Extracts 'Battle of the Falaise Gap' (American)

Discussion in 'American' started by Pat Curran, Mar 26, 2015.

  1. sirjahn

    sirjahn Active Member
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    Oct 24, 2012
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    The wreck in post #15 looks like a towed artillery piece with a gun shield. So it could be a knocked out AT gun that was hit before it could deploy.
     
  2. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    To continue from page 55...

    With the British capture of Mont Pincon during the night of 6th/7th August, the author turns his attention back south to the American Third Army. The reference to 'General MacLean' below has me puzzled. I think this should be Lieutenant-General Raymond S. McLain, the man who transformed the troubled 90th Infantry Division into one of the best fighting units in the ETO. Anyone able to confirm my theory from the context?


    It would seem from this account that the Mortain counter-attack was not totally unexpected, probably even less so due to the work being done at Bletchley Park in deciphering the German Enigma traffic. As far as I know, the author of the book Eddy Florentin, would not have been aware in 1964 that German Army signals traffic had been completely compromised during the Normandy Campaign.

    Does anyone know the location of the Third Army HQ when it was bombed by the Luftwaffe?

    More follows...

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  3. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    To continue from page 60...

    One of the first hand accounts in the book on the American defensive actions at Mortain is described by the author thus:

    The 120th Infantry Regiment was part of the US 30th 'Old Hickory' Infantry Division, which had relieved the 1st 'Big Red One' ID just prior to the German counterattack at Mortain. Some ground was lost in the initial German onslaught, but the 30th held on in a desperate defensive action on the hill tops close to the town. This action by 'Old Hickory' was to become legendary in the annuals of American military history, as the positions afforded American artillery spotters ample views to call down overwhelming artillery fire onto the German armour below them.

    I am getting ahead of myself now so...

    By 10am the mist in the valley had cleared and the German armour advanced again into a hail of fire from American antitank guns sited on the high ground. Kenneth Parker saw two of the enemy tanks burning and the advance by the 1st SS Panzer Division between Saint Barthelemy and the northern part of Mortain, had been stopped.

    Eddy Florintin goes on to state:

    I must do a bit of work on this action at Pilon Hill before we move on. Anyone up to speed already on this area?

    Thanks,

    Pat
     
  4. allan125

    allan125 Active Member
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    Thanks for the continuing story Pat - afraid I have no specific knowledge of the Pilon Hill area, although of course I am familiar with the battle.

    regards

    Allan
     
  5. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Thanks Allan,

    There is a lot of work done on the Mortain counterattack already - quite a bit by historians of the 30th 'Old Hickory' Infantry Division. They are justifiably proud of the Division's actions in Normandy and the holding of the Mortain Hills 285 and 314 in particular.

    Trying to track down some information on the two named individuals above - 1st Lieutenant Halbrook and Kenneth C. Parker, both of whom I take to be from 1/120th IR, possibly B Company.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  6. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    To continue from page 73...

    General Eisenhower arrived in Normandy at his new CP 'Shellburst' near the village of Tournieres, north of Cerisy Forest, on the evening of 7th August. The following day, 8th August, with Operation 'Totalize' underway, Ike was anxious to meet his field commanders.

    When the two senior officers met in the afternoon at Bradley's CP, he listened intently to the latest report from the American sector.

    Bradley asked Ike to witness his telephone call to Montgomery with the proposed changes. No doubt Monty was made aware that Ike was present at the other end of the line! In an attempt to sell the changes, he cleverly praised Monty's new offensive:

    Montgomery finally relented, perhaps sooner and easier that he would have done were it not for the fact that Ike was obviously in agreement with his 12th Army Group commander.

    General Bradley had just one more item to check - air cover. He contacted General Quesada and was told he could have all the cover he required and fine weather was forecast for several days hence.

    More follows...

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  7. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    To continue from page 75...

    Not for the first time, General Bradley's staff could not locate George Patton:

    I presume the stone in question is the Menhir de Champ-Dolent near Dol-de-Bretagne in Brittany. Don't know what the fuss was about - I am sure we must have several of similar size here in Ireland :D

    When contact was eventually made between Patton and Bradley, the conversation is described thus:

    Its difficult to say at what point the Battle of the Falaise Gap had begun, but to my mind it was with this conversation between General Bradley and George Patton on the evening of 8th August.

