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FORTRESS EUROPE MAGAZINE

Basse Normandie, Bretagne, Loire Atlantique

Welcome to the Utah Beach Museum By far its silhouette resembles a beached oyster: the Museum of Utah Beach is a wonderful memorial to the Allied landings in Normandy, the largest military operation in modern history.

Inside is a gem. Countless treasures and stories of D-Day are carefully gathered and explained.

At the beginning there was the injury: the concrete fulcrum German hideous relic of barbarism and war. Then came through the initiative of Michel de VALLAVIEILLE, its successful transformation into a place of remembrance and gratitude for the liberation by the Allies. In the past decades, the commemoration was expanded, adding new elements to the exhibition and is born and shines a pearl ...

Located on the site of the American landings on 6 June 1944, the Utah Beach Museum tells the military and technical feat that made him famous beach of La Madeleine. Vestiges are still visible on the beach but the most precious memories are preserved in the museum, built around an old bunker from the fulcrum WN 5, at the very spot where American troops took on Norman soil June 6, 1944 The Museum seeks to transmit the memory of the events of June 1944 and returned as the history of D and its human and technical prowess. With a collection of unique equipment, weapons, archival photographs and memorabilia he invites you to relive the history of this exceptional day of D-Day. 50480 Sainte Marie du Mont

Tel: 02.33.71.53.35 www.utah-beach.com

UTAH BEACH

Army Museum Hotel National des Invalides 129 rue de Grenelle, 75007 PARIS Standard: 0810 11 33 99 (local call rate) Contact Us By metro / RER : Latour Maubourg Invalides, line 8, Varenne, Saint Francis Xavier, line 13 Invalides, RER C By bus: Bus No. 28, 63, 69, 80, 82, 83, 87, 92, 93, Balabus By car: A parking garage is accessible from the Esplanade des Invalides.

GROUP VISITS: Reception of groups carried out now to home north (see map). Reservations are required for any group visit with or without a guide.

The museum is open daily, except : - 1st Monday of each month (Except July, August, September) www.invalides.org/

Situated in the Pas-de-Calais, 5 km from the town of Saint-Omer, LA COUPOLE is a gigantic underground bunker designed by the Nazis, in 19431944, to store, prepare and launch the V2 rockets (first missiles to reach the stratosphere), the secret weapon that Hitler was counting on to destroy London and reverse the course of the war.

Rehabilitated as a History and Remembrance Centre, LA COUPOLE reveals, in an impressive setting, the challenges of total war and the stages in the conquest of space, which paradoxically resulted from the V2 technology.

The Centre also expands on the theme of the German occupation from 1940 to 1945 in the Nord—Pas-de-Calais, one of the hardest hit regions during the “dark years”.

Le GRAND BUNKER Musée du Mur de l’Atlantique Avenue du 6 juin — 14150 OUISTREHAM Riva Bella — Normandie France Tél.(33): 02 31 97 28 69 - Fax.(33): 02 31 96 66 05

CONTENTS Basse Normandie Ste. Mere Eglise 23

Carentan 70

La Madeleine 25

Saint Come du Mont 71

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont 27

Azeville 73

Grandcamp Maisy 29

Quineville 74

Verville-sur-Mer 34

Cherbourg 75

St.Laurent-sur-Mer 35

Nehou 76

Collevile-sur-Mer 37

Avranches 77

Port en Besson 39

Saint Lo 78

Longue sur Mer 40

St. Martin Des Besaces 79

Arromanches 41 Ver sur Mer 43 Courseules-sur-Mer 44 Douvres-la-Delvrande 45 Lion-sur-Mer 46 Colleville Montgomery 47 Ouistreham 51 Merville Franceville 52 Ranville/Benouville 54 Caen 56 Falaise 58 Chambois 62 St.Germain de Montgomery 63 Tilly-sur Seules 64 Bayeux 66 Isigney sur Mer 68

CONTENTS Bretagne St. Malo 83 Dinard 87 Brest 89 Lorient 91

Loire - Atlantique St.Nazare 97

Poitou-Charentes Royon 105

Haute Vienne (Limousin & Aquitaine) Limoges 110 Oradour-sur-Glane 111

Pays de la Loire Maille 117 Rennes 119 Index 122

CONTENTS-EDITORIAL Operation Overlord 13 Hitler’s Atlantic Wall 15 1944 The Battle of Normandy 18 A Visit to Normandy 26 Pointe du Hoc 33 Normandy Towns 49 The Battle for Caens 56 The Falaise Gap 60 Operation Cobra 64 Battle of Bloody Gulch 68 Battle of Crisbecq 71 Fortifications of St. Malo 86 Into the Hornet’s Nest 88 Operation Chariot 98 U-boat bases La Rochelle/La Pallice 99 Destruction of Royan 106 U-boat bases Bordeaux 107 Oradour-sur-Glane 112

12 Nord Pas de Calais

FORTRESS EUROPE FRANCE MAGAZINE 2024

Haute Normandie

BasseNormandie

All efforts have been made to provide updated information regarding businesses included in this publication.

Front Cover Photo: The liberation of Paris in 1944.

Best, Christopher ISBN 978-0-9812574-1-9

Published and bound in China chris@metro-online.ca www.adenture-guides.ca Warfleet Press 1038 East 63rd Ave. Vancouver BC V5X2L1

Champagne Ardenne

Ile de France

Bretagne

Lorraine Alsace

Centre

Pays de la Loirre

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder.

Picardie

Franche-

Bourgogne Comte

PoitouCharentes Limousin

Rhone-Alpes

Auvergne Aquitaine MidiPyrenees

Provences-Alpes Cote de Azur LanguedocRoussillon

Dear Readers!

This guide is a memorial to all those who died in WWII and a reminder for the future, lest we forget. Walk in the footsteps of the combat soldiers as they stormed the beaches of Normandy.

Visit the U-Boat bases on the Brittany coast and explore the martyred towns of Royan, Maille and Oradour sur Glane. Follow the route of the Allied invasion of Southern France as far north as Lyon.

In the Alsace visit Colmar where Audie Murphy won his Medal of Honour. See the fortresses of the Maginot Line and learn why they did not stop the Nazi advance in 1940. Back on the west coast you will see the rocket bases in Picardie and learn about Dunkirk which could have spelled the end for England had it turned out differently.

We hope you enjoy your adventure into the past with our Fortress Europe Guide on FRANCE. www.warfleetpress.com

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Operation Overlord Operation Overlord

In 1943 President Roosevelt of the United States and England’s Prime Minister Churchill had approved the plan of the Combined Chiefs of Staff for a mighty land, sea and air invasion of western Europe. This plan was given the name of Operation OVERLORD, and was scheduled to take place in May or June, 1944. To carry out OVERLORD, nearly 3,000,000 men would have to be equipped, trained and furnished with supplies. British and American military forces were already gathering in and around the British Isles. The whole area was alive with feverish but well-organized activity. Britain was becoming one huge military base.

The Allied military planners had carefully studied the coastline of German-held western Europe to find the best place to land an invading army.

Among the details that had to be considered was the exact moment of high and low tide at every landing beach from northern Norway to southern France.

High tide was important. Then the landing craft could come closest to shore, and the attackers would not have to wade through so many of the underwater obstacles and mines the Germans had placed along the waterline. They would also have the least open beach to cross and be exposed for the least possible time to fire from German fortifications.

Before the landing could be even attempted, the Allies needed to find the German forts and destroy them. Allied planners examined thousands of aerial photographs of beach fortifications. From spies, from intercepted radio reports, and by aerial observation they learned alot about the location and readiness of German troops, number of airplanes, tanks and guns and quantities of fuel and ammunition.

Finally the Allied Forces decided that the best place to make a landing would be the coast of Normandy in northern France. To command all the Allied forces that would make this great invasion, Roosevelt and Churchill selected American General Dwight D.Eisenhower, who had commanded Allied troops in North Africa, Sicily and Southern Italy.

By early 1944, the British Bomber Command and the American Strategic Forces in Europe had begun to shift the weight of their massive air assault from German war production to Hitler’s defensice system in France. The Luftwaffe’s strength was dwindling.

Eisenhower was given the go ahead to conduct Operation OVERLORD in June of 1944.

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THE REGIONS OF FRANCE

Nord Pas de Calais

Haute Normandie

BasseNormandie

Picardie

Champagne Ardenne

Ile de France

Bretagne

Lorraine Alsace

Centre

Pays de la Loirre

Franche-

Bourgogne Comte

PoitouCharentes Limousin

Rhone-Alpes

Auvergne Aquitaine MidiPyrenees

Provences-Alpes Cote de Azur LanguedocRoussillon

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Operation Overlord

Hitler’s Atlantic Wall At the beginning of June 1944, there were 58 German divisions occupying France, Belgium and Holland. More than half of these were weak coast defense or training divisions, while the remaining ten armored and 17 infantry divisions were under-strength and under equipped. But these forces totaled about three-quarters of a million ground soldiers, many of them tough veterans of earlier German victories, and they were led by excellent officers. Hitler’s Atlantic Wall gave them added strength. They were supported by German naval and air commannds, but these had been greatly reduced in strength by the Allies’ bombing attacks.

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt was over-all commander of German forces in the West. Under him, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commanded Army group B in Holland, Belgium and northern France. This was where the Germans expected an Allied invasion, so Rommel had been given more than two-thirds of the total German forces in the West. These forces were organized into the German Seventh Army, which occupied northwestern France, and the Fifteenth Army, which held northeastern France and the Low Countries.

16 At D-Day, Lt. Gen Omar Bradley was chosen to command the US 1st Army, which alongside the British Second Army made up General Montgomery’s 21st Army Group. The invasion force of 1,000,000 men and another 1,000,000 used in back up were ready.

Southampton

Plymouth

B

Portsmouth

Poole

Dartmouth

EASTE TASK

WESTERN TASK FORCE

Cherbourg Guernesey Ste. Mere Eglise

Channel Islands

Carentan

La H Utah Omaha Gold Juno Swo Bayeux

Jersey

St.Lo

Omar Bradley

Caen

Fala

Vire

St.Malo

Avranches

Brest B

R

I

T

T

A

N

Y

Fougeres

Loudeac

Rennes

Al Mayenne

Vitre

Laval

7th AR DOLLM

Se

Lorient Chateau Gontier

Vannes

St. Nazaire

Loire R. Nantes

Angers

17

Rotterdam

London

Antwerp

Dunkirk Calais

Brighton

Brussells

Boulogne Lillie

15th ARMY

SALMUTH

ERN FORCE

Cambrai Abbeville Som

me

Dieppe

Havre

Seine R.

R.

Amiens

Laon

Rouen

Compiegne

ord

e

Ois

Elbeuf Louviers Evreux

Vernon

Marne R

.

.

Chateau Thierry

Mantes

Army Group B ROMMEL Dreux

lencon

e

R ine

.

Chalons

Paris Aube R.

Seine R.

Chartres

Romilly Etampes

RMY MANN

Reims

Pontoise

R re Eu

aise

Aisne R.

R.

Troyes

Pithiviers Chateaudun

Le Mans

Orleans Loir R.

. re R

Loi

Tours

09 WEST RUNSTEDT NORTHWESTERN FRANCE 1944 ALLIED INVASION FORCE AND GERMAN DISPOSITIONS 6 JUNE 1944

D-Day Invasion

By June 1944, the German forces in France numbered 46 infantry divisions and 9 panzer divisions (notably the Panzer Lehr, 1st, 2nd, and 12th SS Panzer Divisions).

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1944 The Battle of Normandy 5th and 6th June 1944 airborne operations Sainte Mère : - Church square made famous by the film “The Longest Day” - First town to be liberated - Airborne Troops Museum - Milestone Km O of Liberty Way. Commemorative monuments to the parachutists of the 82nd and 101st Airborne - Old cemeteries - Site of “La Fière” memorial to the parachutists. Circuit of photographic panels in Sainte-Mère-Eglise recounting the history of the liberation.

Sainte Marie du Mont : Circuit of 12 panels explaining the 101st Airborne parachutists’ combat the night of the 5th/6th June 1944 Hiesville : Memorial stone and monuments dedicated to US General Don PRATT killed in his glider 6th June 1944.

The American Landing on Utah Beach 6th June 1944

Utah Beach : Sites which can be visited - Numerous Commemorative monuments to the Americans - Landing Museum - Milestone Km 00 of Liberty Way Saint Martin de Varville : Site for visitors - monument dedicated to the landing of General Leclerc’s 2nd DB Sainte-Marie-du-Mont : Danish monument

The Battle for Cherbourg

Brucheville : US Air Force memorial Carquebut : First American cemetery Quinéville : German blockhaus - Museum of Liberty Montebourg : Completely destroyed in June 1944 by naval shelling. 13 days of battle before Cherbourg was taken.

