July 6th 1944, General George S. Patton, Jr, arrived in France as head of Third Army, an army that he had neither seen nor had the chance to prepare. Much to his disappointment, he had missed D-Day, but he was finally going to have his chance to get into the fight. For months, he had been at the head of the phantom U.S. 1st Army group, part of 'Operation Fortitude'. In his opinion, he had done his penance for the 'slapping incident' and now he was straining at the leash.
Traveling with 'Willie' his bull terrier and his history of 'The Norman Conquest', Patton had boarded the C47 in England wondering if there was still going to be a war when he got to France. There was, and he was going to play a major part in it, but he would have to cool his heels a while longer.
He landed at an airstrip beside Omaha Beach and was escorted to Bradley's CP. The relationship between the two men was cordial, but Patton had been Bradley's boss in Sicily and now the tables were turned. Patton took a back seat during his meeting with Bradley. He kept quiet while Generals discussed tactics and poured over maps and situation reports. He was determined not to rock the boat. After all, he was at last in France and he desperately wanted to get into the action.
Map on display at Camp Patton
Apple Orchard, one original tree remains
Patton's third army HQ was an apple orchard on the outskirts of Nehou, a small village. This compound became known as 'Camp Patton'. Strict secrecy was to be maintained. No one was to know of the arrival of the great general. As far as the Germans were concerned he was still in England preparing for the real invasion in the Pas de Calais. That was probably the main reason for the secrecy, but it was widely rumored that George Patton was not to be given any limelight, on the strict orders of Eisenhower himself.
Sherman tank at Camp Patton
Monument at Camp Patton
It would be some weeks before Patton got into the action that he so craved.
This week, 130 injured U.S veterans, with spouses, family members and supporters, have been cycling around Normandy’s historic landmarks.
This is no sedate trip around country lanes, but a grueling, six day, 240 mile ride, interspersed with history lessons.
The cyclists, many of whom are amputees, ride a mixture of hand cycles, tandems and traditional road bikes.
Veterans fold a 48 star flag, courtesy David Ashe
“This is not a race, it’s a ride” said Debora Spano, the Ride 2 Recovery spokes-person, “We help these injured warriors to challenge themselves both physically and mentally. When the ride is over, they take their bikes home and keep training.
We chose Normandy because of it’s glorious past and the connection between the sacrifices of ‘The Greatest Generation’ and those of our modern day heroes. Our riders have just devoured all this history.”
“I stood looking at the rows of white graves in the American cemetery, over 9000 and I thought, these guys did this for us” said Medal of Honor recipient, Salvatore Giunta of Iowa. Sal is the first living recipient of the nation’s highest award since The Vietnam war, a volunteer with Ride 2 Recovery and a great source of encouragement for all his comrades.
Tourists and locals looked on in amazement as the riders rolled into the famous town of Sainte Mere Eglise. “We will never forget how you Americans gave us back our freedom,” said Mayor Lefevre in his address to the group, “I just wish you could stay with us longer.”
Kenny Butler lines up with fellow veterans
The riders did have time to visit the local museum and participate in the folding of a 48 star WWII flag, before heading off on yet another leg of their epic journey.
The ride will finish in Caen on Wednesday July 6th, but, as a reward for all their exertions, the riders will be at the finish line of Stage 6 of the ‘Tour de France’ in Lisieux, Normandy on Thursday July 7th.
With their awe inspiring display of endurance and determination, the riders have won the hearts of the people of Normandy, just as their forefathers did 67 years ago.
The trip was made possible by United Healthcare and American Airlines, Air Compassion for Veterans.
As day broke on July 4th 1944, the American armies jumped off on their continued inch-by-inch battle of the hedgerows. The 331st Infantry Regiment of the 38th Infantry Division were positioned just South of the small village of Meautis.
German artillery behind these trees
The German 6th paratroop regiment von der Heydte were waiting for them.
Preceded by a preliminary artillery barrage, and accompanied by a couple of medium tanks, the Americans headed into the swampy ground, toward the farmhouse of Les Ormeaux.
