Operation EPSOM: Attack Hill 112 to take CAEN. A vital objective of the battle of Normandy

[@robshaw3655]

Visited Hill 112 about 1995 with my son and late father who was a Normandy vet. He was a driver in the 43rd Wessex RASC 505 company. Thank you for fleshing out the surrounding areas. The peace Museum at Caen was amazing. We actually got a german tourist to "shoot" us with the camera on Gold beach where my dad landed.. Visiting the cemeteries was painful. Saw my dad shed a tear at the grave of one of his fellow drivers.....respect

[@andrewh5457]

My late father was also in the 43rd wessex division..

[@maryholder3795]

Your talking about a terrible battle for Caen in the midest of the countryside. Which is now a beautiful, peaceful and quiet area.

[@kerrydennison7947]

We sure enjoy your history lessons here in the USA ❤ I have noticed in many of your videos that it seems like dogs follow you around as you are trying to do your audio and your videos 😂😂😂... I had the exact same problem when I was shooting a video which was 6 months long from Chattanooga Tennessee to Savannah Georgia, part of a graduate history class at Virginia military institute following in the path of general Sherman's marching to the sea. I was played with dogs from the size of chihuahuas on up through bullmastiff😂😂😂😂.. a very good video that you have shot here I think you need to take on the project of following general Maurice Rose from Normandy to pderhorn Germany n his grave site... That would be a very interesting and challenging video..❤❤

[@28pbtkh23]

Great video, really enjoyed it. I have always wanted to see what Hill 112 actually looked like, so thank you for taking us there.

[@ColinFreeman-kh9us]

Anyone who knows WW2 history knows Hill 112 as THE battle of Caen. Amazing that such violence, brutality at its most extreme occurred on such an inconspicuous, piece of land today. Got to give it to the tank crews on both sides on the sheer lengths they went to keep and retain , re take this hill with a view.

[@WalkingDday]

Some say it was like WWI.

[@bcletjog6215]

My Grandad passed 4th Aug 22. Died @ 99 yrs old. He was at hill 112

[@bcletjog6215]

It was a blood bath. horrific doesn't even being to describe it.

[@WalkingDday]

@@bcletjog6215 Yes, it was like WWI.

[@berniedreasure6878]

thanks for the video. my father was heavily wounded in cheux, and i am bringing together as much information as i can get.

[@js3m1945]

Thank you, I enjoy your narrating style. Not everyone appreciates that Monty's inexperienced Divisions were taking on the elite of the German Army. The major result was disrupting German efforts to mount a massive counter attack to destroy the beach head. Mention must also be made of the 49th Division's Operation Martlet and the capture of the Raurey Spur, thus protecting the right flank (and drawing away 12th SS Panzers for a while.

[@WalkingDday]

Thanks for the appreciation. I did mention Martlet briefly. I’ll do a video about that one day.

[@kevp6345]

Hi ya, my grandfather was 97th anti-tank regiment. He was killed around gavrys somewhere on a farm. Do you know which farm? How could I find out if you dont know? We're visiting again soon, and I'd like to see where he was.b

[@WalkingDday]

Thanks for the feedback. I couldn’t say in which field that could have happened. There’s a thread in a forum on the 97th which might help. You should add his name and date of death. www.militarian.com/threads/97th-anti-tank-regiment.5552/

[@MegaBloggs1]

i like your awesome knowledge base and your preparedness to correct your mistakes-excellent job

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Its nice to actually see where this fighting occurred and what the countryside actually looks like. Not so much "hills" but rises and crest lines. Good tank country indeed. Would it be possible to include a scale of miles/kilometers in your maps? I'm also looking forward to a key of symbols which will enrich your nice maps and make them truly wonderful. Thank you for your work, you bring the war down to "ground level" with your walks!

[@WalkingDday]

I’ve added a grid scale layer for the next videos. The map is available with legende at www.normandy-tour-guide.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=43_54_57&products_id=936

[@billd.iniowa2263]

@@WalkingDday Oh good, a scale will help immeasurably! (I like puns, lol) -- I was hoping for a key right there on all your future maps please. So us viewers could read them better. :-)

[@moroccanish9904]

great , video thank you for taking your time to produce these videos , the "bois calloué" woods I must visit them one day

[@steeltown1001]

Goodmorning, again top video. In lot of books about the battle of normandy there is a slight negative way about how the British handeling their sector. I think, and tell in (friendly) discussions that they did a great job. Knowing the untested british against a lot of experienced SS troops..

[@WalkingDday]

Yes. Bradly was partly the cause of this bias. In his memoires he said the British were making tea. Many people tepeat that phrase.

[@ourendlessworld]

Ended up here through the tribe :) Keep up with the good work

[@WalkingDday]

Hi. A great plug from Kerry.

[@andrewh7713]

Thanks for this video. I have a particular interest in Operations Dauntless and Epsom.

[@WalkingDday]

I have plans to do a video on Rauray and Tessel wood.

