Actions of 1/325 GIR on 9th June 1944

Discussion in 'American' started by Pat Curran, Oct 23, 2013.

  1. Jwrobles

    Jwrobles Guest
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    If I may, Please see the attached diagram rendered by Wayne Pierce of B Co. 325th. He drew this for my friends at the La Fiere B&B, Vivian and Rodolphe, who are devoted 325th followers. A GREAT place to stay, full of local WW II history. Please see this recent video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-S9PdqmSw

    [attachment=186]
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Adam Berry

    Adam Berry Member
    Member

    Aug 22, 2019
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    England, UK
    Hi Guys,

    Sorry to resurrect an old thread here but I've been doing a fair amount of research on the fighting particularly around the La Fiere area in line with a book I planned to write about the training the Division undertook in England prior to D-Day (This was intended as a follow up to my book about the Divisions campsites in England from Feb - Sep 44) and may expand on that.

    Personally, I think the reports on C/325th's movements on the day of DeGloppers MoH action are quite contradictory in points, but I do now believe that the DeGlopper memorial is pretty well placed as the location of the action despite hypothesizing that it may have taken place slightly closer towards Cauquigny itself. The confusion, as is evident from older posts in this thread, comes from the description of "wheat fields" and "small orchards" etc.

    But I thought I would point out that there are a number of sources that reference an MG dug in at the base of the wall surrounding the farm complex at Cauquigny close to the "fork" in the road junction that was capable of firing down the road towards the location of the memorial. It is mentioned as having been destroyed by members of B/325 in one of Nordykes books. Another is mentioned in Regimental Study #4 on the opposite side of the road in the corner of the orchard that borders the junction. Originally I had been skeptical about how capable this MG would be at firing accurately on the memorial area, due to the bend in the road, but depending on its position I do believe this is possible. This sort of fire would have been devastating to any C/325 attempting to cross the road, as the gunners could affectively afford to bounce rounds off the road surface and still hit targets with reasonable success, and this would have been extremely difficult to avoid. Personally, I believe this MG was the key antagonist and the one preventing the Platoon from recrossing to safety without DeGloppers intervention. From the memorial spot, DeGlopper could have taken a prone position to suppress that fire slightly, enough to allow his Platoon back across, but as we know he stood little chance of surviving that interaction.

    The one thing that I think is key to remember is that DeGlopper was one man, with one weapon, he could not fire in two directions at once. This is why I believe that he took the action he did to suppress the fire from a very particular direction, whilst probably receiving it from a number of directions himself. Realistically it probably happened in a very short space of time, all very quickly, perhaps 15-20 seconds. An intense volley for fire and it was over.

    Either way, the Medal of Honor is seldom more deserved. DeGlopper must have accepted his fate before even beginning to fire on the enemy and did so without hesitation. Brave beyond brave indeed.

    Adam
     

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