Chance Encounter

Allied airpower had made movement and bringing in supplies for the German armies in Normandy a nightmare. By mid June 1944, the 3rd Fallschirmjager Division had finally received the major portion of their combat units. After a brief respite where …

1944-07-16

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Allied airpower had made movement and bringing in supplies for the German armies in Normandy a nightmare. By mid June 1944, the 3rd Fallschirmjager Division had finally received the major portion of their combat units. After a brief respite where the 3rd FJ had not been heavily engaged, and almost at full strength, they settled into their defensive positions to the east of St. Lo, France. Reports from the beleaguered 352nd Infantry Division had filtered back that the American 29th Infantry Division was upon them and consolidating their forces. In early July, the German Fallschirmjäger began sending out patrols to probe the American lines.

St. Lo, 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.

Wikipedia: Battle of Saint-Lô

American

German