Basse Normandie Ste. Mere Eglise 25

Ranville/Benouville 56

La Madeleine 27

Caen 57

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont 29

Falaise 59

Grandcamp Maisy 31

Chambois 63

Verville-sur-Mer 36

St.Germain de Montgomery 64

St.Laurent-sur-Mer 37

Tilly-sur Seules 65

Collevile-sur-Mer 40

Bayeux 67

Port en Besson 41

Isigney sur Mer 69

Longue sur Mer 42

Carentan 71

Arromanches 43

Saint Come du Mont 72

Ver sur Mer 45

Azeville 74

Courseules-sur-Mer 46

Quineville 75

Douvres-la-Delvrande 47

Cherbourg 76

Lion-sur-Mer 48

Nehou 77

Colleville Montgomery 49

Avranches 78

Ouistreham 53

Saint Lo 79

Merville Franceville 55

St. Martin Des Besaces 80

STE. MERE EGLISE

D-Day Landing at Utah Beach On 5th June 1944, 811 C47 planes dropped 14,238 men onto the shores establishing a bridgehead at Sainte-Mère. The town was liberated that same day just before midnight. If you saw the movie “The Longest Day” you might remember the scene in which a paratrooper, John Steele, played by the actor Red Buttons, gets snagged on a church steeple. That church is in Ste. Mere Eglise and the incident really happened on the night before D-Day. In fact, Ste. Mere Eglise was the first town liberated on DDay. People come from the US and Britain to celebrate D-Day the first week of June.

Musée des Troupes Aéroportées

14 rue Eisenhower - 50480 Sainte-Mère-Eglise Tél.: +33 (0)2 33 41 41 35 www.musee-airborne.com

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Au Jour J New and second-hand military equipment. DDay souvenirs. Military equipment for collections - Purchases - sales - Exchanges - Advising.

Closing-time : January From February to March and from October to December 10am to 12am and 14pm to 18pm. Sunday and Monday closed.

From April to September, open every day.

5, rue du général Koënig Sainte Mere Eglise

02.33.21.15.11 aujourj@aol.com

Static Line Military equipment for collections Open all the year Monday to Saturday 9.30-12.30 and 13.30-18.00. And from October to March Tuesday to Saturday 9.30-12.30 to 13.30-18.00.

English and Spanish spoken.

16, rue du général de gaulle, 50480 Saint-Mère-Eglise

02.33.41.02.42 www.staticline-normandie.com

LA MADELEINE

Brigadier- General Theodore Roosevelt On 6 June 1944 in Normandy, the American Forces slammed ashore on Utah Beach, 2.5 kilometres southern than expected. This navigation miscalculation put the Americans out of range of the heavy coastal batteries of Saint-Marcouf and Azzeville. At 6:40 am, Brigadier-General Theodore Roosevelt Second-in-command of the 4th Infantry Division landed with the first assault wave, composed of units of the 8th Infantry Regiment and tanks of the 70th Tank Battalion. One hour later, the engineers had cleared off the beach, and the German defenses were neutralized, as the strongpoint WN 5 at La Madeleine. The Americans moved inland.

Photo: This German anti tank gun is still in the strong point of 1944. Around the gun are embeded commemoratives plaques.

Utah Beach Museum

Facing the beaches of Utah, this Museum reports, through models scale, equipments and archives, the Landing operations on Utah Beach. Several armoured vehicles, equipment and a landing ship can be seen outside. www.utah-beach.com

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26

A Visit To Normandy & St. Mere Eglise in June

The anniversary of D-Day is June 6. When we pulled up to the entrance to the campground we were staring at a World War II bivouac, complete with army tents, proper vintage vehicles and men in 1940’s uniforms. This scene was to be repeated over and over again for the next several days. We had not realized it, but this part of Normandy really celebrates D-Day and people come from the United States and Britain to take part. But it turned out that most of the people we saw in 1940’s American uniforms were French men and women who turn out to be serious collectors of American military stuff who love to dress up, march around the town and drive around in the precious vehicles that the U.S. armed forces left in Europe at the end of the war. They took possession of them then and have kept them in mint condition ever since.

There are clubs all over France of such collectors.

Our visit included a tour of the American Airborne Museum in the town, and a live parachute jump on the spot where the first Airborne troops landed on June 5, 1945. Their orders were to prepare the way for the landing by digging in at the Merderet River outside of town and preventing a German tank counter attack from coming across the Merderet Bridge by the La Fiere Cafe. They were commanded by General James Gavin and succeeded in this task. You can read all about our visit in this town where Americans can do no wrong in the letter we wrote. There are photos of the town, of the church steeple which the townspeople keep decorated with a life-sized model of a paratrooper and a parachute, and of the scene at the jump area. Look for a gentleman in a red jacket pointing to the spot he landed on that day. He comes back every year to participate. If you can manage a visit to this charming and historic town in early June--in any year you won’t be sorry. w w w. e u ro p e b y m o u s e . c o m / FranceByMouse/franceby mouse_150.htm

SAINTE-MARIEDU-MONT

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The “Screaming Eagles” On the night of 6 June 1944 more than four hundred planes dropped the American parachutists of the 101st Airborne Division in Normandy. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment landed on drop zone C near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. The units were widely scattered. A group of about a hundred men gathered under General Taylor who commanded the division and Lieutenant-Colonel Ewell who commanded the 3rd battalion of the 506th Regiment. They moved toward Utah Beach to take control of the exit n°1. On the way they neutralized a German strong point near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. Another group of parachutists destroyed a battery west of the town.

Utah Beach Landing Museum

www.utah-beach.com - 02 33 71 53 35

Built on the beach, it presents the strategy and history of the unloading at Utah, by showing visitors beautiful collections including amphibious machines and a film.

On the beach, you can see “terminal 00” of the Way of the Freedom which follows the Allies troops as far as Belgium, marked out by terminals like this one.

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Museum of the Occupation

On the place de l’Église, this old hospital sheltered the German garrison for 4 years. From June 6 to November 1, 1944, it was HQ for Americans at Utah Beach. www.avd-ci.be.com

Musée of the Libération

A new museum opened in 2006. On 200 m2, you will be able to see a personal collection which gathers armaments, vehicles and mannequins, both American and German.

02 33 71 25 62 www.utah-musee-liberation.com

GRANDCAMP MAISY

A Forgotten German Gun Battery Grandcamp-Maisy formed a part of the Atlantic Wall, the German defences against invasion. The Germans installed two batteries at this location. The first, called La Martine, was manned by the 8th Battery, 1716th Artillery Regiment.

They were equipped with four Czech FH14/19 type 100 mm (4 in) guns, with a range of just under 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). Three were housed in type H669 casemates, with the fourth still in the open at the time of D-Day. The second position, La Perruque, five hundred meters to the east, was manned by 9th Battery, 1716th Artillery Regiment, and had guns of a larger caliber - four French Type F414 155 mm (6 in) howitzers, dating from the end of World War I. (Con’t. on Page 32)

Musée des Rangers

www.normandiememoire.com 02 31 92 33 31 22 51/02 64 34

29

30

Brad 1st Ar

Cherbourg

Collins

7th Corp

4th div.

Valognes

Sainte Mere Eglise

UTAH

Pointe du Hoc

Portbail

St. Laure sur Mer

Carentan

Isigney sur Mer

Dollm

7th Arm

Saint Lo Coutances

“Hillman” was strategically placed between Caen and the sea. With commanding views over the Seine Bay, it housed the 736th Grenadier Rgt command post of the 716th Division. Designated by the allies under the code name “HILL MAN”, it is the single coastal HQ still visible today in Normandy.

The site included a dozen of fortified blockhouses buried 4 m depth, connected by a complex network of trenches. Protected by a mine field and a network of barbed wire, the defence of the site was provided by machine guns positions and armoured cupolas.

31

Montgomery

dley rmy

21st Army group

2nd Army

Gerow

5th Corp

29 div. 1st div.

c

OMAHA

ent

mann

Dempsey Croker

Bucknall

30th Corp

1st Corp

Le Havre

50th div.

GOLD

3rd div.

JUNO

3rd div.

SWORD Port en Arromanches Courseulles Bessin Cabourg sur Mer Bayeux Ouistreham

HILLMAN

my

Caen

Salmuth 15th Army

Rommel army group B

On 6 June 1944, the first battalion of Suffolk Regiment received the difficult task to take Hillman. The mission could not be completed until the morning of the 7th June. The strong defence put up by “Hillman” slowed the third Division British infantry from moving off SWORD BEACH to take Caen on the evening 6th June. This delay allowed the German defence to re-enter Caen and mount a spirited defence of the city. Caen was taken a month later!

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(Continued from page 29)

Three had been placed in the open, but three personnel bunkers were built on the site - two type H622 and one type H502. These howitzers had a range of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi). Both sites were protected by minefields, and antiaircraft emplacements.

Until recently the site was overgrown and had been subject to landfill after the liberation, before any historians had chance to examine the site. Englishman Gary Sterne, rediscovered the site after finding a German map, and has purchased some of the site and turned it into a museum. From his research it is obvious that the site is many times larger than was originally thought. The labyrinth of underground tunnels has a secret entrance that had remained hidden for around 60 years. It contains an office, a supplies house, a general quarters, radio room and many other blocks including an underground hospital.

It may well be that when all the site is cleared and all the bunkers that are buried are rediscovered, that this site is largest on the Atlantic Wall in Normandy.

The sheer size of the site poses many questions as to why it does not feature more prominently in German records, and why the site did not have more attention paid to it by the Allies. It was bombed, but not hit to any extent before D-Day, and on D-Day itself HMS Hawkins claimed to have put the guns out of action. The three casemates show no sign of damage from the front, only superficial damage from the east. This was the direction the battery was attacked on June 9. HMS Hawkins also claimed to have put the battery at St. Martin de Varreville out of action, it is a well-known fact[citation needed] that the guns were not there on the morning of D-Day, and had been moved further north. The town became the headquarters of General Bradley after it was liberated on June 9.

The site has been excavated and was opened as a Museum in April 2007. www. maisybatterie.com

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Pointe du Hoc There is no museum at Pointe du Hoc... the land was left much like it was after the battle. There are bomb craters, exploded bunkers, metal scraps and barbed wire everywhere. You may wonder whether in 1000 years, the gusts of wind will succeed in flattening the thousands of craters created in 1944 by the Allied bombs. The Germans had built, as part of the Atlantic Wall, six casemates to house a battery of captured French 155mm guns. With Pointe Du Hoc situated between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east, these guns threatened Allied landings on both beaches, risking heavy casualties in the landing forces. Although there were several bombardments from the air and by naval guns, intelligence reports assumed that the fortifications were too strong, and would also require attack by ground forces. The U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion was therefore given the task of destroying the strongpoint early on D-Day. On June 6, 1944, the 2nd battalion of American Rangers (225 men), under lieutenant-colonel James E Rudder, unloaded on this tiny beach and climbed it’s vertical cliff (88 feet in height). The Pointe was defended by 125 German infantrymen and 80 artillerists. In 5mn, the first Americans reach the top.

In 15mn the first bunkers. Only 80 of them died here (Rudder was wounded twice), to discover once at the top that the canons inside the bunkers were made of wood! Germans had already removed their artillery and had set up these lures. A walk around the destroyed bunkers and paths furrowing in craters really gives you a sense of the famous battle that happened here.

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VERVILLE SUR MER

29th Infantry Division Suffered Horrible Casualties June 06, 1944, at 6h30, the first waves of the 1st Infantry Division and the 29th Infantry Division launched out to the attack of the beach of Omaha Beach.

The 116th Regiment unloaded on the Western sector, extending of Vierville sur Mer with Saint Laurent sur Mer, while the 16th Regiment unloaded on the East sector , active of Saint Laurent sur Mer with Colleville sur Mer. Located at the main road between Vierville-sur-Mer and Pointe du Hoc. Much of the museum is inside an old hangar and displays a lot of weapons, vehicles, uniforms, large guns and other equipment.

Museum D-Day Omaha

Vierville Sur Mer, road of Grandcamp

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 312171 80

ST. LAURENT SUR MER

Liberated at the end of the afternoon of D-Day On 6 June 1944, the American troops landed in Normandy on Omaha Beach.

The Vth Corps under General Gerow was assigned the task to clean off the beaches, and to build up exit corridors. But nothing occured as expected : near all the amphibious tanks sank, the bombers had been missing their targets, a strong tidal current veered of course the landing ships, and the engineers troops who had to open breaches in the defenses lost much equipment. At 6:30 am the first wave of the 1st Infantry Division was slaughtered, the second wave at 7 am suffered heavy losses. Around 9 am, the Rangers and the 116th Infantry Regiment opened the first exit. Around 10 am, two gates were finally cracked open at Photo: 467th AAA and Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group plaque

Musée Mémorial d’Omaha Beach

This Museum presents arms and equipments coming from Omaha Beach.

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 21 97 44 www.musee-memorial-omaha.com

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36 Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, with the support of tanks, and two destroyers shelling the casemates of Les Moulins.

Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer was liberated at the end of the afternoon of D-Day, Colleville-sur-Mer was seized the next day.

BELOW: “The Braves” monument.

Monumental work of art designed by artist Anilore Banon in memory of Allied Forces soldiers bravery.

ABOVE: 1st Infantry Division Monument Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer Monument dedicated to the Big red one, the 1st American Infantry Division.Situation : on the sea front, within walk distance starting from the American cemetery

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER

“Bloody Omaha” Two days after D-Day, the site was already used as a cemetery for fatalities of Omaha Beach. The ground has since then been given by France to the USA, and now numbers 9,387 soldiers who are buried there, including 4 women and 307 unknown. There are an additional 14,000 bodies, repatriates in the USA buried here at the request of their families. Close to the memorial, you can also see the names of the 1,557 soldiers missing during the Battle of Normandy. Theodore Roosevelt Junior is buried there. If you have only one cemetery to visit, this is the most impressive pressive one to see as the sheer number of white crosses is astonishing. BELOW:Canadian Navy minesweeper plaque. This plaque explains the action of the Canadian Navy minesweeper during D-day, and specially the action of the 31st Flotilla.

