Normandy 1944

[olivdudu]

Hello,

The Discussion thread for this topic is:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=735037

Here are pics that i have already posted on the main AP forum yesterday but i think it might be more logical to post them in that part of the forum.

The pic's quality is rather poor for i didn't get used to my new camera at that time (begining of july) and the weather conditions were bad.

This is a trial, in the end i wish i would make a whole foto gallery of Utah, Omaha and the Pointe du Hoc area, including several drop zones. I might do that on October or, to be more time accurate, on june next year.

Those pics are situated on La Fiere Causeway. In a few words, this causeway is situated three miles west of Ste Mère Eglise. This road and bridge on the Merderet river had to be taken promptly for it is the only road linking Ste Mere to the west part of the Cotentin peninsula. Taking that place was necessary to forbid a german reinforcment comming from the western garrisons. A that time, the whole area had been flooded by Rommel's army in the way to keep gliders or paratroops from landing.
The mansion and the bridge were taken in the very hours of the 6th of june by the paratroopers of the 505th PIR 82nd Airborne. This was the place of fierce and harsh combats which lasted till the 7th. The men of the 505th had to face strong german conterattacks under a heavy artillery fire but they never gave up and they stood firm against the germans.

Bye

Olivier

[olivdudu]

Hello again :)

here is the result of my RCAP in the Utah Beach vincinity , last week. It is displaid in three steps. First of all, the landing beaches itself. Most of the pics were shot in a place called W8 (German stronghold nr8). This was the original planned beach for the invasion, but the stream at the time of D day made the landing crafts drifting southward at W5, the place where stands the museum.

the second step is Ste Marie du Mont, first French village to be freed in the early hours on the 6th of june (well, roughly the same time at Ste Mère Eglise) by the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st airborne. The village is located 4kms west of utah beach. One road makes the link with Utah beach at W5. In 44, both sides of the road were flooded (it is still swamps today).
(the original plan was to land at W8, because, there were four roads westward at that place, by chance, the US troops landed at W5 which was less protected by the Germans)

the third step is a former US advanced airfield at Ste Mère Eglise, called "Lalonde airfield", servicable from 12nd of june untill 25th of july 44. It was the first US Army Air Corp airfield settled in France. I was flying from the main field, I think that, in 44, the airfield might have gathered the surrounding fields ,because, most of the hedgerows are quite "young", the trees are not older than 50 years.
unfortunately, I didn't managed to get pics from Ste Mère Eglise village, we can only perceive Ste Mère In the background...next time will be better ;)

bye and see you on the discussion thread

Olivier