Pont-Brocard (Manche)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
- Liberation: 27 July 1944
- Deployed units:
41st Armored Infantry Regiment, Combat Command B, 2nd Armored Division
67th Armored Regiment, Combat Command B, 2nd Armored Division
22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
Panzer-Lehr-Division
- History:
Command Command B (CCB) of the 2nd Armored Division, launched into a formidable advance since early morning, broke through the German lines and headed toward Notre-Dame-de-Cenilly, supported by almost constant air cover. After a series of battles in and around Dangy, the tanks of the 67th Armored Regiment, preceded by the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, liberated the village of Pont-Brocard in the late afternoon. The village, crossed by the Soulles River, is located in a valley bottom and represents a key crossing point for quickly crossing this wet divide.
Since the CCB’s advance was particularly rapid on July 27, 1944, the extended lines increased the risk of counterattacks on the flanks. Consequently, the Americans set up cover at Pont-Brocard, facing west toward Cerisy-la-Salle. Their objective was to secure the Soulles crossing against possible German action. This cover was manned by Company B of the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, which set up camp there for the night. The infantrymen installed a 57mm M1 anti-tank gun at the main intersection of Pont-Brocard, north of the river, with the barrel facing south.
In the early hours of July 28, shortly after 3:00 a.m., Sergeant James J. Cermak of Company B was patrolling the road toward Cerisy-la-Salle when he discovered a German scout only a few meters away. After a brief exchange of gunfire, Cermak spotted several vehicles on the road and decided to return to Pont-Brocard to warn his comrades. He first opened fire with his Thompson submachine gun and, realizing that armored vehicles were approaching, he turned the M1 cannon toward the dangerous direction and fired nearly fifteen shells, unassisted, at the vehicles and infantrymen who were moving one after the other into Pont-Brocard.
At 4:30 a.m., after receiving reinforcements from B Company infantry, Cermak faced another German attempt to cross. He fired ten additional shells from the 57mm cannon, definitively halting the enemy’s advances. By daybreak, the toll was alarming: twenty-one German soldiers had been killed, while two half-track vehicles and seven motorcycles (including a “Kettenkrad” half-track motorcycle) had been disabled. Fourteen bicycles, three machine guns, a rocket launcher, seven submachine guns, and several rifles had been abandoned.
Sergeant Cermak was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at Pont-Brocard. Several attempted crossings were recorded in the following days in the area, forcing CCB soldiers to patrol the numerous orchards and sunken roads in the area on a very regular basis.
Pont-Brocard map:
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