Embedded Files
Exercise Norman Fox 3-6 October 2019
By Cpl David Payne
In October I was given the opportunity to attend a Battlefield study to France and in particular the region of Normandy where the D-Day landings took place, which had been organised by Captain Bridle of A Sqn QOY and supported by historian Major David Croxford from HQ 4 Bde. Along with myself, Tpr Chris Holland and LCpl Quintin Fairfield attended from B Sqn QOY who are based in Wigan. On the 3 October we departed Wigan on a minibus and headed off to Portsmouth where we would catch the overnight ferry across the channel to Caen France. We docked in Caen an hour or so before daybreak and headed straight off to our first objective, which was Pegasus Bridge.
Exercise Norman Fox was a study of the Normandy campaign and specifically the initial Allied assault on Normandy; the battles to capture Caen and the final operations of the campaign to close the Falaise Gap. Undoubtedly one of the key military operations of the twentieth century, the Normandy campaign is perhaps the best known (and most heavily scrutinised) battle of World War II.
I had never been on a battlefield study before and along with the other lads we had been looking forward to it for some time with trepidation on what our veterans who were involved in this campaign had to overcome to ensure they went on to win the war. To say it was a truly humbling experience is an understatement. Throughout the study I had never experienced feelings like it before.
Commanding Operation OVERLORD in June 1944, Field Marshal Montgomery had expected Caen (less than ten miles from the coast) to fall on the first day of the invasion. However, stubborn German resistance meant that British and Canadian forces would not enter the city until early July.
We arrived in front of Pegasus Bridge just as dawn was breaking. As part of Op DEADSTICK, this vital link across the Orne river was captured in a daring attack by glider infantry in the small hours of 6 June. How these gliders landed so closely to their intended target is nothing short of a miracle. The landing was done with such stealth, some German soldiers were killed right where they were sleeping.
From Pegasus Bridge we moved to Sword Beach. The East Riding Yeomanry (an antecedent regiment of today’s QOY) came ashore here on the first day. From here we could appreciate the difference in landing conditions at each of the beach heads, and that’s without the defensive obstacles that the Germans had laid at the time! From here we moved slightly inland, Objective HILLMAN was a co-operation of infantry (Suffolk Regt) and armour (Staffordshire Yeomanry). To stand on Hillman Hill and envisage what our veterans had to do to take this advantage point was mind blowing.
Op CHARNWOOD required the crossing of open ground to attack the heavily-defended position at Galmanche. This offensive was supported by the East Riding Yeomanry and culminated in hand-to-hand fighting in the chateau grounds.
We then followed the route of the County of London Yeomanry to Villers-Bocage, which impressed on us all the importance of recce and tactical movements. This is where German Waffen-SS (Tiger) tank Commander Michael Wittmann is reported to have single-handedly almost wiped out the County of London Yeomanry who were part of the British 7th Armoured Division.
Hill 112 (high ground above Caen) was our next objective and following the earlier failures to capture or encircle the strategically important town of Caen and with it still frustratingly just beyond his grasp, on June 18th 1944 General Montgomery issued a directive for the capture of the high ground south-west of the town between the Orne and Odon rivers. This high ground overlooked the city and Montgomery believed if the British could take possession of it that this would make the German positions in Caen untenable and thus force the enemy to withdraw. The attack was due to begin on the 22 June and was given the code-name “Epsom”. The Allies gained and lost ground more than once during this battle. With extraordinarily high losses, and constant German counter-attacks, General Montgomery shut down Op EPSOM.
In the evening of the first day we had the opportunity to relax, sample the fine French food and reflect on the day’s studies. One of the more poignant moments was when we realised how, with hindsight we would have still carried out virtually identical tactics to those used on the day but with high casualty losses being so much less accepted in modern warfare. We all retired to the hotel for an early night in preparation for the following days studies.
Having had a good night’s rest, we set off to walk the ground of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry’s successful advance against the 12th SS Panzer Division, during Operations GOODWOOD and TOTALISE. The gulley’s used by the German defence to launch their counter-attacks onto the Yeomanry positions still exist and make for a formidable sight. On the 8 August 1944, the German Tiger Tank Commander Michael Wittmann met his demise here, near St Aignan-de-Cramsnil.
The Chateau de Falaise looks North over the ground covered by Op TRACTABLE (the operation to capture Falaise and nearby towns by Canadian and Polish troops supported by a British Tank Brigade). 150,000 Germans became trapped in the “Falaise Pocket” as the Allies closed in around them, resulting in more hand-to-hand combat. On 21st August, this gap was permanently closed by the Allies, resulting in the surrender of the remaining German Army units. St Lambert-sur-Dives, Moissy Bridge and Mont Ormel provided us with good vantage points to appreciate the final actions of the Normandy campaign, including the Germans' retreat.
Our final visit of the trip was to the Commonwealth War Cemetery at Douvres, the final resting place of several members of the East Riding Yeomanry who died in the Normandy campaign. Here we conducted a short service and laid a wreath on behalf of the regiment in memory of all those who died in the fight against fascism.
On return to the Army Reserve Centre in Wigan, all B Sqn members who attended the study to Normandy remarked on how good it had been and they would encourage any soldier to take up opportunities such as this when they arise. The educational benefits and understanding first hand what veterans from many nations had to overcome so that we can now live in peace today are without doubt something everyone should experience as we all owe them so much gratitude for what they did for our country and in the name of peace.
Photographs:
Maj Croxford briefing at Hill 112 (1) Laying a Wreath at the War Cemetery Douvres
Tiger Tank Commander Michael_Wittmann
Maj Croxteth briefing at Pegasus Bridge 2 Tpr Holland & LCpl Fairfield on Hillman Hill
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