82nd Airborne, Ste. Mere-Eglise

     Colourised by Johnny Sirlande

     82nd Airborne Division soldier Elmer.W. Habbs of Delaware resting next to signpost for the French town of Ste. Mere-Eglise as troops advance on the 2nd day of the Allied invasion of Normandy, 8 June 1944.

     The American airborne landings in Normandy were the first United States combat operations during Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. Around 13,100 paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne Divisions made night parachute drops early on D-Day, June 6, followed by 3,937 glider troops flown in by day. As the opening maneuver of Operation Neptune (the assault operation for Overlord) the American airborne divisions were delivered to the continent in two parachute and six glider missions.

     Both airborne divisions were part of the U.S. VII Corps and provided it support in its mission of capturing Cherbourg as soon as possible to provide the Allies with a port of supply. The specific missions of the airborne divisions were to block approaches into the vicinity of the amphibious landing at Utah Beach, to capture causeway exits off the beaches, and to establish crossings over the Douve River at Carentan to assist the U.S. V Corps in merging the two American beachheads.

     The assault did not succeed in blocking the approaches to Utah for three days. Numerous factors played a part, most of which dealt with excessive scattering of the drops. Despite this, German forces were unable to exploit the chaos. Many German units made a tenacious defense of their strong-points, but all were systematically defeated within the week

Regimental Sergeant Major Evans of the 12th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment

Colourised by Paul Reynolds

     Regimental Sergeant Major Evans of the 12th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment examines captured German helmets in Hamminkeln, Germany, 25th March 1945.

 The airborne bridgehead operation over the Rhine – 'Operation Varsity'.

     The battalion deployed by glider on the 24th of March 1945 and succeeded in its task of capturing Hamminkeln with the loss of 140 men killed, wounded or missing.
     The following day the battalion pushed out of the Rhine bridgehead with a troop of Churchill tanks and a troop of self-propelled anti-tank guns in support . The group encountered enemy forces after two miles and took 60 prisoners. Later that day they successfully secured the high ground overlooking Brunen but in doing so sustained a further 6 killed and 11 wounded.
     On the 2nd of April the battalion was involved in heavy fighting securing Lengerich and suffered a further twelve killed and four wounded. However, in two days it captured over 100 Germans.
     The battalion suffered a rare set back when 'D' and 'B' Companies crossed the River Weser on 6 April with no anti-tank guns or mortar support and encountered Panther tanks. In the resulting engagement 51 men of 'D' Coy were captured by the enemy. Generally, the boot remained on the other foot as the 6th Airborne continued its advance, and from 16 to 18 April the battalion captured over 150 enemy, as well as liberating Allied POWs and foreign farm labourers.
     The battalion continued its advance to the Baltic coast, and the war diary notes that in the 41 days to 4 May, just under half of the 369 mile advance was travelled by the battalion on foot. It finished up at Hohen Viecheln on the Schweriner See about 10 miles south of Wismar.

M7 'Priest' in Carentan

Colourised by Paul Reynolds

     A 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7B1 'Priest' of the 14th Armored Field Battalion, 2nd Armored Division moves down Rue Holgate, Carentan, Normandy on the 18th June 1944. The nickname 'Priest' was given to the vehicle by the British due to the machine-gun ring looking like a pulpit.

     At dawn on 13 June, the 101st Airborne was about to attack the German line when it was attacked by tanks and assault guns. Two battalions of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 37, supported by elements of the 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen" and III./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6, struck hard at the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment on the American left, which fell back under heavy pressure. The left flank companies (Dog and Fox Companies) of the 506th then gave way, and by noon the spearheads of the German attack were within 500 yards of Carentan. However, Company E (Easy) of the 506th, commanded by 1st Lt. Richard D. Winters, anchored its right flank against a railroad embankment and held its position. Reinforced by the 2nd battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment taking position on its right, Easy Company slowed the German attack until American tanks could be brought up.
     Reacting to an Ultra warning of the size and threat of the counterattack, Lieutenant General Bradley diverted Combat Command A of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division (commanded by Brig. Gen. Maurice Rose and near Isigny sur mer) to Carentan at 10:30. At 14:00 Combat Command A attacked, supported by the self-propelled howitzers of the 14th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. One task force of tanks and mechanized infantry surged down the road to Baupte in the 2nd Battalion of the 506th's area and shattered the main German thrust. A second task force drove back German forces along the Périers highway, inflicting heavy losses in men and equipment. Combat Command A, followed by the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, then pushed west a mile beyond the original lines.
     The counterattack became known anecdotally among the surviving paratroopers as the "Battle of Bloody Gulch".

