Combat! Normandy

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Combat! Normandy

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Go To Town
Through the afternoon, German artillery continued to pound the men of 3/325th Glider Infantry, and the menace of counter attack loomed. Fearful for Fox Company’s open flank, Harney pleaded with his colonel for support. Before himself collapsing from…
1944-06-09

Easy Over
Third battalion of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment was lined up to assault the causeway in sequence of companies: George, Easy, Fox. As 1st Platoon of Easy arrived at La Fiere, the bulk of George Company was still strung out …
1944-06-09

Lifeline
Lt Colonel Shanley weighed his determination to hold his assigned position against the desperate state of his seriously wounded men. As the sun rose on his third morning on the hill, Lindquist radioed from Chef du Pont with the news …
1944-06-09

Everybody's Dying
Shanley used his radio contact with Colonel Lindquist at Chef du Pont to plead for supplies, and by nightfall was promised that a convoy would make an attempt. But first, the Germans would have to be cleared from the western …
1944-06-09

The Seige
By D+2, Timmes had the enormous psychological boost of a telephone line across the marsh to the far shore. He had also the shaken glidermen who had fallen back to the orchard after the confusion of the night. As dawn …
1944-06-08

Beneath The Castle Walls
Lt Col. Timmes’ night patrols paid off. Lieutenant John Marr and Private Norman Carter stumbled upon the secret ford, and crossed to rendezvous with General Ridgeway at the Division CP. The General’s staff called on the 1st Battalion of the …
1944-06-08

A Bridge So Far…
After a night of uncertainty and confusion, dawn was a lime for the German force based in Amfreville to assess their situation. Little enough was known for certain. Although Divisional headquarters was only a few kilometers down the road, all …
1944-06-06

South Rampart - Fire!
By mid morning, Timmes had over a hundred men digging in around the buildings and gardens of the small hamlet of les Heutes. Timmes’ own CP was established under the trees of a bocage-lined orchard. One detail requisitioned the farmer’s …
1944-06-06

Millet's Men
On the night of the 6lh June, George V Millett, Colonel of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, had come down in a grain field about a thousand yards south of the DZ. He gathered a small force and struck east …
1944-06-09

Westward Ho!
Captain Ben Schwarzwalder was elated to find Cauquigny already in friendly hands. Now there was no need to fight for possession of the Cauquigny bridge head, which seemed firmly held, he felt he had completed the task given him by …
1944-06-06

Absent Friends
Lt. Colonel Timmes landed alone in the flooded marsh and took some time to free himself from his harness. By 04:00 he had gathered ten men. Two gliders landed nearby and the number rose to thirty. The band grew steadily …
1944-06-06

Vii Corps Bridgehead
The plan was that George Company should deploy to the left of the causeway, Easy to the right. But in the turmoil of the crossing, units were mingled inextricably. By the time Captain Harney’s Fox Company came on the scene, …
1944-06-09

Charge The Causeway
3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment had until recently been 2nd Battalion, 401 Glider Infantry. Now attached to the 325th, some resentment was felt by the orphaned unit. Resentment worsened on the approach march to La Fiere, as their…
1944-06-09

Go! Go! Go!
George Company was assigned to the assault over the Merderet. In advance of his company, Captain Sauls reconnoitred the way forward, hauled aside the 507th Regiment’s dead from the road ahead, and waited for the promised smoke barrage. The deadline …
1944-06-09

Cloaks Of Confusion
Landing on 7 June, the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment spent much of the day mai'ching and counter-marching. Late in the day, 1st Battalion was despatched across the ‘secret ford’ through the marshes to bolster Colonel Timmes’ 2/507th in their orchard…
1944-06-08

No Better Place To Die…
Overnight, the position was reinforced but pressure on the defenders of the east bank was maintained by mortar and artillery fire. A dawn air supply drop relieved the most pressing ammunition shortage. The recently arrived reinforcements pulled out…
1944-06-07

To The Manor Drawn
After taking the La Fiere manoir, Captain Schwarzwalder’s contingent crossed over the causeway. Finding no enemy present at Cauquigny, they moved out to the north, seeing no need to garrison Uie west end of the causeway. Able Company, still unaware …
1944-06-06

Ambush At Cauquigny
After passing the manoir, Captain Ben Schwarzwalder pressed on across the causeway. On the far bank, he found Lieutenant Louis Levy in charge of a mixed group of 507th and 508 paratroopers. Assuming wrongly, and tragically, that the bridgehead was …
1944-06-06

The Milling Crowd
Following their successful drop, intact and in almost perfect order, Able Company of the 505th P.I.R. moved speedily to their D Day objective: the Merderet bridge at La Fiere. The large manor house adjacent to the river bridge had been …
1944-06-06
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