World War II Daily: DDay to VEDay

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

TIDE-HSV said:

I haven't looked at it recently, but the casualty/POW rate was horrendous in those early air drops, IIRC.

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As inaccurate / scattered as some D-Day drops were (due to a variety of issues), US airborne still suffered a casualty rate of <20%.

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

Tidewater said:

My high school history teacher was in 1/506. He landed outside La Haye du Puit, about 30 km from his intended DZ.
I have heard operations that night described as LGOPs (Little Groups of Paratroopers) running around looking for Germans to shoot.

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The incredible amount of planning - to the point that all the paratroopers had to memorize what every other group was assigned to do in case they landed in the wrong DZ - paid off big time.

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

August 19, 1944: The American forces south of Argentan and the Polish forces to the north of Trun unite at the village of Chambois. While the Falaise pocket appears to be entirely closed, the corridor that stretches from Trun to Chambois (which is only a few hundred yards across) is used by German soldiers and vehicles attempting retreat. The Polish 1st Armored Division moves into the area of the corridor and takes position on Hill 262, overlooking the Vimoutiers road, where it stops many Germans from escaping the pocket. Polish artillery and tanks fire ceaselessly on the German columns still trying to escape the area which is soon called ‘The Corridor of Death’. The Allied air force also repeatedly bombs the troops retreating toward the east.

In the last four days the pocket where the survivors of the German 7th Army and 5th Panzer Army are surrounds has shrunk by 50%. This impressive progress means the Allied forces now control the villages of Necy (northwest), Putanges-Pont-Ecrepin (east), Chambois and Le Bourg-Saint-Léonard (southeast), and Hordousseau (northeast). The French 2nd Armored Division pushes to the east of Argentan and liberates Exmes, where Colonel Langlade sets up his new command post.

Since the Falaise pocket began to be formed, over 10,000 German soldiers have been killed, 40,000 taken prisoner and 50,000 escaped. A British officer calls The Corridor of Death “the purest bloody hell on earth" and locals say the odor of death hangs over the valley for two months.

Meanwhile, the Americans of the 3rd Army, led by General Patton, continue their advance towards the Seine (which they reach at the village of Rosny).

Pictured: Map of troop movements on August 19, 1944; remains of German armor at Hill 262

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

August 20, 1944: The encirclement of the German forces is completed southeast of Falaise - the German troops and vehicles are forced to attempt to escape the pocket via a small corridor between Trun, Saint-Lambert and Chambois, which is constantly bombarded by the Allied aviation and artillery. The destruction of the forces in this corridor is indescribable: smoldering carcasses of vehicles, German bodies and dead horses (used for their evacuation) litter the roads and rivers, offering a terrifying view of an army in panic and disarray. Over 200 tanks, nearly 1,000 artillery guns and thousands of miscellaneous vehicles are destroyed.

Seeing the Allied forces focusing on the escaping Germans, two German formations (the 2nd and 9th SS-Panzer Divisions) attack Polish positions on Hill 262, the 16th Infantry and 12th SS Panzer divisions attack American and Canadian forces from within the pocket, opening small channels through Allied positions which allows more German forces to escape via bridges over the Dives river. By mid-morning, 2,000 survivors of the German 2nd Fallschirmjäger Korps have managed to breach Canadian positions along the Dives River, as well as at Point 117. At approximately noon, several units of the 10th SS, 12th SS and 116th Panzer Divisions managed to break through these weakened positions.

By mid afternoon, reinforcements from a Canadian armored battle group under Major David Vivian Currie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Vivian_Currie) manage to reach St. Lambert-sur-Dives, denying two German armies evacuation from the pocket. Over the next 36 hours, the battle group repulses almost continual attacks by German forces, destroying 7 German tanks, 12 88mm antitank guns and 40 vehicles. In the brutal fighting around Lambert-sur-Dives, Currie's battle group is able to inflict nearly 2,000 casualties on attacking German forces, including 300 killed and 1,100 captured. By nightfall, the Germans have exhausted their attack against St. Lambert-sur-Dives; the surviving members of the 84th Korps, commanded by General Elfeld, surrender to Canadian and American forces near Chambois. For his actions at St. Lambert-sur-Dives, Major Currie was awarded the Victoria Cross, the only Canadian so honored for service in the Normandy Campaign.

To the east of Caen, as part of Operation Paddle, the British commandos (supported by soldiers of the Piron Belgian Brigade) attack the villages of Dozulé and Brucourt. The Belgian brigade is at the gates of Cabourg, and has liberated Le Home on its way.

Pictured: ‘Corridor of Death’ littered with death and destruction of the German army, near Hill 262 (Mont Ormel); German counterattacks and breakthrough attempts repelled by the Canadians and Poles; Currie (left of center, holding a revolver) accepting the surrender of German troops at St. Lambert-sur-Dives

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

I had a lot of tearful moments touring that area last summer, but Pointe du Hoc really got me. The absolute devastation that's still obvious 70 years later is simply astonishing.