A recent photo of the area

 

Map of the German counterattack

 

Republic P47-D and pilot Capt. Dewey E. Newhart

Captain Dewey E. Newhart and his P47-D "Mud n' Mules"

 

Coloured by Doug Banks

USAAF Capt. Dewey Ernest Newhart stands in front of his Republic P-47D-15-RE Thunderbolt LH-D s/n 42-76141"Mud N' Mules". He was the Squadron Leader of the 350th Fighter Squadron, 353rd Fighter Group, 8th Air Force.

     Capt. Newhart was killed in action on the 12th of June 1944 during a mission over Northern France. He was leading the squadron down to strafe an enemy truck convoy near Saint-Saëns, Normandy when he was jumped by 8-10 Bf 109s whilst flying a P-47D LH-U(s/n 42-26402) named "Soubrette", he was hit and radioed that he was attempting to make landfall. Before he could escape, he was attacked by two more fighters, and was shot down and killed.

     The pictured aircraft was re-assigned to Capt. Lonnie M. Davis who renamed it "Arkansas Traveler" but retained the mule artwork, on the left side cowl, out of respect for Newhart.

 

 

Below is the Missing aircraft report for Capt. Newhart

(divided to allow for better reading)

 

 

German Nurses at Balleroy

German nurses at Balleroy, Calvados, France, awaiting their return to the German lines due to their roles as non-combatants.

Colourised by John Winner

 

     The journey of these German women, members of the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz and Kriegsmarine Auxiliaries, is quite amazing. These women, along with some others, totaling sixteen in number, were captured on or about 30 June 1944, when Cherbourg fell. They had been working there in an underground hospital in Octeville. On the 2nd of July nine of them arrived at the 45th Evacuation Hospital near Le Cambe. During their stay at the hospital they were toured around the facilities and were able to speak with wounded German soldiers. It was hoped that upon their return to the German lines they would remember the treatment being given to the Germans and treat the wounded Allies in the same fashion.

 

     The women waited while a cease-fire was arranged, so that they could be sent to the lines. The women were transported to Balleroy in WC-54 ambulances and had to wait a couple hours while the final arrangements for the cease-fire were worked out. The short cease-fire was agreed upon over the radio by a few men, Captain Fred Ghercke, CAC, CO Prisoner of War Interrogation Team #24; Captain Quentin Roosevelt, G-2, First Infantry Division; and Major F. Heeren, CO Panzeraufklärungsabteiling, 2. Panzer Division. At around 1800 hours the women were taken through the lines at Caumont-l’Eventé. The exchange was reported in the British Edition of “Yank” dated July 30, 1944.

 

     There were actually two exchanges, one on the 2nd and one on the 9th of July. The above pictured women were part of the exchange on the 9th of July.    

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

This woman has been identified as Herta Wist. She was working with the Wehrmacht Truppenbetreuung (German equivalent of the USO). She was the wife of Korvettenkapitän (Ing.) Karl Wist, Kommandeur of 22.Marinekraftfahrabteilung, also surrendered at Cherbourg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The captured women arrive at Balleroy. They are seen here unloading from one of the WC-54 ambulances that transported them. Here we can again see Herta Wist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Issue of Yank that reported the story.

 

 

 

Newspaper articles about the July 2nd exchange:

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette (July 3rd, 1944)

St Petersburgh Times (July 3rd, 1944)

The Milwaukee Journal (July 3rd,1944)

The Canberra Times (July, 4th 1944)

 

Newspaper articles about the July 9th exchange:

The Sydney Morning Herald (July 11th, 1944)

The Decature Daily News (August 15th, 2006)