    If like me you wonder why two months elapsed before General Eisenhower moved his forward headquarters to France following the invasion, it appears the reason given by Ike himself later in August was a difficulty in signals (communications in today's term).

    Using French researcher Michel le Querrec's map here, I found what appears to be a monument marking the 'Shellburst' location, south west of Tournieres as indicated by the red arrow below:
    [​IMG]

    There is no digitised NCAP cover for this area in August, so the best I can do is this extract from IGN cover flown in 1947:
    [​IMG]

    In his book 'My Three Years with Eisenhower', Captain Harry Butcher describes the location thus:

    I presume it must be one of the orchards lettered A-E above; the yellow arrow marks the present day location of the monument. 'D' might be the grass airstrip.

    Does anyone know the exact location?

    Thanks,

    Pat
     
  8. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    to continue from p. 81...

    Having spoken with Bradley at 12th U.S. Army Group HQ on his first full day in Normandy on the 8th August, Eisenhower returned to 'Shellburst' in the evening and then drove, via Bayeux, to see Monty at his HQ, situated at Chateau Creully, about 12 kilometres to the east of Bayeux.

    In the following passage, I think the author is nudging the reader regarding one of the most contentious questions asked about the Normandy Campaign - why was the Falaise Pocket not closed earlier that the 20th August?

    More follows...

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  9. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    To continue from p. 83...

    Patton's men were now loose on their second cavalry charge in France, this time through the province of Maine and it was the turn of XV Corps to raise the August dust.

    The last paragraph above seems to relate to the French 2nd Armoured and no doubt the French villagers had tears in their eyes at the sight of this cavalry unit charging through in a cloud of hot August dust. For the American tankers, I wonder what was the cavalry tune of the day prior to John Ford's 'The Horse Soldiers' :D

    Despite the deep emotions, the charge continued unabated. The passage below again appears to refer to the French armour unit:

    On the morning of the 9th August, General Bradley had a visitor from home. The Secretary of State to the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, was on a tour of the ETO. Bradley took him to see the various sights and eventually came to the Mortain sector, where they stopped to view the situation first hand. The Germans were still in control of the Saint Jean du Corail / Milly road, which was to be the jumping off point for the second and last desperate attempt to capture Avranches. As the two men stood surveying the view, no doubt from a safe distance, General Bradley turned to his guest and said:

    I wonder did the politician see more than the soldier :dodgy:

    More follows...

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  10. ddayHorsa

    ddayHorsa Active Member
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    Dec 20, 2013
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    Hi All,

    I don't know how much this helps in locating Eisenhower's Camp Shellburst, but I ran into a few things at this website: http://histomil.com/viewtopic.php?f=338&t=3918&start=1380

    First, a GE view of what I presume is the monument to Shellburst:


    [​IMG]



    The next three images are from the website. Since the first image was too long to capture, I broke it into two items, one immediately below the other. That site contains a very large number of photographs, many taken by Germans, and many located in France. Unfortunately, over time some of the photographs have disappeared from the site and are described as "This photo is no longer available" Generally, however, the captions are usually still there.


    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    This is a partial screen-grab of the above mentioned book:

    [​IMG]

    While this seems to be sort of a handcrafted map, the line-up and shape of the fields clearly reflects the order and look of them as labeled by Pat as A - E on the 1947 IGN cover. Field D appears to be clear with the exception of a tree. The writing above that tree is either "old" or "oak" tree supporting (?) I cannot make out, although I thought I read somewhere that it supported some sort of communication apparatus, wires maybe. Field E apparently had a number of tent structures laid out among Apple trees. The one with the reddish color on the left side is clearly identified as "WACs". I can't make out what is written over or under the other two structures on that side. The writing on the section of tents and trees on the right I believe says "recently under apple trees" although I can't be sure. Overall, it looks like 3 large tent structures on the left side and 11 smaller ones on the right.

    On the website, there is a space where an image that came immediately before the above map was displayed. It is gone now, but the caption that remains is as follows:

    In an apple orchard a row of large tents.
    Subject to and without any warranty, it could be the leading PC of General Eisenhower, codenamed "Shellburst" SHAEF CP12 Adv.


