4 gun emplacements behind Queen Green beach, SWORD

Hello everyone, PHOTOS ARE AT BOTTOM OF POST 1

The other day I got a book called - mapping D-Day. I was looking at a map of SWORD beach (the landing beach for the 3rd British ID). It showed near Lion Sur mer 4 gun emplacements.

I went on NCAP (an aerial photograph website). Went to the location and an aerial photo dated 4th June 1944, showed 4 gun emplacements. Went on Google maps, it appears that the 4 gun emplacements were either removed after the war or destroyed by the British during WW2.

East Yorkshire regiment after landing went to attack Strongpoint 'Sole'

1st Suffolks after landing went to Strongpoint 'Hillman'

1st Norfolks after landing went in the vicinty of Colleville.

I haven't heard of any action around these gun emplacements (yet). I would have thought out of all the regiments that landed on SWORD, that the East Yorks would have attacked the gun emplacement but research shows they attacked 'Sole'.

I take it there was action around these gun emplacements, for 1 it would have caused chaos on the beach and 2nd the road behind it was the main road used by the 3rd Brit ID.

Any information will be appreciated.

Salut, :S!


Ben


https://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=49.295968,-0.313137&spn=0.002022,0.005284&t=h&z=18

This is the field on Google maps where the gun emplacements should be.

http://ncap.org.uk/frame/1-1-54-2-233?free-text=yes

Here is the aerial photograph of the 4 gun emplacements.

 

I have annotated an aerial photo and you can just make out the emplacements.

 

I have annotated an aerial photo and you can just make out the emplacements.

 

I have annotated an aerial photo and you can just make out the emplacements.

 

Sorry about that my PC froze and posted 3 replies.

Here is an aerial photo annotated by planners of D-Day. The emplacements are marked as abandoned.

View attachment 21437


Salut, :S!


Ben

 

The positions shown do not seem to have been occupied. I am interested in sword beach and researching iit. i think this are a was overrun but 3 div quite quickly.

 

Hi Sheldrake,

I would have imagend that some kind of action took place because No.41 Commando(s) and 3 AVRE's passed the emplacements en route to attack Strongpoint 'Trout'.

Salut, :S!

Ben

 

Only if there was someone to defend them Some modern histories locate a company of "Odt Truppen" 3./642 in the orchards at the North end of Hermanville GR 075 802, If so, this subunit, admittedly of soliders regarded by the Germans as too untrustworthy to be used for anything more military than construction work s only 500m from the entrenchments. No 41 do have quite a fight to take Strongpoint Trout. From memory, their memorial lists a lot of dead from a small battalion. The FOB, captain Dixon deployed to the Chuirch tower in Lion Sur Mer to bring down naval Gun Fire, but not on these emplacements..

 

Hi Sheldrake,

Is the orchard you mentioned above the orchard labelled on the aerial photo? I could imagen that the Odt Truppen were to the Germans untrustworthy if put in combat because these units were made up of russians, koreans etc etc.

What kind of gun/howitzer do you think would of been placed there on these emplacements if it was operated?

Also you seem to know ALOT about Sword beach, could I ask do you know what happened to the South Lancashire regiment on D-Day? I know they landed on Queen Red beach (or it might of been Queen White, I always get the East Yorks and South Lancs mixed up) but other than that my knowledge of the South Lancs is empty.


Salut, :S!


Ben

 

The commando landed mid morning, to be greeted by a little old pioneer labouring on the beach saying."Where have you been then"
Hillman was a huge defense position, it was 650 meters by 450 meters in size. It was taken through the efforts of one of my company officers and Sappers, who opened a path through the defenses under heavy fire. It had a field of fire that covered everything.

It was the bravest act on the whole of the invasion coast, and all he got was a Croix de geurre. Lt Arthur Heal RE. C de G. I spent some time at Hillman using it as a place to harbour. But never inside, only in the concrete paths between...After we took Hillman, a group of enemy with their officers came up from deep underground to surrender. Some of the fighting in the position underground was described as "Grisly".

One night I came back very late to Hillman, exhausted from a day in action, I just lay on top the ground and fell asleep. When I awoke in he morning, I found the German boots sticking out of the ground around me, where they had been buried on top of Hillman ...with no depth of earth to cover them properly. One Sapper got near the gun slits, with a pound of gun cotton a detonator and primer, lit the safety fuse with his cigarette and shoved it through he slit. A pound of gun cotton in a confined space creates absolute mayhem. At that time the company was still in Assault state. Later Arthur Heal belonged to the Hillman preservation society. From Hillman it was possible to see the enemy pounding the daylights out of the air landing gliders with shell fire. TO ensure they would not be used again.
East Yorks ...White beach South Lancs on Red beach, as in the white and red roses of York and Lancs

 

Hi Sapper,

Thank you for what you and your comrades done. Also thanks for telling us that story about your time at Hillman.

I take it the route made by the Sappers and Lt Arthur Heal allowed the 1 Suffolks to attack Hillman. Do you mind if I ask where you were at the time of the attack on Hillman.

Salut, :S!


Ben

 

Spread out all over the place.I was not in Arthur Heals group. Hard to be precise, but either at Pegasus or at Colleville or more likely Hermanville.
I can recall all that happened but trying to,put them together into a time sequence is just impossible.
I do know when I was wounded by a mine as it is recorded/. after 70 years? My officer wrote to me, we are the last two of the company. He asked me to tell him what what we were doing as his children wanted him to write his experiences.

 

Hi Sapper,

I could imagine it being impossible to recall the events of D-Day in a time sequence, 70 years after the battle.

Could I ask two more questions, what unit was you part of? and what sector of Sword Beach did you land on for example Queen beach etc etc?


I really apprecitate what you and your comrades done during the Second World War.


Salut, :S!


Ben (14 years old)

 

Sapper was there. I just write about WW2 and take people to the battlefields. Sword beach is a big topic and there are some very good books . Ken Ford's Sword Beach is part of the Battlezone series edited by Simon Trew from Sandhurst
Norman Scarfe's Assault Divisoin is old but still very good. He too was a verteran.
http://warchronicle.com/british_3rd_div/historiantales_wwii/assaultdivdday.htm
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.mod.uk/aboutus/dday60/sword.htm
http://www.veterans-uk.info/pdfs/publications/comm_booklets/d_day_landings.pdf