The Ring Contour Normandy

Discussion in 'Airborne' started by arnhem2280, Oct 1, 2012.

  1. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    arnhem2280,

    Hall was positioned at the crossroads on June 7th (104727) according to his citation and Lt. Burkinshaw in Appendix E of the Barber book. The German advance from the south was just west of that position. The major engagements involving 13 Para on June 6th were below the south east edge of Ranville. The best bet for the picture is that it's one of those knocked-out vehicles rather than one taken out by Hall. The high ground in the background of the photo is probably the Bavent Ridge.

    We really need a high resolution aerial that hopefully would show some of the destroyed tanks and SP guns.

    Later ...
     
  2. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    Hi Cee

    Wasn't there a thread about a crashed aircraft in the vicinity of the bridges at Ranville sometime ago. As the thread developed someone posted a photograph of the crash site taken some time afterwards. I wonder if there was an arial survey carried out covering the area of Le Bas de Ranville which shows the knocked out tanks on it.
    Interestingly I came across an after action report by Captain Barry Murdoch of the Glider Pilot Regiment on Pegasus archive which indicates that he was either with or very close to Pte Hall in his action close to the Ring Contour

    Cheers

    Arnhem
     
  3. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    arnhem2280,

    Concerning the crashed aircraft thread patelie provided the ground shots and brithm found a great aerial of the Bridge area in a Globe and Mail article featuring this collection:

    Air Photo Collection - The Laurier Centre


    NCAP also has an impressive collection, but they don't come cheap. Perhaps someone with a subscription could zoom in and see if there is any evidence of destroyed tanks. Though it would be much better to have actual photos of them.

    Ranville - NCAP

    Since your interested in Pt. Hall I'll throw up a couple of unexciting grabs from the Coordinate Translator showing his position (104727) and that of the 17 pounder (101734) on June 7th. Lt Burkinshaw says the tanks were only 50 yards west of them at the crossroads when Pte. Hall opened up. He brewed up two with a third being hit by the 17 pounder situated at a hedge junction close to the river.

    Regards ...
     

    Attached Files:

    Si Tinley likes this.
  4. m kenny

    m kenny Senior Member

    1947 views. A lot has changed over the years.




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    [​IMG]
     
    stolpi likes this.
  5. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Thanks m kenny once again,

    Nice aerials with a good overview of the area in question. The basic configuration of the fields and hedges in your 1947 view hasn't changed noticeably from 1944. By way of comparison I'll attach a poor quality blowup of a 1944 one that teletypeman pointed out to me.

    Cheers ...
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Here's a list of sites on which I found the above photo of 13 Para members gathered around the SP gun. Their interest is primarily tank identification rather than location or battle.

    Panzerjäger R35 - deckarudo - flickr.com

    7,5 cm PaK 40 auf Fgst. PzKpfw.39H(f) - valka.cz

    Marder I - Trumpeter Model Kit - panzer35.ru

    Wrecked and destroyed tanks - reibert.info


    A video of Rommel inspecting the 21st Panzer Division that may be of interest for armoured vehicles shown. Rommel strikes me as being more interested in the soup than the SP Guns ... :)


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohKlv3MAPwM

    Later ...
     
    stolpi likes this.
  7. teletypeman

    teletypeman Senior Member

    Arnhem2280
    I found a little more information at Go To It Gunners - 3AL . This page states that C troop of Third AL AT battery supported the 12th. Sorry no photo's. If you do a little more looking at this site there is also a soldiers story from the 12th Bn.
    Regards,
    Ttyman
     
  8. roodymiller

    roodymiller Senior Member

  9. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Andrew,

    Well done! I look forward to reading it. Forgive me for sounding like a publicity agent but you should splash that cover up big and fancy ...

    :lol:

    Regards ...
     
  10. roodymiller

    roodymiller Senior Member

    Thanks cee. I bought a photo showing the positions of the tank battle and added them to the info I sent you...
     
  11. arnhem2280

    arnhem2280 Member

    Received my copy of Lucky for some last week. Highly recomended. Well done Andrew.

    Cheers

    Arnhem
     
  12. ducatim901

    ducatim901 Junior Member

    When Rommel was "on Tour" he Always had a full agenda, often he only took some rest to eat with the soldiers he was with on inspection.
    And Rommel was really interested in any form of new weapon, if it was designed by the Waffenamt or other higher services or just some
    creative troops that did not matter, he just wanted every one doing the same thing, to prevent a second front on the West.
    The troops were very creative with the limited resources they had.
    JK
     
  13. Cee

    Cee Senior Member Patron

    Thanks JK. Sometimes it takes a tongue-in-cheek remark to elicit a response ... :)

    From what little I know of the film it was taken sometime in May of 1944 and shows Rommel reviewing the 21st Panzer Division. The tall man accompanying him must be Generalleutnant Edgar Feuchtinger. Is Major Hans von Luck anywhere to be seen in the crowd of officers?

    Regards ...

    Edit: JK
     
  14. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    According to the wikipedia for General Edgar Feuchtinger this image, taken from the flim is of Major Alfred Becker, General Edgar Feuchtinger and Field Marshall Erwin Rommel.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Becker%2C_Rommel_and_Feuchtinger.jpg

    Becker and Feuchtinger were the men largely responsible for creating 21st Panzer Division. Becker was the engineer who mechanised 200+ artillery pieces from scrapped French AFV chassis. Feuchtinger was an entrepreneur who knew his way around the Nazi system. He persuaded the Wehrmacht to turn Becker's arsenal of improvised SP guns into a Panzer Division with its own unique establishment table, when the logical thing to do was to turn it into two assault gun brigades. It is a seriously impressive example of the "stone soup" tactic. Edgar Feuchtinger may have been a mediocre panzer general, but he could play a good hand at inernal politics!

    Feuchtinger wasnt a Panzer commander but he managed to recruit some high quality subordinates: von Oppeln-Bronikowski, Rauch and von Luck The 21st Panzer Division did not perfrom badly in Normandy and in many ways better than migth have been expected from the poor quality material and weapons from which it was formed. Op Goodwood might have been very different without major Becker's PzJr Bn 200.

    One of the officers in command of a troop of three 75mm SP was identified in Alexander mcKee's Caen: Anvil of Victory as "Lt Hans Holler" one of McKee's sources. It is possible that the "Tank" which attacks Pegasus bridge on D Day is one of Becker's guns, some of which were attached to 716 Infantry Division.
     

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