[@goose33]

Hey can you tell me the dates of when the 12th SS was near or in evrecy Caen Greatly appreciate it! Edit and possibly what specific units? I won a helmet on an auction that had a letter of provenance from someone claiming they found it and la guigne river in evrecy Caen It is in bad shape but can still make out SS runes It looks like it took a direct hit at the crown or was crushed by tank treads Id LOVE to narrow it down to what unit was closest during all of the fighting I mean I know the 12th SS was near evrecy a lot and that's what it says on the letter the guy found it in or near a small river in 1983!

[@WalkingDday]

The 25th Pz reg was near Evrecy on the night of the 6th June, but there was no combat in the area then. During Epsom at the end of June the Division was in the area.

[@goose33]

@@WalkingDday i didnt get a notification but thankfully checked! Thank you so much This is really a great series

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Airpower. Rommel stated the allied advantage in his diary notes later put together into a book.

[@kerrydennison7947]

General Montgomery's strategy reminds me a lot of the Union army strategy in the US civil war prior to general Grant and Sherman taking charge of the Union army, a long series of start-stop campaigns which gave the Confederate army the chance to regroup and strengthen their defense lines, general Montgomery use the exact same strategy of starting n stopping which allowed the Germans despite the fact that the Allies control the air and most of the railroad systems to still be able to bring in supplies and more troops. But in the US civil war when general Grant and general Sherman were put in charge he relentlessly push the Confederate army never giving them time to regroup or to gain a chance to fortress favorable terrain, Sherman's marching to the sea. Grant relentless push on Richmond, time is the one commodity on the battlefield that cannot be replaced by air superiority armor superiority logistics superiority.

[@WalkingDday]

Montgomery gets a lot of criticism for the lack of speed in Normandy, but he did stop the Germans from doing what they wanted to do, which was to mount a massed panzer attack.

[@kerrydennison7947]

@@WalkingDday I believe if the SS armored divisions had attacked in the US section, that would be combined American artillery firepower their ships offshore and their air superiority they would have knocked the stuffing out of them. Like when only one battalion of the 30th division was surrounded by the SS and operation lunatic used air power and artillery they managed to hold off the SS armor attack. Another example the anzio beachhead the even though it was a tactical debacle from the start, the US was able to withstand the attack of the Herman gornan panzer division the long range heavy artillery of anzio Annie and the incisive bombing of the luftwaffe with their dive bombers, I have always heard the argument that general Montgomery tried to hold a German armor down at his end of the beach because the Americans were inexperienced, in one part of this it is true and the other part general Montgomery opposed the United States withdrawing the US 3rd infantry division the 36th infantry division and the 45th infantry division to make up the D-Day landing, he only made concessions to allow the US first infantry division which was a veteran division from the North African Sicily and Italy battlefield. The US joint Chiefs George Marshall was the one that directly recommended pulling these three veteran infantry divisions out of Italy and transferring them to England and refit them for the D-Day landing. And ironically the 3/ 36 and 45th infantry divisions was eventually pulled out for the operation invasion of Southern France. If I remember reading in Churchill's memoirs it was one of the original ideals to deploy us combat forces to North Africa Italy Sicily campaigns in order for them to get combat experience for the eventual invasion of France. Historically speaking the argument can be made that sir Harold Alexander should have been appointed land Force Commander for the invasion of France. Alexander has a spotless combat record. He is only shortcoming was failure to discipline the American general Mark Clark for willful disobedience of orders and making the run for Rome instead of carrying out the orders to cut off the retreating German military.

[@28pbtkh23]

@@kerrydennison7947 - interesting comment, lots of useful info. Yep, Mark Clark allowed the Germans to retreat with their forces intact by going for Rome instead of following the plan to cut them off. But really, would an American General really care if a British General reprimanded him? He'd probably tell him where to go.

[@28pbtkh23]

I understand your point about stop and starting, but one of the big problems that the Allies had to contend with in Normandy was resupply. The British forces would often expend most of their ammo in conducting their attacks, leaving little to fend off any counter-attack, or in exploiting any breakthrough. Another drawback was that troops were often exhausted by the time they had achieved their objective, with little energy left for making any further gains.

[@arslongavitabrevis5136]

@@28pbtkh23 The Germans were in a far worse situation and performed much better. It is all about motivation and excellent training; the British and the Americans did not have neither. It was quantity gainst quality.

[@janebrown1706]

Watching it, I wondered why they didn't use planes earlier? And more so later on?

[@iwtfpduta]

I love watching the auto generated sub titles. At one point the British attacked a building using a pet dog (I think it was really a petard)

[@WalkingDday]

I have tried correcting some but the automatic ones seem near enough understandable.

[@iwtfpduta]

@@WalkingDday Certainly on the whole they are good but they do throw up the occasional amusing translation. Really enjoying the videos !!!

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

🌴 lol 🌿

[@toblue7451]

Dude ! This is interesting information. HOAWEVER, , , 90% of The Time when U try to point things OUT ?? Viewers CAN'T SEE !