At this point, a counter attack led by my veteran friend R. Wulff was started on July 6 1944. The counter attack was made by 16 men and my friend was hit by a US sniper around 08 AM on this moring just minutes later after he had led his men into action. He was hit in the shoulder. The attack was made alonf the D97 in direction to La Haye du Puits

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Maisy Battery - the recent dug up Gun Battery

Well I guess many of you have heard of the english guy, Gary Stern who bought some land and found the Maisy 2 battery. I t was clear that our group wnated to see if the site was ready to visit and yes it was. We also had the pleasure to meet the man himself and he told us some very interesting stuff.

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Mr Stern dug up a gun emplacement for the 155mm gun shelling Omaha Beach.

If all is true what is said about this new found battery, than the assault to Ponite du Hoc is highly questionable. Could yit really be that the Ranger attacked the wrong strongpoint at D-Day? There are Rangers, after Mr Stern who clearly confimred, that they asaulted the Maisy 2 battery and it took them longer than expected to take them.

Here are some shots of the Maisy 1 battery around 500 meters away of the other site. The bunker is of a type H669. They held 105mm LeFh 14/19 (t) 1916 Skoda guns of the 8./AR 1716 HKAR.

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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

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.

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

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

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

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OMAHA BEACH - SECTOR EASY RED

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

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

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

Bernhard Frerking 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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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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The view from the shoreline up to WN62

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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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Here a helmet 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

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Another interesting helmet found here. It belonged to a member of the 5th Engineer Sepc. Brigade. It was found 1998 2 Km von Colleville sur Mer

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I had never heard of Hein Serverloh before. Amazing that one can study WWII so much and yet still learn new things everyday.

There is a book out called "WN62" with the accounts from Severloh. I had the luck to speak to this gunner back in 2006 bur he passed away in 2007. He claims to be the guy who hit around 2'000 !!! GI's with his MG42. Well, we never know if this is right.

There was another MG gunner named Franz Gockel who was also on at WN62 on June 6 but he too passed away in 2007. The book is from the German view but anyway still a good read.

Juerg

The WN62 was one of fifteen points in support of Omaha Beach. It seems to be the most important of all, by its powerful artillery fire,

http://omahabeach.vierville.free.fr/703-WN62.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dle%2Bwn62%26hl%3Den%26sa%3D G" rel="external nofollow"> http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...l%3Den%26sa%3DG

VEE