The Ring Contour Normandy

I am trying to find any WW2 period photographs of the Ring Contour in Normandy which is close to Le Bas de Ranville. It was the scene of an action between the 12th Battalion Parachute Regiment and a number of Panzers. The action took place on the 7th June 1944 when at least two of the Panzers were knocked out by anti tank gunners of the 12th Battalion.

The action itself has been written up in a number of books, the latest being Neil Barber's excellent book on the Pegasus and Orne Bridges.

I have tried the IWM without any luck and wondered if anyone could help with my search or point me in the direction of any archives of Normandy photos.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Arnhem

 

Arnhem,

Was the "Ring Contour" some kind of geographic feature south of Ranville? From the coordinate in Private Hall's citation I can see the area in question. There was a book published on the 12th Parachute Battalion by Eric Barley, but I'm not sure if he is still with us. The book itself is not readily available anymore. No photos of that particular action spring to mind. The 12th Para was badly mauled in the subsequent battle for Breville.

Regards ...

 

Arnhem,

Was the "Ring Contour" some kind of geographic feature south of Ranville? From the coordinate in Private Hall's citation I can see the area in question. There was a book published on the 12th Parachute Battalion by Eric Barley, but I'm not sure if he is still with us. The book itself is not readily available anymore. No photos of that particular action spring to mind. The 12th Para was badly mauled in the subsequent battle for Breville.

Regards ...

Hi Cee

Your absolutely right this is the feature referred to in Pte Hall's citation just South of Ranville. I do have the book by Eric Barley you mentioned.
Ideally I need to find someone who has a large photographic archive of Normandy in June 1944 who might have an image.

Cheers

Arnhem

 

Have you looked at TARA's online selection (though this is only the tip of the iceberg)? Go here and - if you've got GoogleEarth - click the 'View Records in Google Earth' button.

 

Arnhem,

Any luck chasing down photos from the Ring Contour? Another possible avenue is with the 1st Battalion RUR and the 12th Devons who were in the same general area on June 7th. Their war diaries mention a Ring Contour '30', which looks to be the same feature. Did those guys ever have an eventful few days during their attack on Ste Honorine and later at Longueval! Sadly finding photos of the RUR during this period via the web has proven fruitless so far.

I need to reinstall Google Earth as Idler suggests and do a fly about of the area.

Keeping my eyes peeled ... Regards

 

Do you know what unit or what type of tanks they were?
It could be that they were from 21 Pz.Div. or the Pz.Jg.Kp. of the 716 I.D.?
Anyone a clue?
By the way does anyone has a good book about the battles of the 6 British AirBorne Division when they were used as Infantry (between 7-6-44 and about 1-9-44).
I never read a book about it.
Could the ring contour be the bulge the 6 AB together with the 51st was holding?
Greetings Jack.


I am trying to find any WW2 period photographs of the Ring Contour in Normandy which is close to Le Bas de Ranville. It was the scene of an action between the 12th Battalion Parachute Regiment and a number of Panzers. The action took place on the 7th June 1944 when at least two of the Panzers were knocked out by anti tank gunners of the 12th Battalion.

The action itself has been written up in a number of books, the latest being Neil Barber's excellent book on the Pegasus and Orne Bridges.

I have tried the IWM without any luck and wondered if anyone could help with my search or point me in the direction of any archives of Normandy photos.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Arnhem

 

5th Camerons withdrew from St Honorine 13th June, "......moved via the 30 metre contour track back to Le bas de Ranville".
At the same time as the Camerons attacked St Honorine, "A battalion of Devons would attack the 30 meter contour north east of Longueval".
Taken from the Camerons regimental history.

 

Map of the area in post 18 of this thread; http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/nw-europe/6881-normandy-left-flank-guardians-query-2.html

 

Arnhem
I can think of one photo that might be of the ring contour, but I cannot find or remember where I saw it. It was of 2 to 4 Airborne chaps studying a German SP.
Their names and unit were given. I believe the SP was on a hodgkiss chassis. It stated that these chaps had destroyed the vehicle. I have searched at IWM,Peg
Arch., and Para data. I just do not remember where I saw it. Possibly me mentioning it will cause another member who knows of it, to post it. Also there is some information on ring contour in Battle Zone Normandy : Orne Bridgehead, by Loyd Clark. I believe both war time photos and modern photos of the area are shown. I do not have a copy, I got it on loan from a library. Another member who owns the book might assist us here also. I would like to know more about this battle too.

Ttyman

 

Ttyman,

I'm embarrassed to say I have the Clark book and never thought to consult it ...

The book was designed as a guide for those visiting the area with instructions on what routes and paths to take to reach the battlefields. It has a good overview of the actions that occurred on June 6th and 7th by the various units along with modern day views of the Ring Contour area. There are also two excellent maps one of which marks locations of positions and stands taken by 12 Para on June 6th. There are no war era photos from the area. There are a few things that are questionable like the presence of A Company 7 Para in the area on June 6th when they were still in south Benouville at the time - possibly a typo.