American Cemetery

www.abmc.com

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OPPOSITE: 5th Engineer Special Brigade monument - 299th Combat Engineer plaque - 146th Engineer Combat Battalion plaque - 20th Combat Engineer plaque Colleville-sur-Mer This monument is dedicated to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade. On the sides every units of the Brigade are engraved, several plaques commemorate the 299th Combat Engineers, the 146th Engineer Combat Battalion, the 20th Combat Engineer, and the roll of honour of Omaha Beach.

Situation : on the sea front, over a blockhouse, walk on foot from the beach or the American cemetery.

Big Red One Museum

This Museum is mainly dedicated to the 1st American Infantry Division - Big Red One - who landed on day-D on Omaha Beach. It presents also the Engineers Assault units and the Navy Beach Battalions. Hameau Le Bray D-514, 14710 , 02 31 21 58 81

PORT EN BESSON

Museum Of Underwater Wrecks Landing Private initiative, the museum wrecks of Port-en-Bessin, Calvados, opened its doors in 1990. It has removed the remains of the landing on the seabed. At the end of World War II, the quantities of shipwrecks litter the seabed beyond the surface of the sea along the coast of Normandy, representing a continuing danger to navigation. All these wrecks are abandoned by the allies to the French government is committed to ensure removal.To this end, contracts and bills of sale are bequeathed by Fields to many companies. Huge breaking yards up on the coastline and so many millions of tons of scrap metal taken from the sea during the twenty years after the landing. In 1970, Jacques Lemonchois is mandated by the State of lipping a number of wrecks remained very dangerous and inconvenient for navigation.

Musée des Epaves Sous-marines du Débarquement

14520 Commes

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 21 17 06 www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr

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LONGUE SUR MER

Battery Longues-sur-Mer North of the village, 500 meters from the coast, the Germans had built in 1943, a coastal battery. The latter were four naval guns well protected with a span of nearly 20 km further offshore vessels, could also reach the landing beaches of Omaha Beach and west of Gold Beach on the east. It includes four bunkers M272 Type3 with wall and ceiling of reinforced concrete two meters thick, located 300 meters behind the top of the small coastal cliff. Each room houses a naval 150mm TK C/363 (TorpedoKanone canon for destroyers, gun on a center pivot (Pivot Lafette Mittel - MPL) TL C/36 (TorpedoLafette - looking for destroyer kind of open turret on the back). These naval guns had a range of close to 20,000 meters The Allies did so in the knockout of this battery a priority of the D-Day. In addition to bombing the previous week, the battery underwent a pounding from two British cruisers and the French destroyer Georges Leygues preventing long-range artillery to have a real German threat. The next day, 7 June 1944 by late morning, after a second bombing of the RAF, and with their guns out of action, the German soldiers surrendered to British soldiers of the Devonshire Regiment.

ARROMANCHES

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The Key to Victory in Europe.

Arromanches was liberated in the evening of June 6th and the very next day the first ships were scuttled. June 8th saw the submersion of the first Phoenix caissons and June 14th the unloading of the first cargoes. Totally operational by the beginning of July, the Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches was to prove its worth during Montgomery’s large-scale offensive against Caen later that month.

During its busiest week, more than 18,000 tonnes of goods were unloaded each day.

The remains of the artificial port can still be seen off Arromanches and several dozen PHOENIX caissons continue to provide a calm and sheltered stretch of water. A true feat of engineering, the port at Arromanches provided the key to victory in Europe.

Rue Ste Croix 14480 CREPON Tel:02 31 92 46 68 Mobile: 06 23 65 23 19 www.normandjeepmilitary.com

Equipment and militaria for collectors.

Open all the year from October to March from 9:00am to 12:30 and from 2:00 pm to 6:00pm except on Mondays and Tuesdays.

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Le Musee du Debarquement The first museum to be built in commemoration of June 6th 1944 and the Normandy Campaign.

The D-day Museum overlooks the very spot where one of the Mulberry Harbours was constructed and where its remains can still be seen today, just a few hundred metres from the shore.

Place du 6 Juin 14117 Arromanches Phone number : +33 (0)2 31 22 34 31 Museum shop tel. : +33 (0)2 31 51 68 11 info@arromanches-museum.com

Arromanches Militaria Shop specialising in the sale of military memorabilia from 1939-1945.

11 boulevard Gilbert Longuet - 14117 Arromanches les bains

06 81 05 43 40 / 06 98 05 22 44 / 02 31 21 51 04 Contact : arromanchesmilitaria@free.fr

VER SUR MER

50th Infantry Division Landed On Gold Beach The GOLD BEACH section of the museum commemorates the historic landings carried out by 69 brigade of 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on the morning of 6th June 1944. You will also find here displays commemorating the vital intelligence-gathering work prior to the invasion (6th June 1944 WAS NOT the first British landing on Gold Beach.......) and the aerodrome B-3, constructed in early June by British engineers between Ver and St-Croix. NEW FOR 2008 mannequin of Major George “Bolo” Young, MC (Green Howards), who landed on Gold Beach King on Dday and new display explaining the construction of B-3 airfield.

Musée American Gold Beach

2, Place Amiral Byrd, F14114 , Ver-sur-Mer Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 67 52 78 www.goldbeachmusee.org.uk

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COURSEULES-SUR-MER

Canadian Assault Force on Juno Beach More than 14,000 Canadians stormed the 8 kilometre (5.5 mile) stretch of beach between Graye-sur-Mer and St. Aubin-sur-Mer on June 6, 1944. They were followed by 150,000 additional Canadian troops over the next few months. Canadian soldiers of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, which formed the Canadian assault force on Juno Beach suffered 1074 casualties, including 369 killed on the beach and in the country-side on the first day of the invasion. The Canadians reached almost 10 km (6.2 mi) inland on the first day of fighting, fighting the farthest advance of any of the Allied landing forces. The Canadian military cemetery of Beny-Reviers is the resting place of 2,043 Canadians and 1 Frenchman.

The Center Juno Beach

The Center Juno Beach, housed directly on the beach of the seaside resort is dedicated to Canadian soldiers who came to die on the beaches of Normandy. It is a good size museum and hosts great memorabilia collections. You can also discover here what life in Canada was like at that time.

02 31 37 32 17 www.junobeach.org

DOUVRES-LADELIVRANDE

Heavily Fortified German Blockhouses On the evening of 6 June 1944, the Allied Forces had succeeded in gaining a foothold on the beaches of Normandy and they had established several bridgeheads. In some places of the coast, local German strong points still resisted. Between Juno Beach and Sword Beach, the defenses of Douvres-la-Délivrande kept in check all the Canadian attacks. Douvres-la-Délivrande was an important station of air detection; it was defended by many concrete works, armed with guns, machine-guns, and surrounded by minefields. The Germans held the position until 17 June, when a massive attack was launched; the 41st Royal Marine Commando supported by the special armoured, drove the 230 German defenders of the garrison to surrender.

Radar Museum

This Museum is located on the site of a German fortified radar base.

In two intact bunkers an exposition explains the evolution and how radars operated. Outside one can observe a rare German radar Würzburg. Tel. : 02 31 37 74 43

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LION SUR MER

Part Of The Sector Sword Beach The 41st Royal Marine commando, composed of 450 officers and soldiers was led by Lieutenant Colonel Gray. Parties on June 5 Warshaw aboard five barges, men of the 41st were particularly instructed to take control of a bunker on Rue de la Heve and attack the castle. The day of June 6 saw the disappearance of 140 men.

Veterans frequently visit the site of landing. The last veteran known to have rebuilt the road is Sergeant ‘Paddy Smyth,’ formerly of the 22nd dragoons, during the summer of 2007. The mayor of Lion-sur-Mer, Jean-Marc Gilles gave him a medal at the commune.

Liberation Monument

Monument commemorating the liberation of Lion-sur-Mer on 7 June 1944; a message of President Roosevelt for freedom is engraved on a plaque. Near the monument one can see a British tank Churchill Avre.

Situation : at the western exit of the town, at the edge of the D514 road

COLLEVILLE MONTGOMERY

Started By The Germans In 1942 The momentous events of June 6, 1944 transformed Colleville-sur-Orne from an unassuming village on the plateau to the north of Caen into Colleville-Montgomery, the celebrated site where Commandant Kieffer’s French commandos landed on the D-Day beach alongside the Allies. Since those times, the village has continued to develop and grow...Today, proud of its cultural and historical heritage and its unspoilt natural environment, the village offers visitors who stop by both the simple pleasures of the seaside and the charms of the countryside. Come and discover Colleville-Montgomery with us!

The Hillman Batterie

Built by the German army in 1942, it consists of 18 underground blockaus’ which are being restored as of 1990 by an association called “Les Amis du Suffolk Régiment.” Free guided visits are organised during the summer. www.amis-du-suffolk-rgt.com

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Cherbourg

D116

D902

D3 D902 D14

D650

Quineville

Valognes Nehou

D2

N13 E46

Azeville Grandcamp

D900 Sainte Mere La

Eglise

D15

Maisy

Madeleine

Sainte Marie du Mont D913

Portbail

Saint Come du Mont

Pointe du Hoc

Carentan

D514 N13

Isigney sur Mer

Vervil sur M

D971

D900

N174 St.Martin des Besaces

D2 D972

Saint Lo

Coutances

Suffolk Regiment

The mission of the first Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment was to land one hour after the two assault battalions (2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment and 1st battalion South Lancashire Regiment), cross the coastal defences, clean the village Colleville sur Orne at 2.5 km inland, and to capture a battery of guns in armoured casemates (code name: Morris) and finally to storm the German headquarters of the sector in a sheltered

e c

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NORMANDY- TOWNS

St. Laurent sur Mer Port en Bessin

Longue sur Mer

Le Havre Courseulles Ver sur sur Mer Mer

lle D514 Mer D517 D6 Colleville Arromanches D514 D35 D12 sur Mer Douvres la D7 D572 Bayeux N13 Delivrande D972

Lion sur Mer

Ouistreham D515 D513

Cabourg

Merville/ Colleville Montgomery Benouville/ Franceville D60 D13 D6 E46 Ranville Tilly D9

sur Seulles

Caen N158 To Falaise & Chambois

position fortified (code name: Hillman) south of the village.

Upon landfall around 8:30 am, the Battalion was subjected to enemy fire even run on the tracks and suffered its first losses. After connexion with armored support in the zone, the unit initiates the progression toward Colleville. She then joined to 10.30 1st Special Service Commando Brigade commanded by Lord Lovat, which turns south-east towards the bridge Bénouville and “Pegasus Bridge.”

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Company A suffered losses after passing through the village while it prepares an attack on Hillman. This preparation is severely hampered by the death of the officers responsible for liaison with the vessels of bombardment. In addition, the radios work very poorly: accordingly, the site does not suffer from naval bombardment. Finally, the first contact conducted by the reconnaissance regiment lead to the discovery of the existence of armored domes on the site.

This element of defense had escaped Allied air reconnaissance.

At 13h10, a preparation of artillery is directed Hillman. Five minutes later, the company at (reinforced with a platoon of D), B and C will launch the attack. Hampered by barbed wire and minefields, the men were mown down by German machine guns. The domes are intact despite the preliminary bombardment. The attackers fell back to their starting position with several losses.

A second attack is then established. Sappers are sent to clear corridors in the network of barbed wire and minefields. Gradually the British managed to neutralize all the shooting locations. At 20h, the Suffolk Regiment had 50 prisoners on the site and cleared the farm south of Beauvais also fortified by the Germans. Colonel Krug, commanding the 736th Regiment of German Grenadiers remained locked in a bunker with 70 men. He comes to us by phone his superior General Richter of the 716th Division to his command post established in a cave near Caen (the underground still exists and is part of the Memorial for Peace). The Colonel explains his situation: “The enemy is on my bunker, I have no way to resist and I have no communication with my men. (See P.59)

OUISTREHAM

The Free French Commandos On June 6, 1944, the Free French forces involved in the D-Day landings (177 men of the Commando Kieffer) disembarked at Ouistreham (Sword Beach). The assault on Ouistreham was featured in the movie The Longest Day. On 6 June 1944, at 0731, the Bérets verts landed in Ouistreham, Benouville, Amfreville and Bavant (Sword Beach). The Bérets verts suffered 21 killed and 93 wounded. Kieffer himself was almost immediately wounded twice, hit by shrapnel in the leg, but refused evacuation for two days. At the end of the day, the Free French troops were 14 kilometres inland. Along with two of his men, Keiffer was the first member of the Free French Forces to enter Paris. RIGHT::German battery fitted with the turret of a Renault FT-17 tank

THE GRAND BUNKER Atlantic Wall Museum

Avenue du 6 juin, 14150 OUISTREHAM Riva Bella, Normandie France Tél.(33): 02 31 97 28 69 www.musee-mur-atlantique.com

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52 The Museum of the Atlantic Wall at Ouistreham is set in a 17 metre high bunker, one time gun emplacement, with five floors of exhibition space showing artifacts and uniforms re-creating the wartime atmosphere.

The bunker was also the command center for all the gun batteries protecting the Orne estuary. As 3rd Division landed on Sword Beach, and the guns the bunker commanded were silenced, the garrison held out until 9th June, when a Royal Engineers officer, Lieutenant Bob Orrell of 91st Field Company, blew the entrance in and the occupants finally surrendered. Orrell and his men took two officers and 50 men prisoner, and for his exploits Orrell was awarded the Military Cross.

