their few pitiful belongings pouring back; the stench of dead cattle…"

As they got closer to the Odon river, the scene became more dangerous:

"…The route, which was not easy to follow, was under small arms fire; shells and mortar bombs were dropping astride the track, while close by a self-propelled gun was having a duel with one of our tanks…darkness was falling and the Germans were firing white Verey lights (signal flares) all the while, and it seemed as though we were setting off into the unknown…" .

As soon as the 4 KSLI reached Baron, they dug slit trenches along the southern edge of the village, facing Hill 112. These were two or three-man trenches for protection against artillery fire. The battalion, which had landed in France on 14th June, had never been in battle before, and started suffering casualties from mortar fire as soon as it arrived at Baron. Three rifle companies (about 100 men each) dug in along the edge of the village, C on the right, from the calvary cross to the church, A Company beyond them, and B further along the left flank. D Company and HQ were around the Chateau de Baron to the rear.

The fields in front were full of corn, waist-high, which obscured any vision, and Hill 112 dominated the area. On the morning of 28th June, whilst the KSLI were digging in, tanks of the 23rd Hussars and infantry of the 8th Rifle Brigade moved up to the crest of Hill 112. On reaching the little wood at the top, German Panzer IVs of 12th SS Division, based in Esquay, ambushed them. The 23rd Hussars, and Rifle Brigade troops fought off three SS attacks during the day, but running short of ammunition, withdrew to beyond Baron that night.

(The view looking down on what was the British line)



The Fighting

Withdrawing at night was common practice amongst tank crews of both sides. With no night-fighting capability, and vulnerable to enemy infantry tank-hunting teams, tanks withdrew from the battlefield at last light, when they could rearm and refuel. That night the Germans surrounded the ‘Scottish Corridor’ and counterattacked its base from Mondrainville in the west, and Mouen in the east. This counter attack failed, and the following afternoon, 29th June, the 3rd Monmouths (also part of 159 Brigade) crossed the Odon south of Mouen, widening the base of the corridor.

At the same time, the 8th Rifle Brigade and tanks of 3 RTR ground up the long, dusty slope of Hill 112 again. To the West, tanks of 44 RTR and infantry from 2 KRRC took Hill 113 and Evrecy, but were forced to retreat by units of 10th SS Panzer Division. With the 9th, 10th and 12h SS Panzer Divisions all identified in the area, a major German counter attack was expected – supported by Ultra Enigma decrypts – and at 2200 that night all 11th Armoured Division tanks were ordered back north, across the Odon, to meet this new threat. As the tanks gave up Hill 112 for the second time, this left just the infantry, including 4 KSLI, south of the Odon river, and very exposed. The armour had to be withdrawn because it was needed to protect the flanks and base of the corridor. Also, it had little room in which to manoeuvre and only the narrow bridges as escape routes over the river Odon. As the tanks withdrew, the SS immediately reoccupied Hill 112.

(Tiger E crew of 1SS -PzAbt 102 who fiercely defended Hill 112)


Being overlooked for most of their time in Baron, 4 KSLI was subjected to near-continuous mortaring and shelling, usually indirect fire guided by observers in trees and church towers. These shells and mortar rounds caused many casualties. Major G. Edwards, commanding C Company, recalled:

"…In the churchyard were several German graves, with a helmet on each wooden cross. Mortar ‘stonks’ blew these off, and after each barrage, a Frenchman would appear and solemnly replace each helmet on its cross…The church spire was an early casualty, which denied our observers a useful platform…"

Just two days into Epsom, on 28th June, Brigadier JG Sandie, commanding 159 Brigade, which included 4 KSLI, was sacked for not driving his brigade hard enough. This was a not uncommon reaction by Montgomery in the Normandy campaign; the neighbouring 49th Division also lost two brigadiers in this way, whilst the axe later fell on Major-General Erskine, GOC of 7th Armoured Division, one of his brigadiers and CRA, and Lieutenant-General Bucknall, GOC of XXX Corps.

(An ammunition carrier of the 11th Armoured Division explodes after it is hit by a mortar round during Operation Epsom, 26 June 1944)


Apart from the shelling, the days were quiet, but everyone was thirsty as water was short, and the heat was intense, and rations could only be brought up at night. The battalion was unable to move about during the day, as all movement attracted shellfire, and battalion HQ was hit several times; this was later attributed to a civilian seen moving about the area. He was assumed to be a local Frenchman, but the discovery of a military wireless in the attic of his house, led to his arrest, from which he eventually escaped. Interviews by this author with the current inhabitants who remembered the war reveal that most villagers were evacuated to Bayeux during the Epsom battles and returned to find their houses shattered, livestock killed and crops destroyed by the fighting. Unsurprisingly, nearly all the houses in Baron are new. 4 KSLI’s HQ was originally in an orchard, then it moved into the walled garden of the Chateau, finally ending up in the cellars: each time it was shelled, and many of its signallers and intelligence staff were killed or wounded.

