Saint-Martin-des-Besaces (Calvados)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
July 31, 1944: A Sherman tank on watch at the intersection of Route Nationale 175 in the center of Saint-Martin-des-Besaces, crossed by a British convoy including a Lloyd Carrier towing a QF 6-Pounder anti-tank gun.
Photo : IWM B8292
- Liberation: 31 July 1944
- Deployed units:
18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
743rd Tank Battalion, 1st Infantry Division
635th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division
Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 2, 2. Panzer-Division
- History:
When the Americans launched Operation Cobra, the British embarked on Operation Bluecoat to prevent the formation of a salient between the U.S. 1st Army and the British 2nd Army. On July 29, 1944, Lieutenant General Richard O’Connor’s VIII Corps was tasked with advancing toward Vire while maintaining contact with the U.S. 5th Corps on its right flank. In the first phase of the maneuver, Major General Philip « Pip » Roberts’ 11th Armored Division was to capture the crossroads town of Saint-Martin-des-Besaces and the heights overlooking the Petite Souleuvre River.
On July 30, as the 6th Guards Tank Brigade gained a foothold on the heights of La Butte (elevation 309) east of the village, previously bombarded by the Allies, Company F of the 8th Battalion The Rifle Brigade was tasked with reconnoitering Saint-Martin-des-Besaces that evening, supported by Company H in the second echelon. The 14th Platoon of Company F, observing the outskirts of the village from Hameau aux Hommes, spotted a German armored vehicle positioned east of the village. Corporal Fulton approached it and threw a grenade, which exploded near the tank. As a result, the tank abandoned its position and retreated to the center of the village. The 15th Platoon, which was then in support, moved up to the front line, and the two platoons settled in for the night near the place called Les Blanches Landes. The capture of Saint-Martin-des-Besaces was delayed until the following day.
On July 31st at around 8 a.m., three Daimler Scout Car reconnaissance vehicles belonging to the 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment crossed the lines of the 8th Battalion The Rifle Brigade at high speed and entered the village: the second vehicle in the column was hit by a direct shot and caught fire while the third accelerated and crossed the German lines, joining the lead Daimler Scout Car. In the process, F and G Companies of the 8th Rifle Brigade began their assault and managed to push back the German defenders belonging to the 326th Infantry Division. In the disorder of the close-range fighting among the houses, Captain Johnny Straker, commanding H Company, saw a soldier without his helmet and ordered him to put it back on without delay: unfortunately, it was a German soldier who, discovering the British officer, opened fire and hit him before breaking contact. Straker escaped with a slight injury but had to be temporarily replaced by Captain Philip May.
The 8th Battalion called upon G Company to complete the search of Saint-Martin-des-Besaces, while the 1st Battalion, The Herefordshire Regiment, moved west of the village, definitively pushing the Germans out of the commune by mid-afternoon. Shortly after 5:00 p.m., the British resumed their advance towards Bény-Bocage.
Saint-Martin-des-Besaces map:
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