The museum has recreated what the bunker once looked like inside in 1944, with original equipment, and mannequins in uniforms of the garrison. There are also lots of photographs and maps on display, and in the upper level the large rangefinder is still in position.

The Museum of the Landing “N°4 Commando”

Place Alfred Thomas, Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 96 63 10

MERVILLE FRANCEVILLE

Overlooked The British Invasion Area Of Sword Beach Batterie de Merville or Merville Gun Battery is an historic site situated in the eastern flank of the landing area of Sword Beach where the Lieutenant-colonel Terence Otway carried out an heroic mission with his men of the 9th Battalion of Parachutists before the dawn of D-Day by neutralizing the artillery of the German battery. it was believed to contain four 150 mm guns, it was a serious threat to the Allied landings. It consisted of a bunker containing the battery’s command post, two blockhouses, a light flak emplacement and four casemates each containing one of the artillery pieces. Each of these casemates was reinforced concrete, six and a half feet thick with a further six feet of soil above; since these could only be destroyed by an unlikely direct hit from the heaviest of ordnance.

Musée de la Batterie de Merville

14810 Merville-Franceville, Tel. 02 31 91 47 53.

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RANVILLE/ BÉNOUVILLE

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus is the code name given to the operation to capture the bridge on the channel between Caen and Ouistreham by a British commando of the 6th Divison Airborne. A little after midnight on June 6, 3 seaplanes transporting about thirty men, landed in silence less than 100 meters of the bridge. They were directed by Major John Howard. Mrs Gondrée, owner of the cafe, informed the English about the German positions (its cafe will be the first released house of France!). The Allied forces gain their first bridge here, costing 2 deaths and 14 wounded. The episode will be told on film The Longest Day. The Weighbridge currently on the channel is a counterpart, the original being in the park of the museum which is just behind the channel, it celebrates the British heroes of this commando, while presenting a life sized replica of a seaplane, various collector’s items and war machines.

Pegasus Memorial

(33) 02.31.78.19.44 www.pegasusbridge.fr

CAEN

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Sought Refuge in the Abbaye aux Hommes During the Battle of Normandy in World War II, Caen was liberated in early July, a month after the Normandy landings, particularly those by British I Corps on June 6, 1944. British and Canadian troops had intended to capture the town on D-Day. However they were held up north of the city until July 9, when an intense bombing campaign during Operation Charnwood destroyed much of the city but allowed the Allies to seize its western quarters, a month later than Montgomery’s original plan. During the battle, many of the town’s inhabitants sought refuge in the Abbaye aux Hommes (Men’s Abbey), built by William the Conqueror some 800 years before. Post-WWII work included the reconstruction of complete districts of the city and the university campus.

Mémorial de la Paix

Le Mémorial de Caen is a modern museum dedicated to the history of the 20th Century. Visitors are invited to take a journey through history and consider the planet’s future in galleries dedicated to the Second World War, the Cold War and the Worlds for Peace.

Esplanade Général Eisenhower, Caen

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 06 06 45 www.memorial-caen.fr

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The Battle for Caen On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded France by launching Operation Neptune. The D-Day landings were generally successful, but the Allied forces were unable to take Caen as planned. The 21st Panzer Division launched several counterattacks during the afternoon which effectively blocked the road to Caen. On 9 June Caen was still firmly in German hands, so General Montgomery decided on a new plan for Second Army. Caen would be taken by a pincer movement called Operation Perch. Over the next few days XXX Corps battled for control of the town of Tilly-sur-Seulles, defended by the Panzer Lehr and elements of the 12th SS-Panzer Divisions; the allied forces became bogged down in the bocage, unable to overcome the formidable resistance offered. The Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry was the last big operation conducted by Canadian land forces in Normandy during June 1944. The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, supported by the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) attempted to take the town of Le Mesnil-Patry in Normandy as part of a southwards move on the right flank of Cheux towards high ground (Hill 107) as part of the strategy of taking the city of Caen. The battle resulted in a German victory. After a delay caused by the three day storm that descended upon the English Channel, Second Army launched Operation Epsom on 26 June. At the tactical level the fighting was indecisive and after the initial gains made neither side was able to make much progress; German counterattacks were repulsed and further advances by British forces halted. On the strategic level the Second Army had retained the initiative over the German forces in Normandy, had halted a massed German counterattack against the Allied beachhead before it could be launched, prevented German armoured forces either being redeployed to face the Americans or being relieved and passed into reserve. The airfield at Carpiquet was to have been taken on D-Day, but this plan had failed. In order to correct the failure, the Allies undertook Operation Windsor to break through the strongly held German positions near the airfield. The 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, received the mission reinforced by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles from the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, tank support was provided by The Fort Garry Horse (10th Armoured Regiment) and three squadrons of specialist tanks including a flame thrower squadron from the 79th Armoured Division, gunfire support was provided

by HMS Rodney and twenty one artillery battalions together with two squadrons of RAF Typhoon ground support aircraft on call. continued on page 58)

FALAISE

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The Young Soldiers of the SS Hitlerjugend After Operation Cobra the German frontline is broken through in Avranches at the end of July, the Allied forces emerge finally from the Norman hedgerow, and fan out in Brittany and in Anjou. A German counter-attack fails in Mortain on 7 August. On 12 August, two armoured divisions reach Argentan, the 5th American Armoured Division under General Oliver, and the 2nd French Armoured Division commanded by General Leclerc. In the north, the Canadians are only ten kilometers from Falaise.

Between Argentan and Falaise stands a 23 kilometers wide (see p60)

Musée de la Bataille de la Poche de Falaise

This Museum is located in an old cheese dairy, at the foot of the medieval castle, and reports the Falaise pocket battle.

Weapons, uniforms and equipments are exposed and revive the fighting of August 1944. An armoured vehicle Sexton and a 88 mm German anti-tank gun are exposed outside.

Chemin des Roches, Falaise Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 90 37 19 www.falaise-tourisme.com

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(Battle of Caen continued from page 56) Having failed to take Caen during the preceding operations Montgomery decided the next attempt to capture the city would be conducted by a frontal assault.

Although the strategic importance of Caen had vastly diminished since D-Day, he sought control of Bourguébus and the commanding high ground to the south.

During the night of 7 July the first wave of bombers attacked dropping over 2,000 tons of bombs on the city. At 04:30 on 8 July, I Corps launched their attack Several hours later the final wave of bombers arrived over the battlefield and dropped their payloads. By evening the allied force had reached the outskirts of Caen and the German command authorised the withdrawal of all heavy weapons, and the remnants of the Luftwaffe division across the Orne to the southern side of Caen; while the 12th SS fought a rearguard action as it pulled back from positions no longer considered tenable. By late afternoon on July 9th, the northern half of Caen was firmly under Allied control. Operation Charnwood was intended to at least partially capture the German-occupied city of Caen.

Lieutenant-General O’Connor tried again to develop the bridgehead with Caen.

The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was to retake Hill 112 on 10 July during Operation Jupiter. In the first phase the Allied forces were to take Hill 112, Fontaine and Éterville and in the second phase use Hill 112 as a defensive position and move towards Maltot. A bombardment of mortars and over 100 field artillery pieces preceded the Allied attack. The Germans had five infantry battalions, two Tiger heavy tank battalions, as well as two Sturmgeschütz companies and Nebelwerfer drawn mostly from the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, with elements of the 9th SS and 12th SS Panzer Divisions in reserve. The operation failed because of strong resistance from the Germans which had dug themselves in and were well prepared for the attack. The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division lost over 2,000 men during the operation.

On 18 July 942 Allied bombers and fighters attacked five villages on the eastern end of Caen in order to facilitate Operation Goodwood. Supported by American bombers and fighters, the British dropped approximately 6,800 tons of bombs on the villages of Bras, Hubert-Folie, Verrières, Fontenay, Garcelles-Secqueville, Cagny and Vimont. Two German units, the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division and the 21st Panzer Division were hit hard by the bombing. German air defences and ground troops were able to shoot down six aircraft. he operation was an immediate tactical failure for the Second Army however the operation proved to be a strategic victory at the same time. The operation captured strategically important new ground and tied down four German Corps, which included important armoured divisions, at the moment when the Americans were about to launch Operation Cobra.

The battle for Caen was over, as the whole of the city was now in British

59 and Canadian hands. By the end of the battle the civil population of Caen had fallen from 60,000 to 17,000. The destruction of the city caused much resentment.

Kurt Meyer 156 Canadian prisoners were murdered near Caen by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend in the days and weeks following D-Day. Twenty Canadians were executed near Villons-les-Buissons, north-east of Caen in Ardenne Abbey.

The Abbey was captured at midnight on 8 July by the Regina Rifles. The executed soldiers were exhumed and buried in the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.

After the war Kurt Meyer was convicted and sentenced to death on charges of inappropriate behaviour towards civilians and the execution of prisoners - a sentence that was commuted to life imprisonment.

(Continued from page 88)

the bay were hornet’s nests of Nazi power that had been built up with fortifications even greater than those on the Normandy beaches.

The 83rd had to cross rivers, canals, ponds, swamps, and heavily fortified hills.

They then fought their way through wire, mine fields, mortar and artillery fire, and machine gun crossfire from pillbox positions outside the cities. Within the cities, they had to fight house-to-house down narrow streets. And inside the fortified city of St. Malo was the Citadel itself, defended by German troops hardened in the Normandy campaign and led by a commander who vowed never to surrender.

The battle for St. Malo and Dinard involved attacks on four different fronts by all three infantry regiments of the 83rd as well as the 121st Infantry Regiment of the 8th Division. Then, incredibly, in the midst of the battle, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 331st Infantry swung around 56 miles from their position northeast of St. Malo to a position west of Dinan across the Rance River. From there, they drove north to link up with the 121st Infantry which had been cut off in a Nazi counterattack, and then continued the push to Dinard.

(Continued from page 50) What should I do?”. The General, after consultation with other officers witnessed the scene (General Feuchting, commanding the 21st Panzer Division and Colonel Meyer commanding a regiment of 12th SS Panzer Division) replied to the besieged it can no longer give of order and leaves the master of its decision. http://amis-du-suffolk-rgt.com

60 (continued from page 57) gap, a pocket takes shape clearly. On 16 August, the 2nd

Canadian Infantry Division is in the vicinity of Falaise, the 6th Brigade assaults the city, where a SS Kampfgruppe is entrenched. The Canadians progression is slow, the Germans defend the ground with machine-guns and anti-tanks. In the evening, the young soldiers of the SS Hitlerjugend are still holding the Saint-Jean school building, they are beleaguered by the Fusiliers Mont-Royal. On 17 August at dawn, the Germans die in the ruins, when the Canadians launch the last attack.

The Falaise Gap The Falaise pocket (also known as the Chambois pocket) was the area between the four cities of Trun-Argentan-Vimoutiers-Chambois near Falaise, France, in which Allied forces tried to encircle and destroy the German Seventh Army and Fifth Panzer Army in August 1944. Although perhaps 100,000 German troops succeeded in escaping the allies due to the delay in closing the gap, they left behind 150,000 prisoners and wounded, over 10,000 dead, and the road practically impassable due to destroyed vehicles and bodies. The Canadians also suffered heavy losses, with over 18,000 dead or wounded.

BATTLEBUS-TOURS We at Battlebus do not undertake tours of nonWWII sites. At Battlebus we would like to be the first choice for people wanting a WWII military tour within Normandy.

We want to be experts in our field, we offer WWII military tours and nothing else. Our fully marked burgandy Peugeot minibuses seat 8 passengers (plus the driver/guide) and are, spacious, comfortable and well maintained. www.battlebus.fr

CHAMBOIS

Recalls The Horrific Battle Of The Falaise Pocket The Falaise gap, closed by the junction of the Poles and the Americans in Chambois, was still to be defended against German attempts to break the ring of allied division surrounding them. Counter-attacks followed one another with eagerness, endangering polish defensive lines. On hill 262, counter-attack of 2nd SS-PanzerKorps managed to open a breach but could not submerge the positions of the Stefanowicz task force. The Falaise pocket was definitively closed on August 21st. Polish armoured division was victorious, but at a terrible price - on 87 tanks arrived on the “Mace” in the afternoon of August 19th, more than half have been destroyed. First Polish armoured division deplored 330 killed, more than 1.000 wounded, 120 MIA, that is 20% of its fighting force.

Montormel Memorial

Tel:+33 (0)2-33673861

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ST-GERMAIN-DEMONTGOMMERY

Attack on Erwin Rommel On July 17th, 1944, the 602 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force took off with 12 Spitfires for a reconnaissance flight south of the allied lines. During this flights it was common practice to shoot at every and each German vehicle that was observed. That day Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was on his way back after a visit to the headquarters of SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef (Sepp) Dietrich. His driver Daniel, Major Neuhaus, observer Feldwebel Holke and Hauptmann Helmuth Lang, accompanied him. They would have passed the village of Livarot, but as the Allies were bombing this village, they decided to make a detour. Pilots of the 602 Squadron however saw the Horch staff car, and without knowing who was in the car, they launched an attack. Rommel got pieces of broken glass in his face and got a severe

temple and cheekbone, causing a triple fracture of the skull base. Driver Daniel was shot is his left arm and shoulder and lost control over the car.

The car crashed into a tree, whereby ABOVE: Rommel inspecting Atlantic coast defenses along the Rommel flew out of the car. Hauptman French coast, circa early 1944 Lang and Feltwebel Holke were not wounded. They brought Rommel, who conscious, into safety. After three-quarters of an hour they found another car and brought Rommel to a doctor. This doctor didn’t think Rommel would survive his severe injuries. Later he he was moved to the air force hospital at Bernay. Miraculously Rommel recovered from almost all his injuries. However he lost the ability to open his left eye and also the hearing in his left ear was damaged.