(Men of the 43rd Wessex "The Fighting Wyverns" on the Caen- Auney road)


When the British armour was withdrawn from Hill 112 on 30th June, the Baron-Hill 112 salient protruded like a finger into the German front. As there was no armour protection between the KSLI and the enemy, C Company brought up two 6-pounder anti-tank guns and sited them north of the calvary, which was then a sunken lane. These were to provide flank protection against the expectedPanzer counter-attack.

During the night of 30th June/1st July, SS soldiers attacked C Company out of the cornfield and destroyed the anti-tank guns, killing their crews and setting fire to the two Bren carriers which had towed them there. The battalion’s 3-inch heavy mortars, sited in the field behind Baron church, were also attacked, and destroyed, the bright glare of their exploding ammunition lighting up the night sky. Pre-arranged defensive artillery fire was called-for by the KSLI, and the divisional [medium] 5.5-inch artillery fired at three DF (defensive fire) targets, code-named ‘Dainty’, ‘Dorothy’ and ‘Duchess’, which helped break up the German assault. Several Germans infiltrated behind C Company’s trenches and Major Edwards recalled patrolling his company area with Company Sergeant Major Baker the following morning:

"…We heard a whimpering coming from a bush like a wild animal. CSM Baker pushed his Sten gun into the branches and flushed out two young SS soldiers, both only about 16, who were shaking and obviously bomb-happy. They were led to the rear…A while later, we were passing a small slit trench, when Baker pointed and said ‘Look at that sir’. A German was lying full length neatly in the bottom, with his head under cover at one end, and his feet his covered at the other. ‘Better not take any chances sir’, he said and put a bullet into the German. The ‘corpse’ came to life and more bullets followed the first…Later on, some tanks appeared and helped clear the position, after which we felt more secure...".

(Churchills move cross country to Hill 112)


Withdrawal

C Company counted 25 dead SS within their perimeter and had captured a further 10 during 1st July, and collected 23 machine guns abandoned by the Germans. Eventually, the corn was set on fire by phosphorus grenades thrown by the KSLI, and several more Germans were caught and burned by this. Searching the bodies of the dead and prisoners, the KSLI realised they were not up against 12th SS as they had thought, but 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions as well. This meant that the Germans were concentrating their armoured reserves on the British left flank (around Caen), leaving very little to resist the Americans in the west. 4th KSLI stayed in their positions at Baron under continuing, sporadic shellfire for exactly 7 days, being relieved by the 4th Hampshires on the night of 4/5th July, when they marched back to their lorries at Cheux.



11th Armoured Division lost 100 tanks between 26-29th June and suffered 1,000 casualties (including 33% of all tank crews). This included 25 of the KSLI killed at Baron, whilst 80 were wounded – 25% of their fighting strength. The 15th (Scottish) Division lost over 2,700, an overall 18% casualty rate (but 80% of the fighting troops). They had protected the British bridgehead over the Odon river, whilst more units crossed and assembled behind them. On leaving Baron, 4 KSLI’s CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Miles, suffered the same fate as his brigadier as was replaced by his 2IC. The continued shelling had eventually got to both. Epsom had gained ground, but not as much as hoped. More importantly, all the reserves of German armour were getting sucked into the battles around Caen, such as at Hill 112, denying the Germans a strategic reserve to combat an Allied breakthrough. Why was Hill 112 so important? On the morning of 1st July, Sgt. Moppett of the 1st Herefords (the third battalion in 159th Brigade, with the 3rd Monmouths, and dug in on the right of the KSLI), was sent to patrol up the road which leads to Hill 112 in a Bren Carrier:

"…Arriving at what I thought was the crest, I ordered the men to dismount. We went forward on foot…The sun shone in a blue sky. We could forget there was a war on. Then I saw the turret of a tank on our left. I crawled through the corn with L/Cpl. Morten. It was knocked out. Behind were several more. We returned to the road and moved over the crest. Then I realised why the Germans wanted the hill. You could see for miles – over to Esquay and on to Evercy and right over the Orne river…."

The Germans held onto Hill 112 for over a month, and were never forcibly removed, despite British air superiority and greater numbers of tanks, guns and troops. Later in July, Operation Jupiter was launched by 43rd (Wessex) Division to retake the Hill, but it was never captured. A patrol of 53rd Welsh Division found it abandoned on the night of 3/4th August.



I would just like to add one account that in my research for this post touched me deeply.
It's from the site http://www.hill112.com/index2.htm