On page 7 there is a picture of non-para troops in a bren carrier looking at a small destroyed track vehicle as they past by it in Ste. Honorine (IWM B9358). This must have been taken sometime later and one that may be familar to 51highland.

Because of fear of copyright restrictions I won't post pages from the book here.

Regards ...

 

The photo on the IWM site


THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944 | Imperial War Museums

and a much clearer view!




A Universal carrier passes through the village of St Honorine-la- Chardonne, 18 August 1944.

'TT' and 'Binkie 14' (?) on the carrier. The '42' makes it an Field Artillery Regiment (74th, 90th SP or 124th) in 50th Division.
The 'RF' is the mark of a Troop Commander OP.

However I am sure the photo originaly mentioned is this one:

THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944 | Imperial War Museums

again a better copy:



L/Cpl Phillips, Pte Best, Pte Watson and Cpl Walter of 6th Airborne Division investigate the remains of a German self-propelled gun which they knocked-out, 5 August 1944.

 

I think you will find that St Honorine-la-Chardonne is a different location to Chardronette. That photo is a different village to St Honorine-la chardronette. I stayed with my Father in that particular village and attended the commemoration service in the church in the photo, there in June 2004. And is not close to the 30 metre contour.

 

51highland,

Yeah that's way off the beaten track of the 6th Airborne. The author uses the photo as a title page for his introduction with the description "Allied troops advancing through Ste-Honorine". Looks like someone didn't do a thorough check in the editing process.

Regards ...

 

That is the photo. I did not realize the date was on it. Could they possible be out of the line at the time and were in the rear area looking at a vehicle they had destroyed in the past? Anyone have an idea of their unit?
Ttyman

 

Thanks M Kenny for posting the two photos. Thank you 51highland for the very knowledgeable comments. Cee as always Thanks for all your assistance. The bottom photo is the one I was speaking of. I have looked at this photo many times before but this is the first time I noted the soldiers grave in it. The standing soldiers are Para's for sure. I asked if maybe they were out of the front lines as they are not wearing helmets or their smocks. Read in Maj. John Howards Pegasus Diaries that D Co. Oxf & Bucks were out of the line at least once during the Normandy campaign. They visited Pegasus Bridge. Just wondering if this is the case with these gents. M Kenny any idea who the photographer is? Wish there was a way to put a unit with their names. Maybe with time and as more member and guest view the photos. I doubt that this is from ring contour as the date of the photo. Oh well I just thought I might mention the photo and once again the people who make this forum great came thru!
Ttyman

 

The photographers name is always given on the IWM site

Connolly (Sgt) No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit

 

Ttyman,

Came across a L/Cpl Joseph Phillips, age 21, killed 19th of August, 1944 on the RoH of the 13th Parachute Battalion. It could be just a coincidence though?

I was wondering what was lined up on one side of the grave. First impression was scorched bottles of some kind or possibly shells? The lower tracks of the vehicle are sunk in the ground which could indicate it's been sitting there for awhile. The wooded ridge in the background may help with orientation.

Regards ...

Added:

Just noticed also on the same 13 Para RoH a Pte. James Patrick Best, age 24, with date of death 22nd of August, 1944, buried in Ranville.

 

Ttyman,

I have been in a conversation with roodymiller on the photo of the Paras gathered around the knocked-out vehicle and he confirms that it is one that was destroyed south of Ranville on D-Day. With his permission I'll quote from an email:

"Yes, I too believe that these are 13th Bn men. Phillips was killed assaulting the hill at Putot en Auge and Best killed by MG fire in Pont L’Eveque street fighting. The other two names I know nothing of.

I know that Best was in A company, so assume the other 3 are also. A company were dug in around the south of Ranville on D-Day and were attacked by several SP’s of 21st Pz Div. The SP’s were knocked out by 6 Pounders of the Airlanding. A company helped mop up the supporting infantry. The 4 men, I guess, were visiting the site whilst in the rest area, so the date sounds confusing – it’s the date of the photo, not the incident.

As for the exact location... I’d say south of Ranville (the trees are probably east side of village) with its rear pointing towards Herouvillette. The attacking SP’s came towards Ranville from either side of Herouvillette and were knocked out between 200-400 yards range."

Andrew's book on the 13th Parachute Battalion, Lucky for Some, will be published in June 2013 by Amazon. One that I definitely look forward to reading.

Regards ...

 

Cee
That's a really good job on the photo. I did not think to look at the ROH. I also want to read that new book. Sounds good.
Regards,
Ttyman

 

From the information in the posts above it seems possible that this was one of the armoured vehicles destroyed by the 12th Battalion on 6th June when they were dug in around Le Bas de Ranville for which Pte Hall of the 12th was awarded the MM which would be close to the Ring Contour. Or am I misinterpreting the previous posts ?
Either way thanks to all the input from everyone involved.

Cheers

Arnhem