Stand where they fought tour: Normandy 2007

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Ste. Marie du Mont

Here some Fallschirmjaeger stuff. The pic of the soldier is the owner of the helmet by the way.

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Ste. Marie du Mont

Here some US Fallschirmjaeger stuff.

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Brecourt Manor

As we have been near the BoB assault site of Brecourt Manor, we decided to pay them a visit again for detailed research.

The first pics show the farmhouse as we had to ask the owner first before we could set foot on the field

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Brecourt Manor

We all went to Grand Chemin and walked the route E company took 6/6/44 AM. The road is now called Collins Road. 200 meters before the Brecourt driveway is a very short bridge crossing a storm drainage ditch coming from the Brecourt farm land. That was the point where Winter's little group first heard the 105s firing from a Brecourt field. The action that followed was not in their orders but apparently, although aerial reconnaissance had spotted the four guns, no one had been clearly assigned the task of eliminating the battery. Winters thought it should be done, then. The collapsed gun pits (three facing Utah and one facing NW). I heard a story that the farmers father buried the four guns in the NW corner of the field and is prepared to dig them up and excavate the pits and refurbish the battlesite. The Brecourt skirmish has taken a lot of publicity since the TV series was shown. Rebuilding the four gun positions would produce at lot of tourist traffic which would create a parking problem (tour buses) and block his very active farm driveway. Then of course the tourists would want to see the manor house which would really create problems to a working farm.

The photo shows the treeline where 3 guns were shelling Utah beach.

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Brecourt Manor

We belive that this was actually one of the 3 gun pits facing Utah beach

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Brecourt Manor

This might be another ex gun pit for the 105mm guns

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Omaha beach / WN62

After that we went to Omaha beach, Easy Red sector just where the german stronpoint WN62 was placed. The infamous german machine gunner Hein Serverloh was there on D-Day to release hell with his machine gun. The first pic is the view from the water line on Omaha Beach.

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Omaha beach / WN62

This pics shows the 2nd bunker which held a Fieldgun mod. 1917 cal. 7.65 cm. The gun was maned by the soldiers Selbach, Drews, reckers and Krieftewirth. the bunker was aRegelbau 612. the gun could fire up to Vierville

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Omaha beach / WN62

This is entry to the observation bunker of the 352nd Regiments and was manned by Oberleutant Frerking and Leutnant Grass. Frerking dies on June 6 1944 and is buried at La Cambe

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Omaha beach / WN62

This is the view Frerking had while on poste during the landing.

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Omaha beach / WN62

Here is the gravesite of Bernhard Frerking on La Cambe. He was killed in his observation bunker while giving order to his 1st Batterie with 4 105mm howitzers, which was set 4 Km back in Houtteville

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Colleville sur Mer / Big red One museum

After WN62 we went up to Colleville sur Mer where the owner of a private collection opend his own museum. It deals with the US 1st Inf Div only.

This is the Churchtower (had to be rebuilt after the war) which was taken by a few Americans. The US snipers shot form the chruch steeple at the germans. To stop the shooting and after killing Leutnat Bauch from WN62 (headshot through the helmet), 3 german soldiers went to take the snipers out with a Panzerfaust. The first shot hit the middle sector of the steeple and a big hole occured. He fired a second Panzerfaust and the church steeple fell completely together. The chuch was raided and ther gemans were surprised not to find American snipers but 3 french resitance fighter. 2 of them died of the second Panzerfaust shot and the 3rd one was taken prisoner and send to WN63.

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Colleville sur Mer / Big red One museum

Here is a photo of the collapsed church

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Colleville sur Mer / Big red One museum

This is the front view of the Big red One museum in Colleville sue Mer

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Colleville sur Mer / Big red One museum

Here ahelmet which belonge to a S/Sgt of G company 16th Regiment. he was killed by a sniper at around 10.30 June 6 near the new hotel which stays at the roundabout to the US cemetery.