German Army in Normandy: Retreat To The Seine 1944 Then & Now

[@dougkruse1301]

Your production content is so detailed and then and now photos adding interest. Excellent, thank you.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks Doug, I hope you enjoy Part 2. It should be out this weekend and some amazing photos from the final town I visited on that trip.

[@GerPhilip]

Great video again! We just came back home from Belgium 2 weeks ago where we visited many scenes we have seen in your videos like the road between Recht and Poteau.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

That’s a great spot to visit isn’t it. I remember the first time I stopped there and was amazed at how it hadn’t really changed from that fateful day in December 1944!

[@troykauffman3963]

Outstanding Then & Now episode Jon, thank you sir. Keep up the outstanding work. 🫡

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Troy thank you sir! Your support means an awful lot!

[@nzmonsterman]

Fantastic video. Its nice to piece together the history with how it looks now. France seldom changes.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you. We’re so lucky that the French have preserved so much from all those years ago (makes my job a lot easier for one thing!). Part 2 will be out at the weekend!

[@EP65]

Great video. Appreciate your efforts to show it all and love your focus on the vehicles. Nice presentation.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! I’m a big fan of German vehicles so being able to visit these spots is something I really enjoy, and being able to share them!

[@micoma49]

Yet another very well done video, Jon. I will always be amazed at the Germans continued use of horse transport (see 5:00), as also highlighted briefly in the BoB series with Webster shouting at the German POW column. A question - what's the depository source for these German film/photos? IOW, allied or actually available from the German gov't?

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Amazing that they were largely a horse draw army still in 1944! Lots available from archive sources, just a matter of searching for them as archives aren’t anywhere near as easy to navigate as Google!

[@andrewmacdonald4833]

Absolutely criminal that the farmhouse has been allowed to fall into disrepair....it's a magnificent building..crying out to be saved and restored...

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Agreed! Knowing French property prices it probably wouldn’t be too expensive either!

[@ericscottstevens]

It was Stalingrad west. The Netherlands was wide open to the northeast but the allies chose a centralized broad front strategy east. Yet they would fight into the Netherlands by that fall with iffy results with Market Garden.

[@RobertEHunt-dv9sq]

Excellent video. Thank you for posting. Very informative. Thanks for saving the History. Cheers from Texas

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it and hopefully it showed another aspect to the Normandy story. Part 2 will be out at the weekend!

[@VFRSTREETFIGHTER]

Great video as always, thanks for making it.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@TI4438]

Fantastic boots on the ground vid! Keep them coming, broski!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Part 2 will be out at the weekend and in that one, the last town I filmed at, had so many Then and Now’s it was great tracking them all down!

[@jbellos1]

Another excellent then and now, Jon. Cheers!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Part 2 will be out at the weekend if I can get it sorted in time!

[@sabii416]

Great images of the retreating armor. Good to of you to give the often underrated stug III a shout out, so versatile in terms of assault vehicles. Enjoyed this episode very much. Thanks

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! I’m a huge fan of the StuG. It’s was a great piece of armour and somewhat overshadowed by the better known German armour but I really like it!

[@sabii416]

​@@WW2WayfinderI agree. The turreted panther and tigers get all the glory. But the stug proved to be a tank killing machine that accounted for more kills than both the big cats. Looking forward to part II.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@sabii416 My favourite is the Jagdpanther, it looks so formidable

[@maryholder3795]

There many channels who look at WW2. But this channel tells the stories with phots from 1944 and shown in the original villages roads as they are now in 2024. The research that's gone into this, the travelling involved, the time and the effort need gives us a fascinating story of in this case the retreat by the Germans towards the Seine River heading to Paris. Excellent work.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you Mary. Certainly takes a fair amount of time but very much worth it!

[@thewanderers535]

love this channel , so evocative the 'then and now' images brought to life - great work and deserves a much bigger audience

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@thewanderers535 glad you enjoyed the episode! Hopefully another aspect of the Normandy story that’s rarely looked at brought to life. And part 2 to this will be out next week at some point to wrap it up!

[@dankorolyk5917]

Brilliantly done as usual Jon

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks!

[@StephenBaird-cp1fc]

Excellent as always

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@dale1956ties]

Very well done sir. Love the Then & Now series. Very well done indeed.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@dale1956ties thank you! Part two to this will be out next week at some point!

[@Mag_Aoidh]

Excellent work as always Jon, much appreciated!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@richardlewis2036]

Love the way you show " then and now " photos. Keep the good work up.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@clausaurich]

Danke für Deine tolle Arbeit.viele Grüße aus Deutschland.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

gern geschehen! Ich freue mich, dass es Ihnen gefallen hat!

[@clausaurich]

@@WW2Wayfinder Aufjedenfall! tausend Dank und ich freue mich auf weitere Videos. Ich war 2 x in der Normandie und erkenne einige Ecken wieder....

