Not Out of the Woods Yet

The US 90th Infantry Division had had a rough time so far in Normandy. Since 8 July, its 358th Regiment had been trying to crack the Mahlman Line, the main line of defense across the base of the Cotentin peninsula. Hill 122, the key position in the line, was covered …

1944-07-10

185

A073

The US 90th Infantry Division had had a rough time so far in Normandy. Since 8 July, its 358th Regiment had been trying to crack the Mahlman Line, the main line of defense across the base of the Cotentin peninsula. Hill 122, the key position in the line, was covered with dense overgrowth and tangled brush that limited visibility. The summit had been taken, but the German defenders had not conceded the hill, and were defending the reverse slope. A tank platoon of the 712th Tank Battalion arrived at a critical time to offer assistance. Company K, which had been in reserve, was brought up to pass through the forward positions with the tanks, and break out into the open fields past the Lastelle Road.

Foret de Mont Castre, France

The Battle of Saint-Lô is one of the three conflicts in the Battle of the Hedgerows, which took place between July 7–19, 1944, just before Operation Cobra. Saint-Lô had fallen to Germany in 1940, and, after the Invasion of Normandy, the Americans targeted the city, as it served as a strategic crossroads. American bombardments caused heavy damage and a high number of casualties, which resulted in the martyr city being called "The Capital of Ruins", popularized in a report by Samuel Beckett.

American

German

Scenario Type = Standard