    I would like to have been able to see that image.

    Finally, another map from the same website:

    [​IMG]

    This map follows an image of the book shown above, and referred to in the caption under the first map above. The map seems to show "Shellburst" in the same area. From what I have read, the large airstrip shown on this map was the ALG A-5, constructed from 16 June 1944 to 5 July.

    So, since the detailed drawing of a camp on the first map above does not show a specific structure for Ike, it may be that this is not where he was. Perhaps just somewhere nearby, although we clearly see a camp set-up next to the Shellburst monument.

    All for now,

    Charles
     
  11. ddayHorsa

    ddayHorsa Active Member
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    Dec 20, 2013
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    Hi All,

    I don't know how much this helps in locating Eisenhower's Camp Shellburst, but I ran into a few things at this website: http://histomil.com/viewtopic.php?f=338&t=3918&start=1380

    First, a GE view of what I presume is the monument to Shellburst:


    [​IMG]



    The next three images are from the website. Since the first image was too long to capture, I broke it into two items, one immediately below the other. That site contains a very large number of photographs, many taken by Germans, and many located in France. Unfortunately, over time some of the photographs have disappeared from the site and are described as "This photo is no longer available" Generally, however, the captions are usually still there.


    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    This is a partial screen-grab of the above mentioned book:

    [​IMG]

    While this seems to be sort of a handcrafted map, the line-up and shape of the fields clearly reflects the order and look of them as labeled by Pat as A - E on the 1947 IGN cover. Field D appears to be clear with the exception of a tree. The writing above that tree is either "old" or "oak" tree supporting (?) I cannot make out, although I thought I read somewhere that it supported some sort of communication apparatus, wires maybe. Field E apparently had a number of tent structures laid out among Apple trees. The one with the reddish color on the left side is clearly identified as "WACs". I can't make out what is written over or under the other two structures on that side. The writing on the section of tents and trees on the right I believe says "recently under apple trees" although I can't be sure. Overall, it looks like 3 large tent structures on the left side and 11 smaller ones on the right.

    On the website, there is a space where an image that came immediately before the above map was displayed. It is gone now, but the caption that remains is as follows:

    In an apple orchard a row of large tents.
    Subject to and without any warranty, it could be the leading PC of General Eisenhower, codenamed "Shellburst" SHAEF CP12 Adv.


    I would like to have been able to see that image.

    Finally, another map from the same website:

    [​IMG]

    This map follows an image of the book shown above, and referred to in the caption under the first map above. The map seems to show "Shellburst" in the same area. From what I have read, the large airstrip shown on this map was the ALG A-5, constructed from 16 June 1944 to 5 July.

    So, since the detailed drawing of a camp on the first map above does not show a specific structure for Ike, it may be that this is not where he was. Perhaps just somewhere nearby, although we clearly see a camp set-up next to the Shellburst monument.

    All for now,

    Charles
     
  12. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Thanks Charles,

    So it would appear that the camp was in orchard 'E' on the 1947 IGN extract. Captain Butcher's description of the eastern hedgerow being 'trimmed' to provide a view of the adjoining grass airstrip seems to be an error. It now seems to me that the strip was over the southern hedge of the orchard.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  13. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Hi All,

    To continue from page 92...

    This section of the book relates to the actions of 2/120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division on what appears to be the 11th August. The actions of the 'lost battalion' on Hill 314 above Mortain during the six day siege from 7th to 13th August are legendary in the annuals of American military history.

    The narrative reads a bit like a 'Commando' comic in places, but I have no doubt that the accounts described are taken from first hand interviews of veterans who were on Hill 314 during the siege and consequently add a unique perspective - always welcome here!

    The SS officer then tells the Americans that their CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Hardaway, is a prisoner of the Germans in the town, having been captured by an SS patrol. If this statement was designed to weaken the men of the 'lost battalion', it failed and in a pointed comment, the author states that the SS man was a member of the 2nd SS 'Das Reich' Division which...