[@joshh8245]

Great video! All the then and now comparisons accompanied by footage of the retreat is fascinating. Thanks for posting this.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! I’ll be honest this was one of my favourite episodes from a filming point of view as it’s an area I’d never been too before so it was great to explore this part of Normandy!

[@martred4579]

Another great episode in your Then & Now series of vlogs! 👍👍 Hilarious photo of the Jagdpanther at 16:28 with those two crew men using an umbrella against the rain. I had seen this image before and knew it was taken in Normandy but never found out in which town. Do you know the street name of that exact spot? And what was the fate of the Kriegsberichter Kurth that shot all these photos?

[@WW2Wayfinder]

maps.app.goo.gl/FhgnGAeVnopuaJPT8?g_st=ic 46 Rue Lemarrios in Brionne is the spot and hopefully the link above works as it should take you to street view!

[@martred4579]

@@WW2Wayfinder Indeed, that is the street ☺ Managed to find it myself in the end as well - going from the cafe in the Brionne city center at 13:45 and following the most logical route to Grand Bourgtheroulde. But thanks for getting back on this 🙏

[@BravoCharlie2u]

These are very nice to see and you did a great job.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@BravoCharlie2u thank you! Part 2 will be out tomorrow!

[@psychobob169]

Great video thank you

[@WW2Wayfinder]

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed this one! There’s a part two coming next week!

[@ncwoodworker]

Another great video Jon. The farmhouse at 11:40 looks closer to the road in the older photo.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

The road junction has altered somewhat although still retains its shape to a large extent. Just a shame it’s fallen into disrepair!

[@greggriffin1]

Great content always watch and learn so much history from you, thank you

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you Greg! Part 2 will be out in a week or so to wrap this up so hope you enjoy that one too!

[@donl1846]

Fantastic work as always, especially how you superimpose the photos , well done and thank you!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Glad you enjoyed it! A very different aspect to the Normandy narrative but an important part of it!

[@bangkokney8708]

An excellent vlog Jon, I thoroughly enjoyed it mate. Thank you for all your hard work in producing this quality stuff.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!!

[@steveb5341]

Another quality vid jon! Amazing how some spots haven’t hardly changed others have immensely 👏🏻🪖

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks Steve! Part 2 will be a good one too, some amazing photos from the last town I visited!

[@orionbirch2705]

Nice production, great photographs and video.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks! If you’ve not seen it yet I put out part 2 out to this today which is the follow up at the final village I visited.

[@MatthewMellow-u9r]

Another great video, looking forward to the next one

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Part 2 should be out at the weekend hopefully!

[@michaelquinn7711]

Absolutely brilliant Jon, your research and attention to detail is outstanding, well done sir 🫡

[@leoncsorba9085]

Excellent research sir.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@kevgoeswandering8488]

damn man , this is so great a first class video, thank you for the time to make this

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks mate! Part 2 will be out tomorrow or Saturday all things being equal!

[@Blitz9H]

Brilliant work and efforts. Researched in detail. Helps bring it closer to us some 80 years distant.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Glad you liked it!

[@timalexander7758]

Looking forward to part 2!!!!!! Thank you!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Should be out over the weekend hopefully!

[@matthewaves255]

Great content as ever. Keep it up. Thanks

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@dw-bn5ex]

really enjoy the then and now stuff

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Well part 2 will be out this weekend hopefully! Hope you have time to watch it when it comes out!

[@jas_1959]

Fantastic comparisons, excellent work Jon loved the quaint French Village.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! The last town I visited which features in Part 2 had so many Then and Now’s I nearly didn’t do them all!

[@patrickkelly6691]

Great work, it's a time and space not very well covered - we just have Falaise - Germans scurry back beyond the Seine but otherwise one of those 'black hole' periods so very good to see some detail. Loved the flashback to 1944 then to 1940 and the crushed French soldiers with the victorious Germans heading West - to contrast the 1944 images of them retreating rapidly East. That old man must have been exultant to see that I am sure.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Haha glad you noted the 1940 in there! And I agree, after D-Day the 77 day campaign and retreat to the Seine after Falaise just gets swept up so I was really keen to try and cover it in some detail to help bring it to life more than is often done when looking at Normandy.

[@simcoe1000]

Absolutely love your videos. As a proud Canadian and having had family serve in the military I can truly say you do a first rate job! Thank you and keep it up! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! On my next trip to Normandy in 2025 I plan to focus heavily on the Canadian involvement from Juno Beach to the battles around Caen!

[@simcoe1000]

@ That's fantastic we will eagerly await it. Your channel in many of our opinions here in Ontario is by far the best out there. Brilliant work. Appreciate you!

[@Amicalementvotre4807]

your reports are still as amazing, strong but most of all moving. Thank you very much.