There is a good, first hand description of the battle for Les Ormeaux farm and how it repeatedly changed hands at this site.
On the 331st's left flank, the 330th Regiment would launch their attack down the main Carentan-Perriers road to try and seize the small town of Santeny, located just 9kms south of Carentan. This town was held by the 17th SS panzer grenadiers, aided by panther tanks from the dreaded 2nd SS ‘Das Reich’.
the pharmacy is now a salon
By evening, the attack on Sainteny had stalled on the outskirts of the village, but a pfc, Tony Vaccaro, a keen photographer, wanted to develop his film. He made his way into the town, which was still under fire, and found a pharmacy. With the butt of his rifle, he broke the window. He climbed in and found the chemicals he needed.
On arriving back at his foxhole, Tony borrowed some helmets from his buddies and set to work developing his film, which he hung on the branch of a tree. “It was a dark night with no moon,” recalled Vaccaro, "and we were still trading artillery with the enemy, but I managed to develop my photographs”
artifacts from the Sainteny area
The attacks and counterattacks on Sainteny would continue until July 10th, when with the help of the 4th Infantry Division, the town fell to the Americans.
Further West, the 90th Infantry Division were on the outskirts of the village of St Jore. They had been bloodied all the way after crossing the Merderet River and They were about to experience their most ferocious combat to date, the battle for Mont Castre, known as Hill 122, which rises 300 feet above sea level. The Germans, who held this hill, maintained an unrivaled vantage point, which had to be taken by advancing American forces.Yet again the weary paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne would have to come to the rescue.
German view from hill of road leading to Periers (Nat'l Archives photo)
Overall, the whole advance was starting to stall. The enemy were still in a position to maneuver despite Allied air supremacy. They had a relatively intact communications system and their supplies were still getting through. The weather had been atrocious with a deluge of rain, which made areas of already marshy ground often impassable. The Germans had also demonstrated their willingness to defend positions regardless of cost.
US National Archives
Poor visibility had hampered Allied aerial patrols. In addition, numerous American tanks were being lost to German attack as they ‘bellied up’ over the hedgerows, presenting their lightly armored underside to enemy panzer grenadiers.
The pressure was mounting on General Bradley to do something bold and decisive, fast!
By D-Day + 21, U.S forces were still pinned down in the dreaded bocage with their backs to the sea. Following the destruction of the Mulberry harbors mentioned in the last Notebook post, General Omar Bradley had committed a substantial force to the taking of Cherbourg, the only deep water port on the Cotentin peninsula.
Prior to the advance on Cherbourg, it had been necessary to cut the peninsula in two, thus trapping the remnants of the German 77th and 91st Divisions. This job had been successfully completed by General Manton Eddy's9th Division, moving West across Normandy, with no small effort from the weary troopers of the 82nd Airborne. Eddy then turned his forces toward Cherbourg.
The 4th and 79th Divisions, under the overall command of General 'Lightning Joe' Collins (architect of the Cherbourg attack),had fought their way up through perilous hedgerow country and were poised to attack from the Eastern coastline.
reprint of 1947 Michelin Map (insert)
By the June 27th, the three Divisions had linked up
and prized the town from the hands
of the stubborn German defenders.
Fort du Roule
Commander of the German forces in Cherbourg was General Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben. He had ringed the town with formidable defenses, so the casualty rate had among US forces had been high.
The town of Cherbourg is overlooked by a 19th century fort, Fort du Roule, a tremendous vantage point, which the Germans had turned into a subterranean defensive fortress, towering over the town below.
View from Fort du Roule over Cherbourg
Anything that moved in a 360 degree radius around the fort was targeted by withering machine gun and artillery fire.
Two medal of honors were awarded during the U.S action to take this impregnable enemy strongpoint, one to Corporal John Kelly and the other to Lieutenant Carlos Ogden, both of the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division.