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

August 21, 1944: The escape of the German forces from the ‘Falaise pocket’ is now complete and many Germans have retreated to the east side of the Seine river. While more than 6,000 soldiers were killed, over 165,000 German reached the opposite bank of the Seine. This bad news for the Allies leads to a new plan: a siege on a larger scale is considered, which plans to trap the fleeing German soldiers heading towards the east of France (most of the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division already reached the Lorraine region the week before). The Canadians control the village of Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives. The Poles, who are positioned on Hill 262 overlooking the village of Chambois, are again attacked by elements of the 2nd Panzer Corps, but they manage to counter the assault.

The Americans continue making rapid progress to the east towards the Seine river, and cross bridges created by the engineers of the 157th Engineer Combat Battalion. The town of Mantes is reached during the day by the 15th Corps (led by Patton) and other units of the 3rd Army now head towards Fontainebleau, Melun and Sens. U.S. troops continue advancing faster than the British and Canadians.

Northeast of Caen, the British and Belgian troops continue their offensive: the town of Cabourg is liberated and the Piron’sBelgium Brigade occupies the village of Dives.

Pictured: Infantry from the 80th Division take a break during the fighting for Argentan; bridge over the Seine built by the 157th Engineer Combat Battalion

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

jabcmb said:

Several other stops, including the MAJ Dick Winters monument at the corner of a peaceful, lush cornfield just inland from Utah. He didn't want it, but he got it.

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I actually ran across this by accident and did a u-turn on that little road to see what it was - so glad I did!

Stopped a took a few pics:



This quote of his always gets me: ""Wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men."



69th D-Day Memorial:

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

August 22, 1944: A civil uprising in the city of Paris is continuing and gaining in intensity, so French General Leclerc, commander of the 2nd Armored Division, is ordered to progress to the French capital. The Americans of the 79th Infantry Division establish a beachhead beyond the Seine river in the Mantes region, pushing forward despite the attacks of the German 49th Infantry Division.

The Germans, still trying to retreat on the other side of the Seine, are attacked by hundreds of American tanks between Vernon (liberated by the 79th Infantry) and Le Neubourg. Their flight is covered by the fervent fighting by the rearguard of the routed troops, which despite the dire situation for the Germans, slows the advance of the allied troops.

In the north-east of Caen, the Belgian brigade of Colonel Jean Piron, which supports the British 6th Airborne Division at the North, reaches Villers-sur-Mer after having liberated Cabourg the day before, and is also at the gates of Deauville. However, from here they to progress under the murderously heavy fire of the German batteries located on Mont Canisy, where the Germans had lined up eight batteries of four guns each.

Pictured: situation map from Twelfth Army Group for August 22, 1944 (download to zoom in); artillery from one of the batteries on Mont Canisy

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

August 23, 1944: General Patton’s 3rd Army is now progressing in the region south of Paris, while the 7th Army (led by General Hausser) continues to cross the Seine and the Eure rivers. General Eberbach drives to Paris with its 5th Panzer Army.

However, the U.S. progression is slowed in the Eure region, where German soldiers - no longer encircled - slow their retreat to the east and take time to launch attacks against the Allied troops. These small-scale skirmishes allow the Panzer divisions to leave the battlefields of France as soon as possible and reach areas where they can rest and rebuild their ranks (such as the 10th SS Panzer, which is heading to Holland).

The Belgian brigade led by Colonel Piron liberates Deauville, while the paratroopers of the 6th British Airborne Division are heading toward Pont-Audemer. Before reaching this town, they must move towards Pont-L'Evêque, Beuzeville and Saint-Maclou.

Meanwhile, in Paris, the civil insurrection continues to gain momentum.

Pictured: The Parisian Resistance works to erect barricades to slow the Germans as the Allies approach.

Re: Normandy daily - 1944

August 24, 1944: The U.S. 5th Armored Division still progresses very slowly in the Eure region, particularly in the area of Elbeuf and Louviers. The Germans order the rearguard to stop the Allied advance as the they retreat, allowing them to reach the far bank of the Seine where they can regroup. Due to the disorganization of the troops and their attacks, the German rearguard causes a lot problems for the Americans, and the Allied air force ends its day with low scores.

In the evening, the 2nd Armored Division of General Leclerc (as part of the US 5th Corps) enters Paris from the South. The French Resistance in Paris, who have been fighting the German soldiers for several days, welcome the French Sherman tanks as heroes as they reach the Hotel de Ville at 09:20 pm. Paris had been ruled by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Second Compiègne Armistice on 22 June 1940, when the German Army occupied northern and western France.

To the east of the Orne river, the motorized units of the Piron’s Belgian Brigade reach the towns of Honfleur and Pont-L'Evêque, while the remaining German defenders of Deauville and Trouville surrender.

Pictured: American soldiers march in Paris, August 24, 1944