TILLY SUR SEULES

Captured And Recaptured 23 Times Housed in a former chapel of XXIII century, this museum traces a little known and yet decisive Battle of Normandy. This museum showcases the fierce fighting that took place between the 30th Corps British and German troops around Tilly village captured and recaptured 23 times before its final release. On June 18, a new barrage of fire at Tilly-sur-Seulles, the British infantry and tanks launched a powerful attack at night they go into the ruins and settle solidly despite a last-cons attack German Panther tanks. General Bayerlein shortens lines of his division permanently withdrawing Tilly-sur-Seulles the British.

RIGHT: Book available at the museum

The Museum of the Battle of Tilly-sur-Seulle

Rue du 18 Juin 1944, 14250 Tilly-sur-Seulles

Tel: +33 231809210 museetilly.free.fr

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Operation Cobra Operation Cobra (July 25th to 31st) was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army eight weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II. American Lieutenant General Omar Bradley’s intention was to take advantage of the German preoccupation with British and Canadian activity around the town of Caen, and punch through the German defenses penning in his troops while his opponent was distracted and unbalanced.

The first step was to capture the French seaport of Cherbourg so that troops and supplies could be brought into a beachhead area more quickly. Major General J. Lawton Collins’ American VII Corps began to attack westward and northward from the Utah Beach area on June 14. By June 18, they had cut their way across the Cotentin Peninsula, cutting off the troops in Cherbourg from the rest of the German army. On June 27, the Germans surrendered but before they gave up, they thoroughly destroyed the docks and unloading equipment.

Operation COBRA consisted of four parts. The American First and British Second armies would push a little farther into Normandy. Along the beaches, Lieutenant General George S. Patton would collect his newly organized Third Army. Then the British troops on the east would do all they could to attract German reserves to that part of the line. Next, General Bradley’s First Army would punch a hole through the German line further west. Patton’s army would then dart through the line to strike deep behind the German lines.

The Americans and the British soon had trouble setting the stage. The “hedgerows” of Normandy were causing significant problems for the Allied advancement. The long mounds of earth, several yards thick and six feet high, surrounded every little field, and lined all of the roads.

Soon however the Allies found ways to deal with the problem.

On July 17th General Montgomery ordered his troops to launch another major assault on Caens. Three days later they captured Caens but the Germans had moved all their reserves to the eastern end of the Allied line. Preceded by a tremendous air “carpet” bombing attack General Bradley spearheaded a drive south with his American VII Corps just west of the town of St. Lo. By July 31 they had advanced 40 miles past the town of Avranches.

On August 1st, Patton’s Third Army swept through the narrow gap at Avranches heading south to the mouth of the Loire River cutting off the Brittany Peninsula.

By August 6, they reached the Atlantic Ocean north of St.Nazaire; by August 13, the entire Loire River.

BAYEUX

Largest British World War II Cemetery in France During the Second World War Bayeux was one of the first French towns to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy, and on 16 June 1944 General Charles de Gaulle made his first important speech on liberated French soil in Bayeux. The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy as the German forces defending the town were pulled away to help defend Caen. The Bayeux War Cemetery and Memorial is the largest British World War II cemetery in France. There are 4,648 graves, including 3,935 British and 466 Germans. Most were killed in the Invasion of Normandy.

Musée Mémorial du Géneral de Gaulle It is in the splendid “Logis du Gouverneur” dating from the Renaissance (late 15th century), 100m from the Sub-Prefecture building, the headquarters of the first authorities of liberated France in 1944, that General de Gaulle’s five encounters with Bayeux are recalled. Two of these encounters were landmarks in France’s history : 14 June 1944 and 16 June 1946. Countless documents from photographic and printed archives, footage filmed at the time and objects belonging to General de Gaulle recall his five encounters with Bayeux.

10, rue Bourbesneur Bayeux

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 92 45 55

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Located a few minutes from the D-Day Landing beaches, The Memorial Museum to the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux, the first town to be liberated on the morning of the 7 June 1944, presents a unique and exhaustive tribute to the battles that waged on Normandy soil from 7 June to 29 August 1944 in rooms that were completely redone in 2006. The new displays alternate purely historic accounts and thematic sections, with a new archives film lasting 25 minutes and equipment and uniforms from the time to illustrate. Everything seeks to give you a better idea of the considerable war effort that was undertaken during this battle to win back Freedom in Europe. An unaccompanied visit lasts 1hr 30 to 2 hr.

The Bayeux War Cemetery with its memorial includes the largest British cemetery dating from the Second World War in France. There are 4648 graves, including 3935 British and 466 Germans. Most of those buried there were killed in the invasion of Normandy.

Musee Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie

Boulevard Fabian Ware, Bayeux

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 51 46 90 www.normandiememoire.com

ISIGNY SUR MER

Grave Of Panzer Commander Michael Wittman Michael Wittmann and his crew was killed in action on August 8th of 1944, at Gaumesnil near Cintheaux and were buried in an unmarked grave. In March of 1983, the unmarked field grave of Tiger #007’s crew was discovered during the construction of the road and was excavated. It was possible to identify the remains

by Wittmann’s dental records and Heinrich Reimers’s (driver) identification tag.

Wittmann and his crew was then officially buried in the German Military Cemetery of “De La Cambe” in Normandy, France. The cemetery is located on the National Road 13 (RN 13) between Isigny-sur-Mer and Bayeux. Michael Wittmann is buried in square 47, row 3, grave 120 of “De La Cambe”. On August 8th of 1944, crew of Tiger #007 from 2nd Kompanie of schwere SS-Panzer Abteilungen 101 of LSSAH was as follows: SS-Sturmmann Rudolf “Rudi” Hirschel (radioman) (20 years old), SS-Unterscharführer Henrich Reimers (driver) (20 years old), SS-Unterscharführer Karl Wagner (observer) (24 years old), SS-Sturmmann Günther Weber (loader) (20 years old), SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann (commander) (30 years old).

“De La Cambe”

1 LA CAMBS, Dep. Calvados departure from the road N 13 Bayeux Cherbourg to the town of La Cambe, then follow signs for 12 km before the village Isigny sur Mer, 26 km from Bayeux approximately.

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“Battle of Bloody Gulch” At dawn on June 13, the 101st Airborne was about to attack the German line when it was attacked by tanks and assault guns. Two battalions of the 37th Panzergrenadier Regiment, supported by the 17th Panzer Battalion and III./FJR6, struck hard at the 501st PIR on the American left, which fell back under heavy pressure.

The left flank companies (Dog and Fox Companies) of the 506th then gave way, and by noon the spearheads of the German attack were within 500 yards of Carentan. However, Company E of the 506th, commanded by 1st Lt. Richard D. Winters, anchored its right flank against a railroad embankment and held its position.

Reinforced by the 2nd/502nd PIR taking position on its right, “Easy” Company slowed the German attack until American tanks could be brought up. Reacting to an ULTRA warning of the size and threat of the counterattack, General Bradley diverted CCA U.S. 2nd Armored Division (commanded by Brig. Gen. Maurice Rose and near Isigny) to Carentan at 10:30. At 14:00 CCA attacked, supported by the self-propelled howitzers of the 14th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. One task force of tanks and mechanized infantry surged down the road to Baupte in the 2nd/506th’s area and shattered the main German thrust. A second task force drove back German forces along the Périers highway, inflicting heavy losses in men and equipment. CCA, followed by the 502nd PIR, then pushed west a mile beyond the original lines.

The counterattack became known anecdotally among the surviving paratroopers as the “Battle of Bloody Gulch”

CARENTAN

“Purple Heart Lane” The objective of the Battle of Carentan June 8th to 15th, 1944 by the attacking American forces was consolidation of the U.S. beachheads (Utah Beach and Omaha Beach) and establishment of a continuous defensive line against expected German counterattacks. The defending German force attempted to hold the city long enough to allow reinforcements en route from the south to arrive, prevent or delay the merging of the lodgments, and keep the U.S. First Army from launching an attack towards Lessay-Périers that would cut off the Cotentin Peninsula. The severe casualties suffered by the 3rd/502d PIR, estimated at 67% of the original force, resulted in the nickname “Purple Heart Lane” applied to that portion of the Carentan-Sainte-Mère-Église highway.

PARATROOPER militaria

02 33 42 00 42 www.paratrooper.fr

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SAINT COME DU MONT

Last Stronghold On The Outskirts Of Carentan Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. It is barely 0:15 when U.S. paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division of General Maxwell D. Taylor jumped into Normandy and become the first soldiers to reach French soil, their main mission, capture the town of Carentan. It is defended by the elite of German troops, paratroopers of Major von der Heydte, the Green Devils in the 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment. The Germans were entrenched at Saint-Côme-duMont, the last stronghold on the outskirts of Carentan. They were ordered to defend the city until the last. For Americans, it is vital to capture the faster of Carentan. They expect the support of the 70th Tank Battalion landed on Utah Beach Light. For them, only one possible route, that of Utah Beach.

Dead Man’s Corner Museum

www.paratrooper-museum.org/ 2, Village de l’Amont 50500 Saint-Côme-du-Mont - France

Tél. : 02.33.42.00.42

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Saint-Marcouf de L’isle

Battery of Crisbecq This network of 21 blockhaus is interesting in more than one way. It is first of all the most recent site devoted to D-Day, peasants sold the site a few years ago to Philippe Tanne, a young man who understood it’s historical value. It is the only place completely devoted to the life of the Germans on the Atlantic Wall, and allows an authentic visit much different from most museums. Almost one mile between the bunkers you can imagine the titanic combat between German and Americans raging an entire week as seen in the movie Private Ryan. Better still, the site is especially devoted to serious reenactments of the historical battles.

At least one weekend per month (especially in season), groups of “Germans” or “Americans” come to engage in battles almost as impressive as the originals in 1944. The dates are not always fixed, and it is necessary to consult the sites of associations to know when they occur, BUT they are always happening for 10 days each year at the beginning of June on the birthday of D-Day where large spectacles are organized.

It was after Crisbecq that the Germans destroyed the USS Corry. During this baited fight, the Americans never managed to take the battery by force. On June 12 they arrived only to find empty bunkers as the Germans left during the night leaving only the wounded!

Musée de la batterie

06 86 10 80 59 www.batterie-marcouf.com

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AZEVILLE

Part Of The Iron Triangle During the night of 5 to 6 June 1944, the battery of Azeville was attacked by American paratroopers. Despite the attacks that night, the battery could fir the cannons in the morning of June 6 1944 on the beaches of Utah Beach. The battery of Azeville was so heavily defended, that the Americans were forced to use another way to attack the battery. The U.S.S. Nevada fired from a distance of more than 20 km on this battery. One of these 14” shells came exactly in the 2m opening of a bunker and hit through a thick concrete wall of the bunker and boarded in the ground behind the bunker. Interestinglyenough the shell didn’t explode. This incident destroyed with the flying concrete and steel components, pressure and heat of the explosion not only the cannon in the bunker, but also the entire contents of the bunker. All German soldiers who were present at that moment in the bunker were killed.

Azeville Battery

+33 23340630 www.sitesetmusees.cg50.fr

QUINEVILLE

An Important German Sector Headquarters Quinéville MILITARIA Collectables specializes in buying and selling military antiques and collectables. At our store, you will find a large selection of uniforms, headgear, equipment, medals and badges ranging from 1900 to the present day. We are next to the beach, and the “Mémorial de la Liberté Retrouvée”; 9, avenue de la plage, 50310 Quinéville 02.33.40.31.20.

The “Mémorial de la Liberté Retrouvée”; recaptures the period from 1940-1944 with an entire street of a Normandy village complete with people, vehicles and everyday objects. Quinéville marks the most westerly extent of the Normandy beaches. Quineville is liberated on 14 July by the 39th Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division, subordinated to the 4th Division.

Mémorial de la Liberté Retrouvée

18 avenue de la Plage, Quinéville

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 33 95 95 95 www.memorial-quineville.com

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CHERBOURG

General von Schlieben’s Fortress When General Collins arrived in front of Cherbourg fortress on 21 June 1944, General von Schlieben Commander of the Festung did not answer to the ultimatum. Von Schlieben was strictly ordered by the Führer to hold the position to the last of the 21,000 garrison men. The Fort du Roule, built on the cliff overlooking the harbor, was assaulted by the 314th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Infantry Division. On 25 June, the top of the Fort is taken, and the following day the lower storeys and the battery of 105 mm guns are captured. On 26 June, General Von Schlieben surrendered; but during a week the Germans had been ruining, destroying and mining the harbour. Cherbourg was the key of the Allied Forces supplying, in the end of August, General Ross succeeded in making the harbour operational again.

Liberation Museum

Located in a French Second Empire fort, at the top of the Montagne du Roule. No arm, nor uniform are presented in this museum which recalls, through expositions, the German occupation, the D-Day, and the part of Cherbourg in the Allied Forces supplying. www.ville-cherbourg.fr

NEHOU

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Allied Forces Enlarge The Bridgehead After landing in June 1944, the General Patton was placed in command of the 3th U.S. military, which was on the right wing of the allied forces under the command of Omar Bradley, one of his right arm in Africa North. He led the army during the Operation Cobra whose goal was to break the German front in the Cotentin. General Patton prepared plans for such famous breakthrough at Avranches in July 1944 near the hamlet Blandamour, 2 km from the town of Nehou. On 12 June the bolt of Carentan is broken; on 16 June the 9th American Infantry division cross the river Douve under the German fire, and establish a bridgehead. The 60th Infantry Regiment liberated Nehou and Magneville.

