Hedgerow Clash

The hedgerow fighting in Normandy was brutal for the Americans. The stout earthen mounds, covered in vegetation, made any progress slow and costly. The terrain favored the defender, and the 352 nd was home here. It was ready for the …

1944-07-16

W04

The hedgerow fighting in Normandy was brutal for the Americans. The stout earthen mounds, covered in vegetation, made any progress slow and costly. The terrain favored the defender, and the 352 nd was home here. It was ready for the battle. Saint Lo was a vital stepping stone for the allies. And it was up to the men of the 29th Infantry Division, the Blue and Gray, to get the job done.

Saint-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

German

American