    During the siege of Hill 314, the men of the 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment were indeed clinging on to every foot of ground. The battalion's M.O. had been killed and medical supplies were almost exhausted. The positions were so close to that of the enemy that German voices could be heard on all sides issuing orders for the next attack.

    More follows...

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  14. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Looking for Ermitage Farm...

    The IGN label 'l'Ermitage' seems to jump from south to north of the D487 road when you zoom the live map below - anyone know the location?

    <iframe width="800" height="350" frameborder="2" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/embed/visu.html?c=-0.9323618699923366,48.64775470628442&z=0.000021457672120657332&l=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.MAPS.3D::GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS==aggregate(1)&permalink=yes" allowfullscreen></iframe>
    Live Map - Press F5 to Reset​

    Also looking for the location of the well and pump.

    Thanks,

    Pat
     
  15. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    A very useful document...

    Just found this MS Word document on the 30thinfantry.org site. It is titled 'Operations of the 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry (30th Infantry Division) at Mortain, France 6 - 12 August 1944' and was written by Major Ralph A. Kerley for the Advanced Infantry Officer's Class #1 1949-1950. This is the same officer who, as a Lieutenant in Normandy in 1944, was CO of E Company, 120th Infantry on Hill 314.

    Looks highly detailed from an officer who was there...

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  16. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    To Continue from page 94...

    As the siege of Hill 314 takes hold, the author gives us some additional insight into the plight of the 'Lost Battalion':

    In my next post, I'll refer to Major Kerley's 1949 statement to see if we can add to the above description of the siege.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  17. allan125

    allan125 Active Member
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    Thanks Pat - very brave men, especially knowing that they were up against the SS, who had a known bad reputation against Canadian troops captured by 12SS (Hitler Jugend) around D-Day. I have downloaded the report, which makes interesting reading.

    Surprisingly, if reports are correct, 9th SS (Hohenstaufen) and 10th SS (Frundsberg) Panzer Divisions acted properly with Airborne prisoners in the Arnhem area after Market Garden as they recognised them as being fellow elite units as well.

    No doubt during the actual battle things weren't quite so nice, to say the least!

    regards

    Allan
     
  18. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Hi Allan,

    Brave men indeed, and as Major Kerley states, not all received proper recognition for their actions on Hill 314:

    Under the heading of 'Lessons', Major Kerley adds...

    Perhaps the most poignant section of Major Kerley's document is the last paragraph:

    I don't see a list of awards which were granted - does anyone know of such a list? Can't view the 30thinfantry.org site just now.

    Regards,

    Pat
     
  19. allan125

    allan125 Active Member
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    Hello Pat

    I think that these pieces say it all about the losses incurred by the Americans, both in Normandy and later "At Mortain, therefore, the Americans barred, and would continue to bar, the route to the sea. The Lost Battalion lost 547 men on Hill 314" and "The recommendations for awards to the men of this battalion were too slow. During the time from submission to final action, many of the men had been killed. The bulk of the awards were made in late November"

    Our US friends are probably the best bet for information on the awards if you cannot find it on the 30th Infantry Division website.

    regards

    Allan
     
  20. Pat Curran

    Pat Curran Administrator
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    Oct 20, 2012
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    Hi Allan,

    I have tracked down the aerial re-supply unit - twelve C-47s from the 98th TCS, 440th TCG, USAAF led by 'Cock of the Walk' piloted by the Squadron commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Bascome Neal.

    I found the story in this 'DZ Europe: the story of the 440th Troop Carrier Group" (1946)' on the Bangor Public Library site. This is a large 43MB pdf download, so I extracted the relevant pages (47-50 and 116-117), printed them and re-scanned into a much more manageable 3.9MB pdf which I have embedded below:

    <iframe seamless="seamless" src="https://docs.google.com/viewer?embedded=true&url=http://www.normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/american/battle_of_the_fg/mortain_re-supply_98th_tcs_440th_tcg.pdf" width="100%" height="600px"></iframe>

    Recommended Citation:
    United States Army Air Forces, "DZ Europe: the story of the 440th Troop Carrier Group" (1946).World War Regimental Histories. Book 137. http://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/137

    Apologies for the reduced quality compared to the original document but my printer, right when I needed it, has decided to run out of ink :D

    Regards,

    Pat
     

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