[@nicensleazy1892]

superb research and detective work

[@davidarmstrong7549]

Great video. Very interesting 👌

[@HeavyDragoon]

Really well done with outstanding coverage and research. You put many of the more upstream and more lucrative productions to shame. I always look forward to your presentations...please keep up the great and hard work

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! I just try (for the most part) to make the videos I’d like to watch of that makes sense. Part 2 to this one will be out later today!

[@HeavyDragoon]

@@WW2Wayfinder I totally agree with your philosophy....it's certainly working. Will look forward to your said Part 2. Once again..keep up the fantastic work

[@edwinbruner1026]

Some of the photographs really line up nicely. Great series and I'm enjoying it! Keep up the good work.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@timothymabry6663]

Suggestion, would it be possible to do a split screen showing the then and now photos? It would be nice to be able to hit pause and compare shot. Excellent as always. You do great work.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Certainly something I can look to incorporate for future episodes!

[@brendanthornton1634]

Another top video

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@clkgroup6367]

Thanks again for a great presentation and all the identifying research provided. For this vlog how long did it take you to locate the various vantage points?

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks! A few hours researching it then 2 days to film both episodes (second one will be out around the weekend).

[@ReverendScaleModeler]

Great episode as always! Quick question: when doing a Then & Now comparison where do you start and what is the process to find each location? I realize some would be easy to identify but I think it would be tricky when the scenery has changed quite a bit, especially in open rural areas. In any case I really like the Then & Now comparisons.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Just lots of research on Google Earth, reading accounts and trying to narrow down the images otherwise I’d make an episode that would be weeks long!

[@joemabry9643]

Thank you sir. Time has stood still that town. Top notch. Love.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Glad you enjoyed it! Part 2 will be out this weekend and the final town I visited was a great spot with loads of Then and Now photos from the retreat!

[@Jmp64-ns8zl]

Another great work! I really appreciate how so many of those small European towns/villages haven't changed too much. They have such character. Although, some may say that's a bad thing.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you!

[@quirkygreece]

Jon opens the show with a Tiger tank . . . who’d have guessed that would happen? lol

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Haha I’m anything but unpredictable 🤣

[@yveaux500]

Thank you for this. Very impressive and informative as always. Any chance you wil be in the Ardennes (Bastogne) this december?

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@yveaux500 thank you! Sadly I can’t make the Ardennes this year due to starting a new job. I plan to visit next year however!

[@yveaux500]

@@WW2Wayfinder Ah too bad. We're heading down there with our StuGIII and some Willys jeeps and would have loved to give you a ride. Next year perhaps. Best of luck on the new job.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Oh wow! Sounds like you’ll have an amazing time there with that hardware!!!! I’m certainly up for that next year and it’s very kind of you to offer! Drop me and email ([e-mail]) and we can keep in touch. Kind regards, Jon

[@yveaux500]

@@WW2Wayfinder will certainly reach out. Can not promise we will be there next year (with the same hardware). We also try to be at other events in Normandy and Holland (market garden). Meanwhile please continue with your great videos. The one on the battle at Lanzerath was amazingly detailed. Now I know where to go next month.

[@firstcitytraveler]

Another great Then and Now. Usually, we see only blown-up tanks and dead Germans. These images from German Photographers show the retreat. Interesting that most show SS in retreat. I guess the Wehrmacht were on their own.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

It’s quite something that they spent so much effort in documenting what was effectively a rout at that point! Hard to imagine the propaganda angle they could get from it!

[@DutchDaveModels]

Very cool walkaround the old Normandy villages. So much still the same 💥👍💥

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Everywhere in that region of Normandy is beautiful. I love the beaches and the well known areas but driving around the eastern part of Normandy was a real eye opener! I’d happily go back in a heart beat!

[@mikehall5815]

Great job. I'll be looking forward to the rest of the video. I didn't know that some Stugs had MG34 installed inside them. The British typhoon was a lethal warbird. I sure would not want to be the retreating force with those typhoons in the air. Thanks for sharing.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thanks Mike! The StuG was a great bit of kit and I’ve just found a great photo of men from the 1014th Infantry Div, the Timberwolves, riding a captured StuG. The 104th were raised at Fort Lewis near Seattle!

[@mikehall5815]

@@WW2Wayfinder OMG my oldest son's friend is with 104th! I sure didn't pay attention about things in my own backyard. This gives me something to talk about when the young man is here. Thank you.

[@mikehall5815]

I contacted my son. I stand corrected. He was not with the 104th. My son says he believes you was with the seventh. And is soon due to get out of the service. But still it's in my own backyard. LOL

[@bikenavbm1229]

well done you must have worked hard to find some of them.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Certainly a lot of driving to find them all!!! But absolutely worth it!

[@Clodercs]

Thank you for these nice reminders🇨🇦

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you for watching! The dedication to the Canadian troops in the towns I visited was amazing to see!