Hamburg - East of Cherbourg, National Archives photo
The U.S navy played a major role in the capture of Cherbourg. The Germans had placed two massive coastal artillery batteries on the outskirts of the town, one at Querqueville and the other, 'Battery Hamburg', at Cape Levy, both of which could have turned their guns on the forces advancing into the city.
Using a high risk strategy, Bradley ordered Admiral Kirk to bring his destroyers close in shore and take on these two positions. Kirk gave the job to Admiral Deyo and an array of destroyers and cruisers, including the USS Texas and Arkansas, set about dueling with with the German gun crews. The gun crews range, at 40,000 yards, was twice that of the Americans. After about five hours, the Navy was running out of evasive maneuvers, and their smoke camouflage had cleared. They became sitting ducks and began to take casualties, finally breaking off the engagement and heading out to sea.
On the heights that overlooked Cherbourg, General Collins stood, watching the whole spectacle. “It was thrilling and….an awe-inspiring sight. I knew definitely that Cherbourg was ours.” The naval fire had not actually knocked out many of the German guns, but it had kept the crews busy, diverting them from dealing with the greatest threat-the enemy behind them. Collins was so grateful for the Navy’s courageous support that he wrote to Admiral Deyo and told him that the bombardment “did much to engage the enemy’s fire while our troops stormed into Cherbourg from the rear."
By the 27th, D-Day + 21, 20,000 Germans surrendered and the Americans had their deep water port, but Bradley’s high risk strategy, which had cost so many lives, did not give him the means of unloading the much needed supplies.
German prisoners, National Archives photo
The Germans had completely destroyed the port and all of the unloading facilities. It would be three months before any cargo would cross it’s wharves, by which time the British had taken Antwerp.
Following up on Memorialized in Glass, here is a photo of Carl Beck with one of the brave medics, Robert Wright, who cared for Americans, Germans and locals in the Angoville au Plain church. In an interview on You Tube (posted by the Central Florida WWII Museum), Wright talks about collecting arms from every soldier, and not allowing anyone to use the bell tower as a look out. Likely for these reasons, the Germans left the church alone. Wright does say they received some friendly fire, however.
This is the area near where Carl Beck, 101st Airborne, should have landed. But, like many airmen on D-Day, he was dropped in the wrong place, and had to rely on a French family to help hide him while he waited for others to come into the area. Carl has returned to visit this family a number of times over the years.
In our last post, we talked about Mark "Sparky" Patterson's stained glass window memorials. One is here at this church, and another is being planned for a church near the La Fiere bridge. Anyone wishing to donate to this stained glass memorial project, please contact Mark at pathfinder.tours at yahoo dot com.
Following D-Day, American forces became locked in a war of attrition with the desperate Germans, who, after being dazed by the initial Allied invasion, were becoming more organized every day.
Bocage is extraordinarily thick, and difficult to penetrate.
Bocage patchwork from the air. Notice how
lanes between rows are not visible.
Apart from the ferocious opposition, GIs were being bogged down in the Normandy hedgerow country, which is known locally as ‘The Bocage’. These high medieval hedges, bordering sunken lanes, were a defender’s delight and a death trap for the attacking forces.
Sunken lane between hedge row
Within the bocage, Germans were able to conceal their deadly MG42 machine gun nests in positions of interlocking fire, which covered the patchwork of the meadows between the hedgerows.
Germans with hidden 88
Allied Armor struggled to penetrate these fortifications and fell prey to attack from panzerfausts and the deadly 88mm German artillery pieces.
Dead livestock and the bodies of fallen soldiers from both sides, littered the fields and conditions became miserable.
All Allied hopes of a swift cross country dash were evaporating as the Germans made the liberators pay for every inch of ground.
Ellwood discusses the notorious German 88mm artillery piece
Between the 18th and the 21st of June, a massive storm raged in the English Channel. The storm destroyed the Mulberry harbors off Omaha Beach, which had been hastily assembled and not anchored correctly to the sea bed. These artificial harbors had enabled a steady but limited supply of ammunition and equipment to reach the hapless young GIs.