RIGHT: Camp Patton

Patton Museum This small museum presents documents and photographs commemorating the hidden presence in France, in June and July 1944, of the famous American General G. S. Patton.

Tel. : 02 33 41 09 72

www.expo-patton.com/pattonexpo.asp

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AVRANCHES

Operation Cobra Operation Cobra, launched on 25 July, helped the Allied forces to break through the German Normandy front west of Saint-Lô. On 29 July, Coutances is taken and the American armoured divisions rush southward; the Germans attempt to reconstitute a resistance line, but it is slightly hold and pierced by the Americans. During that time the 2nd and 3rd Armoured divisions trap 7,000 German soldiers in a pocket in Roncey. 2,500 men will manage to withdraw westward until the evening of 29 July. The following day the 4th Armoured division is in front of Avranches, which will fall on on 31 July.

RIGHT: General Patton monument The 3rd Army tanks commanded by General Patton passed through this crossroad, from 31 July to 10 August 1944, and carried out the Avranches breakthrough, prelude to the liberation of France and to the final victory.

Second World War Museum This museum reports the Avranches decisive breakthrough. Uniforms and equipment are presented and revive the fightings between the Germans and the Americans troops; one can also watch a film recalling this tragic episode of the Normandy Battle.

Le Val Saint-Père 50300 Avranches

(near the A 84 motorway) - Tel : 02 33 68 35 83

SAINT LO

Capital of the Ruins The German army occupied the town on June 17, 1940. Being a strategic crossroads, Saint-Lô was almost totally destroyed (95% according to common estimates) during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, earning the nickname of the Capital of the Ruins by Samuel Beckett; it was even questioned whether to rebuild it or to leave the ruins intact as a testimony of the bombing. In any event, it was rebuilt and is a centre of French gastronomy focusing on the production of award-winning chopped liver. Among the only standing buildings after the 1944 bombings was the Notre-Dame church, built in Flamboyant Gothic style from the 13th to the 15th centuries to replace the former castle’s chapel; its roof and facade were destroyed, as well as one of its two towers and the top of the other one.

La Madeleine Memorial Renovated in 1988, the Chapel of La Madeleine became a memorial for the soldiers of the American 29th Infantry Division “Blue and Gray” and the 35th Infantry Division “Santa Fe”, who fought hard to liberate the town.

Avenue de Paris, 50000 Saint-Lô

Tél. : 02 33 77 60 35

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ST.MARTIN DES BESACES

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The Breakthrough Museum Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The geographical objectives of the attack were to secure the key road junction of Vire and the high ground of Mont Pinçon. Strategically, the attack was made to support the American exploitation of their breakout on the western flank of the Normandy beachhead. On 25 July, the American army broke out of the beachhead, in Operation Cobra. A few days earlier, the British and Canadian forces had launched Operation Goodwood south south of Caen on the eastern flank of the Allied beachhead.

This had induced the Germans to concentrate the bulk of their forces, particularly their armoured units, in this sector. As this would make further Allied progress on this part of the front difficult and costly, the armour of the British Second Army under Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey was switched westward towards Villers-Bocage adjacent to the American army....

Musée de la Percée du Bocage Located halfway between Villedieu-lesPoeles and Caen, this small museum marks the advance of the British 11th Armoured Division through the Bocage – the hilly, wooded countryside of this part of Normandy. With equipment and items of interest including a diorama of the area with model tanks and vehicles, the exhibition includes a commentary and 200 photos.

5 rue du 19 Mars 1962

Tel: 00 33 (0)2 31 67 52 78 www.laperceedubocage.com

Bretagne St. Malo 85 Dinard 89 Brest 91 Lorient 93

ST. MALO

Colonel Andreas Von Aulock the Veteran of Stalingrad The Germans’ main defense was concentrated in five strongpoints built by the Todt Organization: to the west of the city, the La Cite fort, a vast subterranean complex carved out of a peninsula between the Rance estauary and the Bay of Saint Servan; in the Bay of Saint Malo, two fortified islands, Cezembre and the Grand Bey; and to the east, the Montaigne Saint Joseph and the La Varde fort, natural geographical features fortified with concrete, which were the first stubborn pockets of resistance encountered by the U.S. forces coming from that direction. The garrison commander, Colonel Andreas von Aulock, a European representative of General Motors before the war, directed operations from the underground complex. The two AA sites within the city were operated by the Luftwaffe.

Le Fort National

Tel: 06 72 46 66 26 www.fortnational.com (15 min walk from train & bus stations)

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Cherbourg

Invasion Beaches Caen

St. Malo

Paris Area under Axis Control

Brest Area under Allied Control Lorient St. Nazaire

The old fortress city of Saint-Malo was captured by 83rd Infantry Division (“Ohio”) on August 17th, but its small port facilities were sabotaged by the defenders. A German garrison stationed at nearby Cézembre Island only surrendered after days of heavy shelling by warships and strong air strikes, when their naval guns were already disabled. It was clear that the Germans would deny the Allies the use of French ports as long as possible, by defending the fortresses built around them and damaging the docks as much as possible.

German U-Boat Bases

German World War II U-boat pens in France included Saint-Nazaire, Lorient, La Rochelle and Toulon. In Norway, Trondheim was the site of a large pen. U-boat pens protecting construction of the German Type XXI submarine were located at Hamburg (Blohm & Voss), Bremen (AG Weser), and Danzig (F. Schichau). The Finkenwarde U-boat pens were constructed by 1,700 slave labourers over 4 years, and after being captured, were demolished with 32 tonnes of bombs. The Casablanca Conference established the Nazi Germany U-boat pens as the Allied bombing priority, and U-boat yards and pens were the primary objectives for the Eighth Air Force from late 1942 though early 1943. Operation Aphrodite guided aircraft, BATTY guided bombs, Tallboy bombs and Grand Slam bombs were subsequently used to attack the U-boat pens.

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Mémorial 39/45 (39/45 Memorial)

Created in 1994 by the Town of Saint-Malo, the 39/45 Memorial is settled in the blockhouse of the German anti-air defence inside the courtyard of the former fort (access from the camping site or from the pathway of the Cité d’Alet).

Over a bit more then 500 m² divided into three floors and about ten rooms, you shall go back into the dark period of the region of Saint-Malo. Photos, dummies, weapons and documents are exhibited to produce the atmosphere of that time and to tackle the following topics: - The 1940 invasion - The use of the harbour - The construction of the blockhouses - The Cité d’Alet - The battle for liberation - Cézembre The blockhouse itself has been partially restored in its original state.

Cité d’Alet 35400 Saint-Malo

00 33 (0)2 99 82 41 74 www.saint-malo.fr

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Fortifications of Saint Malo Stronghold Grand Bé Island An old french Vauban fort has let place for a Navy long-range battery with four 105 m/m gun, built on this island in 1942 and occupied by the Marine Artillerie Abteilung 608. It is also the grave of the famous XIXth century french romantic poet, François-René de Chateaubriand.

Saint-Coulomb- Duguesclin Island On this island, old french Vauban fort walls were drilled to built concrete loopholes and defence system.

Saint-Malo - Grand Plage du Sillon After a heavy storm, many Betontetraeders reappeared on the beach. Betontetraeder = german designation for the anti-landing obstacle shaped tetrahedron.

Radar Station Defense Bunker A radar station was built on a strategic place on Pointe du Grouin top at Festung Saint-Malo east end. It moved on may 1944 to Channel Islands, but the defence system, useless at liberation, remains around.

Bay Defense Bunkers These bunkers are along a bay, left bank of river Rance, front of Saint-Malo old city.

DINARD

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A Brutal House-To-House Fight The defense of Dinard on August 3rd or 4th was in the Capable hands of Colonel Bacherer who commanded a Kampfgruppe composed mostly of the 77th Infantry Division. Even with this capable leader however the Germans were un able to withstand the assault from two regiments.

The 1st battalion encountered an enemy strongpoint of five pillboxes. After a lengthy all day fight, B Company destroyed the five bunkers, along with a Panzerkampwagen Mark IV tank, 88mm gun, and 158 captured prisoners. The 331st regiment entered the streets of Dinard for a brutal house-tohouse fight. After fighting all day, Colonel Bacherer along with his staff was captured. Once the Commander was captured resistance soon waivered and the 331st soon secured the town. 3338 prisoners were added to the 83rd’s tally.

39-45 Musee in Dinan Take a river boat cruise from Dinard to Dinan and visit over 3000 wartime objects - from a packet of cigarettes to an aeroplane motor - and more than 30 mannequins in original uniforms. Artillery and vehicles. A picturesque medieval town.

Le Pont de la Haye - 22100 LEHON/DINAN -

Tél. 02 96 39 65 89 http://militaire-musee.com/

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Captured German prisoners after the Battle for St.Malo

Into the Hornet’s Nest By the beginning of August, the 83rd was part of Patton’s 3rd Army, and while most of the 3rd Army turned east out of the Cotentin Peninsula toward Paris, the 83rd Division turned west into Brittany through Coutances and Avranches. The coastal towns of St. Malo and Dinard belonged to them alone.

Strategically, the battle for St. Malo may not have been one of the “big battles,” but that does not detract from the monumental campaign that it was. It is an incredible tale about an American commander with the improbable name of Major Speedie (329th Infantry) and a “mad” German Colonel (von Aulock)--complete with monacle, flapping coat, German Police dog, and a mysterious mistress having a “past” with Russian royalty. He said he would hold out to the last man in an ancient fortress that had been heavily reinforced with concrete and contained underground tunnels, storage areas, power plants, ammo dumps, living quarters, and even a hospital.

(The story, as told in Lee Miller’s eyewitness acount, “Siege of St. Malo,” Vogue Magazine, October 1944, is must reading. It is reprinted in “Reporting WWII, Part 2,” published by Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., New York, NY. An even better source is “Lee Miller’s War,” Little, Brown and Co., Boston.The publisher has added more information and included many photographs.)

The battle for St. Malo and Dinard was incredibly complex and difficult--some might say impossible considering the heroic efforts re quired to conquer these heavily fortified German strongholds. Because of their strategic location along the coast, these two cities on (Continued on page 59)

BREST

Site of a German Submarine Base The Germans maintained a large submarine base in Brest. Almost totally destroyed during the Battle for Brest (barely more than three buildings were left standing). The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles fought during Operation Cobra. Wehrmacht troops trapped in Brittany retreated to the fortified ports in the peninsula as US Third Army troops moved in and surrounded them.

The Brest garrison, Festung Brest (lit.

“Fortress Brest” - the way the German propaganda referred to surrounded cities), was put under the command of General der Fallschirm Truppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, a paratroop veteran of the Afrika Korps. Brest was surrounded and eventually stormed by the U.S. VIII Corps.

Museum of Old Brest A museum with a collection of dioramas that depict the city of Brest on the eve of World War II.

Located in the Tour Tanguy a medieval tower on a rocky motte beside the Penfeld River

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ABOVE: The U-boat bunker of Brest with the Naval College (1st Flotilla) in the background

The fight proved extremely difficult, as the German garrison was well entrenched and partially made up of elite Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) forces. Eventually the old city of Brest was razed to the ground during the battle. Only some old medieval stone-built fortifications were left standing. The costly capture of Brest resulted in the decision to only surround the remaining German-occupied ports in France with the exception of those that could be captured from the march, instead of storming them in a set-piece battle. Some of these Breton ports surrendered only by May 9, 1945, one day after Victory in Europe Day.

The Brest Area Approx. 120 ST-bunkers were built. The harbour and the entrance to it, the Rade de Brest, was heavily defended with many coastal batteries and AA-gun sites. In the harbour you find the U-boat bunker. It is still in use by the French navy and so it is impossible to visit this object. Just have a front peek from Pointe de Espagnols or sidewards from Pointe de Portzic. It provided for 15 boxes at a square of 52.000 m2 and it has a length of 333 meters. The roof had a cover of 3.8 till 6.2 meters of concrete. The RAF attacked this monster with 26 Tallboy bombs of 5.400 kg each; only 5 of them were a direct hit. They caused little damage.

LORIENT

A Military Fortress of the XX Century Lorient housed a German submarine base during World War II; although the city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing raids, the base survived through to the end of the war. As they could not destroy the base itself, the Allies decided to bomb the city, in order to cut supply lines to the U-boats. Without fuel, provisions or water, it became impossible for these submarines to return to the Atlantic.

Between the 14 of January 1943 and the 17 of February 1943, as many as 500 explosive bombs and more than 60,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on the city. Lorient was almost completely destroyed, with nearly 90% of the city flattened, thousands of French civilians were killed. Admiral Doenitz’s Headquarters

Keroman Submarine Base

The Lorient arsenal is chosen by Admiral Karl Dönitz to accommodate one of the five huge bases installed on the French coasts of the Atlantic to protect the U-Boote. They decide to build a concrete unit constituting a real underwater base, more suited to resist the violence of the allied shelling. The Kéroman underwater base can resist the classic shells, then the most powerful of that period, and is able to shelter more the 25 submarines thanks to installations exposed directly to the sea.

(Kéroman III block is open to the public to visit).