[@jas_1959]

Thanks!

[@WW2Wayfinder]

As always thank you so much for the support!!!

[@stephenduffy5406]

At 7:19, the man standing in the sd.kfz.250 Neu halftrack appears to belong to a Luftwaffe or Fallchirmjager unit. He wears a pocketless Luftwaffe 'fliegerbluse' tunic, with a breast eagle on his right chest and the rank of sergeant on the collar. There's another taller man standing to his right, but only his hat can be seen. Given the protective canvas radio cover, and what appears to be an antenna support box by the number "2", I believe this to be a command radio variant, a 250/5.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you for the extra detail. Quite possible he could be from the Luftwaffe given the signals and mobile flak units that would be falling back east

[@ncwoodworker]

In the US we have a saying when you have to leave in a hurry, "get the hell out of dodge".

[@dw-bn5ex]

Remembrance day here in Canada. Plenty of images of the Canadian headstones across Europe. While the German stuff is interesting, it should be noted it was the Canadians they were running from and the Canadians that closed the pocket. Recently discovered German diary explained how much they feared the fight with the Canadians, especially the urban street combat. A small country that punched far beyond their weight and paid a heavy price for the freedom of strangers.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@dw-bn5ex very much so! The Canadian effort in the war has sadly been overshadowed. In my next trip to Normandy I plan to focus heavily on the Canadian efforts from Juno and inland around Caen

[@marionjohansson4235]

How do you know where to go to marry these photos up? I guess there are addresses on the photographs. Amazing bit of sleuthing.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Just lots of research and time spent on Google Earth and street view! Those tools are invaluable!

[@JamesHillman-sirzethio]

There is a photo that I have seen in numerous books on WW1 and WW2 of a road in I think Belgium or Northern France of a 2-lane country road lined with trees and by the look of it both photos may have taken from the same spot. The photos show German troops on their way to the front. If you know of the photo that I'm talking about are in the area, could you go there and compare the two photos with now?

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Are the troops marching or is it armoured vehicles as I’m thinking of a certain one with Tigers heading to Normandy but not sure if it’s the same thing

[@JamesHillman-sirzethio]

@@WW2Wayfinder The WW1 photo was of troops marching and I think the WW2 photo was of tanks, possibly Tigers

[@matthewwilkes8054]

Surprised that the Germans took pictures of the retreat...

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Agreed! It’s amazing how well documented it was!

[@matthewwilkes8054]

@WW2Wayfinder we know the propergander minister was good at twisting things but even he had his work cut out with this

[@eamo106]

Do you ever contact the locals or Mayors to help you or do you just do it all alone ?

[@WW2Wayfinder]

I don’t as I never really know when I’ll be somewhere plus I spend enough time researching before. Also time is never on my side as I try and fit more in than I can manage so prefer to go it alone!

[@eamo106]

@@WW2Wayfinder I understand, but the elder French always want to talk about the past. Have key contacts. My French is lousy now but I used to be better, would talk to elderly French and find out more... I suggest find someone in a town as a guide... before a visit, Just contacted Mayories before visits and tell them your aim? Do not be language shy, there is usually a French/Anglo speaking Historian locally !

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

No mention of Remembrance Sunday? Good piece though.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

I filmed this is in June. I did however post on the community post about Remembrance Sunday.

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

@@WW2Wayfinder Thank you

[@nicensleazy1892]

I wonder if the Waffen SS stopped off at the Istanbul Kebab in Brionne ( 13.48 footage time) for a large Doner Kebab :-) LOL

[@LeveretteJamesClifford1955]

Translated from German Brübar means Bear

[@WW2Wayfinder]

But if a misconception there. It translates to Grumbling bear but from a German language perspective it’s a phrase for a grouch rather than a littoral translation if that makes sense

[@LeveretteJamesClifford1955]

@@WW2Wayfinder It does make sense. I am modeling one right at this very moment and was able to answer this because I took a break. A lot of people who like history are scale modelers. I became one in college when an art professor knew I was going home (the university was in a rural area) to the city and asked me if I would pick up a model he was interested in. So I did, found it interesting and bought one for myself. The rest is history and far too much money!

[@alexlanning712]

some may call it an escape

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Well they didn’t hang around to get destroyed by the Allies so what word would you use in place of ‘escape’?

[@alexlanning712]

@@WW2Wayfinder well,"rout",maybe?

[@subaruadventures]

You need to stop the waffle and leave the pics up for a longer time.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

@@subaruadventures feel free to find another channel fella

[@FeckArseIndustries]

Simply the best youtube channel.

[@WW2Wayfinder]

Thank you! Very kind of you to say that! Just hope it helps to keep the memory of that era alive!

[@FeckArseIndustries]

@WW2Wayfinder You're definitely doing your bit. 🤜