• Serial
  • June 1944
  • July 1944
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  • September 1944
  • October 1944
  • November 1944
  • December 1944
  • January 1945
  • February 1945
  • March 1945
  • April 1945
  • May 1945

From D-Day to V-Day

July 1944

July 19, 1944 - D-Day + 43

On July 19, 1944, the US First Army’s XIX Corps continued to carry out clearing missions in the center of the practically destroyed city of St Lô. In the course of the day, the 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) secured several of the enemy’s escape routes and occupied all but one. As a result, the rest of the German attack formations were trapped, and few managed to escape – but this did not mean the enemy no longer intended to fight, even in situations where the Americans seemed to be in a clearly dominant position. The GIs pushed a large number of units southwards, but the enemy continued to fight despite racking up more and more defeats. What was worse, the terrain and the method of fighting played into the enemy’s hands – as seen in the battles carried out in the legendary “bocage”. As was the case with Culin’s “cutters”, though, the Americans continued to gain more and more knowledge about warfare on European soil.

When the enemy could not use artillery, shock troops wielding Panzerfausts, anti-tank weapons that literally mean “armor fists”, stepped up to the plate. Panzerschreks (“armor terror”), a relatively simple bazooka-like weapon featuring a cylindrical cannon that was open on both ends, also inspired fear. These anti-tank weapons destroyed one Sherman after another. The tank crews defended themselves however they could. Tank tracks hung on tank hulls, second layers of steel plates welded onto tanks to reinforce their armor at their weakest points, or mere sacks of sand placed on the outside of the tanks were all used to help prevent the tanks from being destroyed – and more importantly, prevent the men from the armored units from being injured or killed. When attack formations from Breakthrough, as the 4th Armored Division was known, reached Bohemia in 1945, the local civilians caught a glimpse of the many war-induced alterations they had made to their machines.

The 35th Infantry Division received an order on July 19, 1944, to take over the 29th Infantry Division’s combat sector, and the division’s artillery and 113th Cavalry Group (Mechanized) were moved from the 29th to the “Santa Fe”. Changes like this, particularly between corps, were frequent, and were usually in quick response to situations developing in certain sections of the front. Implementing operative solutions to problems was a typical feature of the American military, as was cooperation among the air forces – fighters, bombers, and especially tactical forces.

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division from the British Second Army’s II Canadian Corps occupied Louvigny, located on the northern bank of the Orne River, and Fleury and Ifs, located on the opposite bank. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division occupied Faubourg de Vaucelles and Cormelles. The Guards Armoured Division from the British VIII Corps liberated Cagny, while units from the British I Corps continued in the battle for Troarn.

The Czechoslovaks fighting in the British fighter air force did not get actively involved in battle on July 19, 1944, and rightly took advantage of what was hypothetically their day off to train and carry out maintenance on their fleet of aircraft. Their colleagues from No. 311 Squadron were once again in the air on an anti-U-boat patrol. Four crews in four-engine Liberators combed the waters of the Bay of Biscay without finding a sign of enemy activity. Despite this, though, the work was exhausting and carried a lot of responsibility, and was a major contribution to the Allies’ war effort. The war at sea was brutal both on the water and in the air.