"The worst day for A Squadron was at Maltot on 10 July. We were moving across a field of yellow rape and through my periscope I could sec tank after tank stop and catch fire although there were no signs of German tanks firing. One began to feel uneasy and the constant sound of small arms fire against the turret made us realize that things were going to be tough.
Ted Spight from one of the brewed up tanks appeared just in front of us looking very dazed so we opened up a pannier door and laid him on the tool box behind the driver. Soon afterwards we were hit and ICENI (name of the tank) rocked to a standstill. The interior of the turret suddenly became intensely hot, a dry scalding heat. I kept my eyes shut shielding my face with my hands. The left hand was not wearing the leather gauntlet glove with which we were issued, the right hand had a glove on. After seemingly minutes, but it can only have been a very short period, I stood up and pushed open my turret hatches.
We were yelling and I tried to release the clip which held the hag for holding the empty shell cartridges, but it jammed and could not be budged. I tried to do this in order that both Jock and Dickie could move over to my side of the turret in order to get out because Jock could not open his cupola flaps as shortly before we were hit something had struck the top of the turret and jammed it shut, I pulled myself out of the turret and fell over the side hitting the tracks and toppled on to the ground. As I laid there I could see a large hole slightly forward of the turret (I believe it was an '88 shot) and flames startcd coming out of the turret together with the sound of exploding ammunition.
The dreadful cries of my crew trapped in Iceni, even now nearly fifty years later, occasionally return to remind me of the horror of 10 July 1944. To my everlasting sorrow I was unable to help even one of those young men with whom I had lived in intimate contact that was part of a tankman's life when in action. My face became swollen and very tight making it difficult to see and the skin of my left hand hung down in black strips from an arm which was bloodless and white. Lt. Shep Douglas, my troop leader, crawled along the field. 'Who are you' he said, not recognizing one of his own troop to whom he had given orders earlier that morning.
I followed him across the field of rape, crouched low because we could hear gunfire, to a gap in the hedgerow where infantry were in position.
The look of honor on their faces which changed to looks of pity when they saw me will remain ftr ever in my mind. It is a look which I would never want to inflict on another human being. I was helped to a medical truck, given an injection and that was the end of 10 July for me.
Recollections of Ray Gordon, wireless operator in Sgt. Jock Smith's tank, 2 Troop, A Squadron



Crew of troop sergeant's tank Iceni, 2 Troop, A Squadron, Farnborough, 19 May 1944.
Back row: Ray Gordon, Jack 'Hutch' Hutchinson.
Front row: Bill Morris, Sgt. Jock Smith, Dickie Knight.
Hutch, Bill, Jock and Dickie were burnt to death in their tank on 10 July 1944;
Ray escaped with burns, but had to spend the next four years in and out of hospital.


Operation Jupiter

But with the capture of Hill 112 considered necessary to widen the front, a second operation code named “Jupiter” was planned for July 10th. In this attack the British 43rd Wessex Division was to attack positions held by the 10th SS Panzer Division supported by the 102nd SS Heavy Tank Battalion. Like Michael Wittmann's 101st SS Heavy Tank Battalion it was equipped with the formidable Tiger Tank. Although jumping off from much closer to Hill 112 than their June 26th start line and again supported by a massive pre-attack bombardment, the British Churchill, Cromwell and Sherman tanks supporting the Wessex Division were no match for the Tiger tanks opposing them and the attack immediately stalled. After the 9th SS Panzer Division were brought back to reinforce the 10th SS Division already engaged, the British forces were unable to take the summit and the British attacks were finally halted on July 22nd. In the twelve days of operation Jupiter the 43rd Wessex Division had suffered 7,000 casualties out of a total strength of 16,000, over 40% of the Division.

It was only finally on the night of August 4th that a patrol from the 53rd Welsh Division discovered that with Caen no longer in their control, Hill 112 had lost it's importance for the German defenders and they had withdrawn, allowing the 53rd Division to finally occupy the high ground without a shot being fired.


Exploitation of a German retirement from Caen in the wake of Operation Charnwood, had not been possible since the Germans only withdrew to the south bank of the Orne. The British had attacked down open slopes commanded by dug in German units. Narrow front attacks had been tactically unwise but lack of troops and the strategic circumstances had made them indispensable. O'Connor the VIII Corps commander, recommended that greater account be taken of topography in the selection of objectives and occupation of high ground be favoured over attacks on villages. The British and Canadians had used their increasing experience and kept the initiative but the Germans had not withdrawn despite the cost of such defensive operations.[3] The commanding views from Hill 112 were of great tactical importance but the hill was not captured by the British and was left as a no-man's-land, with the two sides dug in on opposite sides.[4]


Several surrounding villages had been taken, although the British were pushed back from Éterville. The 9th SS Panzer Division, which had been in the process of moving out of the line to form an operational reserve, was brought back to contain the attack and the German troops involved in counter-attacks were exposed to such fire power as to inflict casualties which debilitated them, which deprived the German defence of the ability to contemplate a counter-offensive.[5] In July, Operations Greenline, Pomegranate and Express took more ground in the Odon valley, kept German panzer units pinned down and inflicted more attrition on the German units. In August 1944, that the Germans withdrew from Hill 112 during Operation Cobra and the 53rd (Welsh) Division occupied the feature with barely a fight.






So, on our tour we made our way up the road to Hill 112.
Here we find several memorials.

This is a view from the base of Cornwall Wood.
From here it that the height advantage and panoramic view is quite obvious.



Memorial to the 43 Wessex
Cornwall Wood in the background



Nearby the Wessex Memorial is a marble table with a map showing where various towns and their distances are.



Gary, flanked by my brother Don (left) and Jerry (right) describing what we are looking at.



Gary explaining how the actions took place and from what directions,



And here, as Gary is still explaing the action you can see the Cromwell in the bacground