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Today the former submarine base of Keroman is open to the public and can be visited year-round. During the tour the submarine pens of block K3 can be seen.

The roof area (3.40m to 7m thick) can be accessed, as well as a former anti aircraft defence tower high on top of the base. The tower affords an excellent view of the harbour and of the former headquarters of the German Commander Karl Dönitz across the bay at Larmor-Plage.

Chateau Des Sardines From this mansion Admiral Dönitz led the wolfpacks in the Atlantic for 17 months. At the beginning of 1943 Lorient was at its peak of its activity and there were as many as 28 U-boats at the base at the same time. As late as 1944 not everything had been been completed as planned but Lorient was without doubt the largest and more intricate of all the U-boat bases in France. Of the 1,149 major U-boat overhauls in the French bases during the war, 492 were carried out in the Lorient dockyard.

Admiral Karl Dönitz and his BdU staff had moved his HQ to Paris is September, 1940. It was then moved to Lorient in November and into a requisitioned house at Kernevel, facing the Keroman bunkers. After the commando raid at Saint-Nazaire in 1942 the location was believed to be too exposed and it was moved to Paris in March 1942. Today the mansion is used by the Commanding French Admiral of the harbour Lorient.

U-Boat 123 & 201

Loire - Atlantique St. Nazare 99

ST. NAZAIRE

The Greatest Raid Ever Following the surrender of France to German forces later in June 1940, the port immediately became a base of operations for the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and was as such the target of Allied operations. A heavily fortified U-boat submarine base was built by Organisation Todt shortly after occupation, with its 9 m (30-ft) thick concrete ceiling was capable of withstanding almost any bomb in use at the time. The base provided a home during the war to many of the most well known U-Boat staff, including: Commander Georg-Wilhelm Schulz, Kapitänleutnant Carl Emmermann and Lieutenant Commander Herbert Schultze. The base still stands today, as its extremely sturdy construction makes demolition uneconomical. RIGHT: U-Boat Pen

The Ocean Liner Museum Escal’Atlantic Inside two bays of the former submarine base, the “ocean liner” Escal’Atlantic takes you on a voyage through the saga of the glamorous transatlantic liners. Over three levels and 3,500 square metres of exhibition space, Escal’Atlantic re-creates the atmosphere and the interiors of these legendary ships, many of which have been built in Saint-Nazaire for nearly a century and a half : liners such as the unforgettable Normandie, rival of the first Queen Mary in the 1930’s, or France, launched in 1960. www.saint-nazaire-tourisme.com

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Operation Chariot The St. Nazaire Raid (also called Operation Chariot) was a successful British seaborne attack on the heavily defended docks of St. Nazaire in occupied France on the night of March 28, 1942 during World War II. The operation was undertaken

by Royal Navy and Army Commando units under the auspices of Louis Mountbatten’s Combined Operations.

The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown commanded by Stephen Halden Beattie and accompanied by 18 shallow draft boats, rammed the St. Nazaire lock gates and was blown up, ending use of the dock. Commandos landed on the docks and destroyed other dock structures before attempting to fight their way out. All but 27 of the commandos were either killed or captured: 22 escaped back to Britain in the Motor Torpedo Boats and 5 escaped to the Spanish border.

The loss of St. Nazaire as a dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs to have to return to home waters.

Five Victoria crosses were awarded to men involved in the raid, which has been called The Greatest Raid of All. Several features of St. Nazaire made it worth attacking. The main target was the Forme Ecluse Louis Joubert, the biggest dry dock in the world at that time, capable of holding the largest Kriegsmarine (German Navy) warships and the only dock of that size on the Atlantic coast. The British, intent on maintaining a conventional naval power advantage over the Germans, feared that the Tirpitz would be transferred to St. Nazaire. The dock had been built between 1928 and 1932 to accommodate the SS Normandie liner and is sometimes referred to as the Normandie Dock.

99 This same bunker is still in place and was the location for the ending scene of the famous movie Das Boot. Part of the facilities are in use today by the French Navy but the base is no longer a naval base.

U-boat bases La Rochelle/La Pallice From September 1940 was La Pallice the alternative base for the Italian Betasom submarines (the main base of operations being Bordeaux). The 3rd Flotilla took over the base on October 27, 1941.

In April 1941 the German Command decided to build also a bunker in La Pallice. The first two pens were finished in October 1941. The U-boat bunker was 195 m wide, 165 m long and 19m high. The first U-boat in the bunker was U-82 on November 19, 1941. Then followed U-332 (16th December) and U-432 (24th December).

In August 1944 5 boats from the now surrounded base at Brest reached La Pallice. They were U-309 (Aug 12), U-763 (Aug 14), U-953 (Aug 19), U-766 (Aug 21) and U-963 (Aug 21). All but U-766 then left for Norway in August. The last boat leaving the base during the fall of 1944 was U-382 on September 10, 1944. Shortly before end the war two boats reached the base. The Norwegian based U-485 (Lutz) was supported from April 22, 1945 for 5 days with fuel and food. She left La Pallice on April 29 and surrendered at Gibraltar on May 14.

On May 3 1945 U-255 (Heinrich) arrived from besieged St. Nazaire and spent 2 days in the base and brought fuel and food for the garrison before successfully returning back to St. Nazaire. She then left port on May 8 and surrendered at Loch Alsh, UK on May 19.

The German garrison at La Pallice held out until May 8, 1945 when it surrendered along with all other German forces. When the base was entered the allies found U-766 in one of the pens. The boat was commissioned into the French Navy as S-09 Laubie in 1947.

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MAP OF SOUTH WESTERN FRANCE

Rennes Laval E50

Le Mans A81 A10 A28 Angers

St.Nazaire

E60

Nantes

Tours

Saumur Maille

Train Route Orleans Vendome Villiers sur Loir

St.Pierre des Corps D910

Chatellerault Futuroscope A10 St.Maixent Poitiers Oradour Niort sur Glane D9 La Rochelle A20 Surgeres Limoges N150 N10 Royon N141 Cognac Angouleme A10 A20 Bordeaux La Teste

Lihoume A62 Agen

Bayonne Biarritz Irun

Montauban

Dax

Toulouse St.Jean de Luz

Narbonne Tarbes Lourdes

Carcassonne Perpignan

Poitou - Charantes

Royon 107

ROYAN

Complete Destruction Of Royan The Musée de la Poche de Royan tells the story of this village in the south-west of France during the Second World War. One of the most horrifying parts of that story is the complete destruction of Royan, for sure. This took place at the end of the war, during the liberation, when Allied planes heavily bombarded the village and its surroundings. As a result, more than a thousand civilians lost their lives. Dioramas play an important role in this museum. Vehicles like (armoured) trucks, cars, motorcycles, life-like dolls and many other artefacts are set up in good realistic scenes like they could’ve been at the time of WW II. Especially worth mentioning here is the full-scale model of a German U-boat’s conning tower.

You don’t get a chance to see that everyday!

The Musée de la Poche de Royan

Route de Marennes, Le Gua

+33 (0)5-46228990

www.perso.wanadoo.fr/musee.poche.royan/index02.html

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Destruction of Royan During World War II, two German fortresses defended the Gironde Estuary: Gironde Mündung Nord (or Royan) and Gironde Mündung Süd (or La Pointe de Grave). These constituted one of the Atlantic “pockets” which the Germans held on to grimly well after the liberation of the rest of France. In the early hours of January 5, 1945, planes of the Royal Air Force, having been told that nobody was left in Royan but Germans and collaborators, bombed the centre of Royan out of existence in two raids. The blame for this raid is usually attributed to Free French General de Larminat.

The Allied operation against the German forces on Île d’Oléron and at the mouth of the Gironde River, began with a general naval bombardment at 0750 on April 15, 1945, some 10 months after D-Day. For five days the US naval task force assisted the French ground forces with naval bombardment and aerial reconnais-sance in the assault on Royan and the Pointe de Grave area at the mouth of the Gironde. American B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft carried out aerial bombing missions, including extensive and pioneering use of napalm, finishing the destruction of January 5.

More than 3,000 French civilians were in the town, of which half were killed or injured in the air raids.

“There was a Free French commander with the US sixth army outside Royan, who was not informed until too late. The message was in French and the American signalman could not understand it. It took four hours to get it translated”.

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The bunker is today in private use. A permission to visit is possible without problems.

U-boat bases, Bordeaux This is a bit special because it’s an inland port, 60 miles from the coast.

From the autumn of 1940 Bordeaux had been the base for the Italian Betasom submarine flotilla. The first 3 Italian submarines entered the base in September, 1940. On October 9, 1940 the first Italian submarine Malaspina left the base for a Atlantic patrol and few days later operated against the convoy OB-229.

Roughly 25 Italian submarines were attached to the flotilla at one time or another, but attempts to stage an effective cooperation with the German wolf pack attacks failed for the most part and sinkings for the Italian boats were much lower than of their German allies.

Admiral Dönitz decided during the summer of 1941 to also a build a protective bunker in Bordeaux. Construction began in September 1941.

The bunker was 245m wide, 162m long and 19 m high. Above the pens the roof was 5.6m thick and 3.6m thick above the rear servicing area.

The first U-boat to use the bunker was U-178 on January 17, 1943.

From October 1942 Bordeaux was the home base for the 12th German flotilla which was created there under the command of Korvkpt. Klaus Scholtz.

The base became the home of most of the supply boats, the milk cows of type XIV, and the very long range boats of type IXD2 belonging to the 12th Flotilla.

Also the mine-layers of the XB and the torpedo transports of type VIIF were stationed there.

The last U-boats to leave the base were U-534 and U-857 which left to Norway/ Germany 3 days before the allies occupied the base on August 25, 1944, reaching Flensburg in the end of October 1944.

Haut Vienne (Limousin & Aquitaine)

Limoges 112 Oradour-sur-Glane 113

LIMOGES

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Evacuation Of The Jews Of Alsace During the Holocaust, many Jews from Alsace were evacuated to Limoges. In 1940, Alsace was annexed to Nazi Germany. The evacuation of the Jews of Alsace had started already on 3 September 1939, mostly to Périgueux and Limoges. On 15 July 1940, the last expulsion of Jews from Alsace took place. 2,605 Jews from Bas-Rhin and 1,100 from Haut-Rhin were murdered during the Holocaust. Some were victims of the experiments of August Hirt at the Reichsuniversität Straßburg.

RIGHT: This memorial in the Parc Jardin d’Orsay commemorates the in habitants of Limoges who died in the Second World War.

On June 7th, 1944, Szabo was parachuted in Limoges. Her task was to co-ordinate the work of the French Resistance in the Limoges area in the initial days after D-Day. She was captured by the SS ‘Das Reich’ Panzer Division and handed over to the Gestapo in Paris for interrogation.

From Paris, Violette Szabo was sent

www.somme-normandy-tours.

to Ravensbruck concentration camp where she was executed in January 1945.

She was posthumously awarded the George Cross and the Croix de Guerre.

ORADOUR - SUR GLANE

The Martyrs Of Oradour-sur-Glane On 10 June 1944, the idylic French village of Oradour-sur-Glane was completely destroyed and 642 innocent men, women and children were massacred by soldiers in Hitler’s elite Waffen-SS, soldiers of the 3rd Company of the SS regiment “der Führer,” which was part of the 2nd Panzer Division known as “das Reich” Division.. The ruins of the martyred village have been preserved as a reminder of German barbarity. One out of every three soldiers in the 3rd Company of “der Führer” regiment, the perpetrators of the Oradour massacre, was a Frenchman from Alsace and most of them were under 18 years of age. They had been drafted into the regular German Army and were then assigned to the volunteer SS army.

Centre de la mémoire d’Oradour

www.oradour.org/

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Oradour-sur-Glane From February 1944, 2nd SS Panzer Division (Das Reich) was stationed in the southern French town of Montauban, north of Toulouse, waiting to be resupplied with new equipment and freshly-trained troops. After the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the division was ordered to make its way across the country to stop the Allied advance.

Early on the morning of 10 June 1944, Sturmbannführer Adolf Diekmann, commanding the first battalion of the 4th Waffen-SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment, informed Sturmbannführer Otto Weidinger at regimental headquarters that he had been approached by two French civilians who claimed that a Waffen SS officer was being held by the Resistance in Oradour-sur-Vayres, a nearby village. The captured German was alleged to be Sturmbannführer Helmut Kämpfe, commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, who may have been captured by the Maquis the day before.

On 10 June, Diekmann’s battalion sealed off the town of Oradour-sur-Glane, having confused it with nearby Oradour-sur-Vayres and ordered all the townspeople – and anyone who happened to be in or near the town – to assemble in the village square, ostensibly, to have their identity papers examined. In addition to the residents of the village, the SS also apprehended six people who did not live there but had the misfortune of riding their bikes through the village when the SS unit arrived.

(Continued on page 121 )

Pays de la Loire

Maille 119 Rennes 121

MAILLE

The Massacre At Maille On 25 August 1944, Nazi German soldiers razed the village and killed 124 people. The resultant massacre was the second largest in France of World War II after that at Oradour-sur-Glane. On the same day Paris was liberated, an estimated 80 Wehrmacht soldiers entered the 600 population village in the morning, and 124 residents, including 46 children under age 14 and 42 women.

Seven of the victims were shot, the remainder bludgeoned, bayoneted and burned - the village was then bombed until it was in ruins.

Survivors later found a handwritten message on several corpses: “This is punishment for terrorists and their assistants.

Memory House at Maillé

Maison du Souvenir, 1 rue de la Paix, 37800 Maillé

tel : +33 (0)2 47 65 24 89

www.maille.fr/museeang2/presentation.jsp

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The reasons for the massacre are still unknown, although on the previous day a group of French resistance fighters had killed a group of German officers travelling in a car, in a separate incident ambushed a Waffen SS column to the north; and that the village was at the time safeguarding an United States Airforce pilot who had crash-landed in the area.

Only one person has ever been held accountable, when in 1952, a former German army lieutenant, Gustav Schlueter was tried in absentia by a French court and found guilty. He remained living in Germany until his death in 1965.

Although France has a 30-year limit on war crimes prosecutions, Germany does not and after the massacre featured in a German newspaper article in 2004, Dortmund-based prosecutor Ulrich Maas who specialises in hunting down war criminals started an investigation. After the massacre featured in a television documentary, Maas visited the village in July 2008 to collect more information, and laid a wreath at the memorial.

RIGHT: The ruins of Maille BELOW: Nazi’s in Toulon

RENNES

Freed By Patton on August 4th During World War II Rennes suffered heavy damage from just three German airplanes which hit an ammunition train parked alongside French and English troop trains and near a refugee train on the yard: 1,000 died. The next day, June 18, 1940, German troops entered the city. Later, Rennes endured heavy bombings in March and May 1943, and again in June 1944, causing thousands of deaths.

Patton’s army freed the capital of Brittany on August 4, as retreating German troops blew the bridges behind them, adding further damage. About 50,000 German pris German prisoners were kept in four camps, in a city of only about 100,000 inhabitants at the time.

RIGHT: Rennes War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Rennes

Boulevard Villebois-Mareuil Rennes

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Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France, Rennes airport was used as a Luftwaffe military airfield during the occupation. Known units assigned (all from Luftlotte 3, Fliegerkorps IV): Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) July-23 August 1940 Messerschmitt Bf 109E Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27) 27 July 1940-April 1941 Heinkel He 111P/H (Fuselage Code 1G+) Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26) 26 April-June 1942 Heinkel He 111H (Fuselage Code 1H+) Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77) 30 May-30 June 1942 Junkers Ju 88A (Fuselage Code 3Z+) Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (SKG 10) 10 April-11 June 1943 Focke-Wulf Fw 190A Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11) 7-20 June 1944 Focke-Wulf Fw 190A JG 53 and KG 27 took part in operations over England during the Battle of Britain (10 July–31 October 1940); KG 26 and KG 77 also engaged in night aerial attacks over England during 1942; JG 11 and SKG 10 were interceptor units primarily engaging Eighth Air Force heavy bomber (B-17; B-24) operations over Occupied Europe. In addition, numerous Luftwaffe Anti-Aircraft FLAK batteries were controlled from Rennes.

Rennes was attacked by Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress bombers on 9 January 1944 (Mission 180), and was overflown on several night leaflet drops during the spring of 1944. The airport was also attacked during the Allied invasion of Normandy during June 1944 on several occasions by B-26 Marauder medium bombers of IX Bomber Command, 323d Bombardment Group. The medium bombers would attack in coordinated raids, usually in the mid to late afternoon, with Eighth Air Force heavy bombers returning from attacking their targets in Germany. The attack was timed to have the maximum effect possible to keep the Luftwaffe interceptors pinned down on the ground and be unable to attack the heavy bombers. Also, the P-47 Thunderbolts of Ninth Air Force would be dispatched to perform fighter sweeps over Rennes after the Marauder raids, then meet up with the heavy bombers and provide fighter escort back to England. As the P-51 Mustang groups of Eighth Air Force began accompanying the heavy bombers all the way to their German targets by mid-1944, it was routine for them to also attack Rennes on their return back to England with a fighter sweep and attack any target of opportunity to be found at the airfield.

It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 7 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. Rennes Airport became a USAAF Ninth Air Force combat airfield, designated as “A-27” about 10 August.

121 Continued from page 112 The women and children were locked in the church, and the village was looted. The men were led to six barns and sheds, where machine guns were already in place.

According to a survivor’s account, the SS men then began shooting, aiming for their legs. When victims were unable to move, the SS men covered them with fuel and set the barns on fire. Only six men managed to escape. One of them was later seen walking down a road and was shot dead. In all, 190 Frenchmen died.

The SS men next proceeded to the church and placed an incendiary device beside it. When it was ignited, women and children tried to escape through the doors and windows, only to be met with machine-gun fire.

247 women and 205 children died in the brutal attack. The only survivor was 47-year-old Marguerite Rouffanche. She escaped through a rear sacristy window, followed by a young woman and child.[3] All three were shot, two of them fatally. Rouffanche crawled to some pea bushes and remained hidden overnight until she was found and rescued the next morning. About twenty villagers had fled Oradour-sur-Glane as soon as the SS unit had appeared. That night, the village was partially razed.

Several days later, the survivors were allowed to bury the 642 dead inhabitants of Oradour-sur-Glane who had been killed in just a few hours.

Adolf Diekmann said the atrocity was in retaliation for the partisan activity in nearby Tulle and the kidnapping of an SS commander, Helmut Kämpfe.

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Index Symbols 116th Infantry Regiment 35 12th SS-Panzer Divisions 56,58 1944 The Battle of Normandy 18 1st Infantry Division 34, 35 20th Combat Engineer plaque 38 299th Combat Engineer plaque 38 2nd battalion of American Rangers 33 2nd SS-PanzerKorps 61 2nd SS Panzer Division 112 39-45 Musee in Dinan 87 41st Royal Marine Commando 45 46th Engineer Combat Battalion plaque 38 50th Infantry Division 43 5th Engineer Special Brigade monument 38 716th Division 30 736th Grenadier Rgt 30 736th Regiment of German Grenadiers 50 91st Field Company 52 9th Battalion of Parachutists 53

A Abbaye aux Hommes 55 Admiral Dönitz 92, 107 America Museum GOLD BEACH 1 American B-17 Flying Fortress 106 American Cemetery 37 Army Museum 4 Arromanches 41 Arromanches Militaria 42 Atlantic Wall Museum 51 Au Jour J 24 A Visit To Normandy 26 Avranches 76 Azeville 72 Azeville Battery 72

Battery Longues-sur-Mer 40 Battery of Crisbecq 71 Battlebus Tours 60 Battle of Bloody Gulch 68 Battle Of The Falaise Pocket 61 Bayeux 65 Big Red One Museum 38 Bloody Omaha 37 Bordeaux 107 Brest 89 Bretagne 81 Brigadier-General Theodore Roosevelt 25

C Caen 31, 55 Carentan 69 Cemetery of Beny-Reviers 44 Centre de la mémoire d’Oradour 111 Chambois 61 Chateau Des Sardines 92 Cherbourg 74 Colleville-Montgomery 47 Colleville sur Mer 37 Colonel Andreas Von Aulock 83 Colonel Krug 50 Commandant Kieffer 47 Commander Georg-Wilhelm Schulz 97 Commander Michael Wittman 67 Commando Kieffer 51 Commonwealth War Graves Rennes 119 Courseules-sur-Mer 44

D D-Day map 16 das Reich Division 111 Dead Man’s Corner Museum 70 De La Cambe 67 Destruction of Royan 106 Dinard 87 Douvres-la-Délivrande 45

E

B

Eighth Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress 120

“Bloody Omaha” 37 B-24 Liberator aircraft 106 Basse Normandie 21

F Falaise 57

123 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel 62 Fortifications of Saint Malo 86

G General Bayerlein 63 General Bradley 32, 64 General Feuchting 59 General Gerow 35 General Montgomery 56, 64 General Patton 75 General von Schlieben 74 German U-Boat Bases 84 Gold Beach 43 Grand Slam bombs 84

H Haut Vienne (Limousin & Aquitaine) 109 39th Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division 73 Hillman 30, 50 Hitler’s Atlantic Wall 15 HMS Campbeltown 98 HMS Rodney 56

I Into the Hornet’s Nest 88 Isigny sur Mer 67

J Juno Beach 44

K Kapitänleutnant Carl Emmermann 97 Keroman Submarine Base 91 Kurt Meyer 59

L LA COUPOLE 7 La Madeleine Memorial 77 La Rochelle/La Pallice 99 Le Fort National 83 Le Musee du Debarquement 42 Les Amis du Suffolk Régiment 47 Liberation Monument 46 Liberation Museum 74 Lieutenant-colonel Terence Otway 53 Lieutenant Commander Herbert Schultze 97

Limoges 110 Lion-sur-Mer 46 Loire - Atlantique 95 Longues-sur-Mer 40 Lorient 91

M Maille 117 Major General J. Lawton Collins 64 Major George, Bolo Young, 43 Major George “Bolo” Young, 43 Major von der Heydte 70 Mémorial 39/45 85 Mémorial de la Liberté Retrouvée 73 Mémorial de la Paix 55 Memory House at Maillé 117 Merville/Franceville 53 Merville Gun Battery 53 Montormel Memorial 61 Mulberry Harbour 41 Musée American Gold Beach 43 Musée de la Bataillede la Poche de Falaise 57 Musée de la batterie 71 Musée de la Percée du Bocage 78 Musée des Epaves Sous-marines du Débarquement 39 Musée des Rangers 29 Musée des Troupes Aéroportées 23 Musée du Mur de l’Atlantique 8 Musée Mémorial d’Omaha Beach 35 Musée Mémorial du Géneral de Gaulle 65 Musée of the Libération 28 Museum D-Day Omaha 34 Museum of Old Brest 89 Museum of the Atlantic Wall 52 Museum of the Occupation 28

N Nehou 75 Normandy Jeep Military 41 Normandy Towns (map) 49

O Omaha Beach 34, 38 Operation Bluecoat 78

124 Operation Chariot 98 Operation Charnwood 55, 58 Operation Cobra 57, 64 Operation Goodwood 58 Operation Jupiter 58 Operation Overlord 13 Operation Windsor 56 Oradour-sur-Glane 111, 112 Organisation Todt 97 Ouistreham 51

P Panzer Lehr 56 PARATROOPER militaria 69 Patton’s Third Army 64 PattonMuseum 75 Pegasus Bridge 54 Pegasus Memorial 54 Pointe du Hoc 33 Poitou - Charantes 103 Port-en-Bessin 39 Purple Heart Lane 69

Q Quinéville 73

R Radar Museum 45 Ranville/Benouville 54 Rennes 119 Royan 105

S Saint-Côme-du-Mont 70 Saint-Lô 77 Sainte-Marie-du-Mont 27 Sainte-Mère Eglise 23 Saint Malo 83 Second World War Museum 76 Siege of St. Malo 88 SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef (Sepp) Dietrich 62 SS Hitlerjugend 57, 60 SS Kampfgruppe 60 St-Germain-de-Montgomery 62 St. Laurent sur Mer 35 St. Martin des Besaces 78

Static Line 24 Stephen Halden Beattie 98 Sturmbannführer Adolf Diekmann 112 Sturmbannführer Helmut Kämpfe 112 Suffolk Regiment 31, 48 Sword Beach 45

T Tallboy bombs 84 The “Mémorial de la Liberté Retrouvée 73 The 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg 58 The 12th SS 58 The 16th Luftwaffe Field Division 58 The 17th Panzer Battalion 68 The 21st Panzer Division 59 The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division 60 The 2nd French Armoured Division 57 The 2nd Panzer Division 111 The 2nd SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 112 The 3rd Company of the SS regiment der Führer 111 The 41st Royal Marine Commandos 46 The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division 58 The 4th Waffen-SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 112 The 60th Infantry Regiment 75 The 70th Tank Battalion 70 The 79th Armoured Division 56 The 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade 56 The Afrika Korps 89 The Battle for Brest 89 The Battle for Caen 56 The Battle of Carentan 69 The Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry 56 The Battle of Normandy 55 The Bayeux War Cemetery 65, 66 The Capital of the Ruins 77 The Casablanca Conference 84 The Center Juno Beach 44 The Croix de Guerre 110 The Falaise pocket 60 The Finkenwarde U-boat pens 84 The Fort du Roule 74

125 The Fort Garry Horse (10th Armoured Regiment) 56 The Fusiliers Mont-Royal 60 The Green Devils 70 The Hillman Batterie 47 The Italian Betasom submarine flotilla 107 The Memorial Museum to the Battle of Normandy 66 The Musée de la Poche de Royan 105 The Museum of the Battle of Tilly-sur-Seulle 63 The Museum of the Landing “N°4 Commando” 52 The Ocean Liner Museum Escal’Atlantic 97 Theodore Roosevelt Junior 37 The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada 56 The Royal Winnipeg Rifles 56 The Screaming Eagles 27 The St. Nazaire Raid 98 The U.S. First Army 69 The USS Corry 71 The Wolfpacks 92 Tilly-sur-Seulles 63

U Utah Beach 70 Utah Beach Landing Museum 27 Utah Beach Museum 2, 25

V Ver sur Mer 43 Vierville sur Mer 34 Violette Szabo 110

W Waffen-SS 111,112

The GOLD BEACH section of the museum commemorates the historic landings carried out by 69 brigade of 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on the morning of 6th June 1944. You will also find here displays commemorating the vital intelligence-gathering work prior to the invasion (6th June 1944 WAS NOT the first British landing on Gold Beach.......) and the aerodrome B-3, constructed in early June by British engineers between Ver and St-Croix.

2, place Amiral Byrd, F14114 - Ver sur Mer -

Tel 00 33 231 22 58 58 Fax 00 33 231 21 09 12