The attacks on Cristot (10th to 17th June 1944)

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by Ramiles, Mar 27, 2015.

  1. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

  2. IanTurnbull

    IanTurnbull Well-Known Member

    The 11th June attack on Cristot/Point 102
    Probably reinventing the wheel (in which case apologies) but I wonder if anybody still watching this thread could challenge the attached map - I am trying to locate the Sunken lane using 1944 contemporary aerial photographs & 1:25000 WO maps, Google Earth and accounts such as those of Cecil Newton (4/7 DG) & Lt Col Hastings/CSM Stan Hollis (6 GH) and its proving more difficult than I imagined it would be. Perhaps this is not the best underlying map for the job, or it is inaccurate?
    upload_2023-5-25_17-2-48.png
    There are some quite specific navigation instructions in the 1980 book "Brightly shone the dawn" by Garry Johnson & Christopher Dunphie, but that was over 40 years ago and does not seen to match Google Earth.
    Ian
     
  3. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    The track you have arrowed as "sunken Lane" is where I understand was the centre of advance for the 6th Yorkshires. The tracks E & W of the N/S road do meet up. See Google maps for the location
    It is where we took the Junior Soldiers of the Army Foundation College for ten years to tell the story of Stan Hollis throwing his socks and a grenade with the pin still in it at the Germans. The man who took me there was the chief guide for the Royal British Legion, the late Colonel Christopher Newbould who had been taken there on the Staff College Battlefield Tour in the 1970s by Lt Col Robin Hastings the CO of 6 Yorks in 1944. This is where the British Army thinks the Sunken Road is.

    Dunphie's Brightly Shon the Dawn draws heavily on the veterans who participated in the Bottlefield tours.
     
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  4. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    The contours on the old ww2 maps are definitely hard to align with the modern gps'd heights in Google maps.

    ----- x -----

    THE SUNKEN LANE, CRISTOT - 11 JUNE, D+5 - Normandy: Gold Beach - Inland from King, June 1944

    Search Results for Query: "Les Hauts Vents" | WW2Talk

    The attacks on Cristot (10th to 17th June 1944)

    The guns were to fire on known enemy targets and one hedge ahead of the advance. In this thick country a lane passing through a farm called Les Hauts Vents was chosen as the Bn axis.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2023
  5. IanTurnbull

    IanTurnbull Well-Known Member

    Thanks Sheldrake

    By the way earlier on in this thread (I think it was this one) you mentioned the transcript and recording of Stan Hollis from that Battlefield Tour but the 6GH museum no longer give access to it. This is from the Collections Manager there
    "Historically the audio collections were the ‘pet project’ for want of a better term of one of the regiment’s veterans during the 1980s and therefore fell by the wayside when they passed away. One of our volunteers is currently working on our audio collections, ensuring they are catalogued, digitised and transcribed however, as I hope you can appreciate, it is not a quick process. The recording of Stan Hollis has not yet been entered onto the museum catalogue so at the present time I can’t confirm if we do have the recording. I recommend contacting the museum in autumn 2023 by which point we hope to have at least a simple record of each recording. Please accept my apologies that I can’t be more helpful at this time. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch"
    This is a shame.

    Getting back to the location of the Sunken Lane. Garry Johnson & Christopher Dunphie's "Brightly shone the dawn" gives directions to the Sunken Lane as follows:
    "... the road (D172) comes to a T-Junction (with Les Hauts Vent marked with a Le Relais cafe on your Google map) faced by a house with white shutters. Turn right. Very shortly the road turns sharply to the left again and starts to drop downwards. On your right is the hill which was the objective of the 6th Green Howards and Cristot lies in the valley ahead. Two hundred yards after the corner a line of trees jpins the road from the left. Pull in on the right here and you will find yourself at the bottom of the sunken lane which marked the centre-line of the attack"
    upload_2023-5-27_11-33-8.png

    I measured the book's 200 yards to arrive at the spot on your Google Map (above), and if this is right my annotated WO map in the post above is incorrect.

    If you take a crop of an aerial photo from 12 June 1944, the day after the unsuccessful attack, it shows what looks like tank tracks across the fields, left and right of an axis of advance which leads to the path junction consistent with my annotated WO maps in the post above. But this is north of the "sunken lane" suggested by Dunphie & Johnson shown on the Google image above, and hence my confusion.. The conical field to the right of the D172 remains in both views and helps with orientation.
    upload_2023-5-27_12-11-17.png
    I am visiting there in September so will be able to see for myself!
    Ian
     
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  6. IanTurnbull

    IanTurnbull Well-Known Member

    Ramiles
    The diagram from the Sunken Lane Chapter of "Gold Beach - Inland from King" is clear but I dont think helps place the spot on 1944 WO or Google Maps
    [​IMG]

    Yes the farm at Les Hauts Vents was quoted as the start of the centre-line which is one of the reasons I settled on the axis annotated on my WO maps in the post above, which still seems the most likely despite the navigation aid in "Brightly shone the dawn". You can see the farm in the 1944 photo above

    WRT the support from the Guns I found that comment elusive because there was no time to produce a fireplan, and they were unlikely to have identified "known enemy targets" from the rudimentary reconnaissance earlier in the day, especially as the Germans were reinforcing there after that recon.. 4/7 DG were ahead of the infantry and they were supported by FOOs from 147 Fd (probably from 431 Battery based at Pt 103) whereas I think the GH had 90 Fd in support.

    Interestingly in this attack one of the RA Nets being used by 90 Fd was "hacked"!
    upload_2023-5-27_12-53-33.png
    (extract from the 90 Fd official history - the WD makes plain this was in fact the 11 June
    Ian
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
  7. IanTurnbull

    IanTurnbull Well-Known Member

    Coming back to the Artillery support provided to the attack on Cristot on 11 June

    I am very happy to be corrected but I can find no corroborating evidence for the creeping barrage (no matter how limited), suggested by Lt Col Hastings comment that "The guns were to fire on known enemy targets and one hedge ahead of the advance". There was no time to produce a fireplan and no "known targets" at the outset so I think its more likely that his comments relate to tactical support arranged by 90 Fd and 147 Fd FOOs from their positions up with the advancing 6GH infantry and 4/7 DG tanks resp. Captain Smedley of 90 Fd was awarded an MC for doing precisely that, on foot with the 6 GH in the face of constant enemy fire. And the EY Museum has a Nazi Snipers telescopic sight from a rifle recovered after an airburst round dislodged Snipers from trees there.
    Ian
    upload_2023-5-27_16-26-6.png

    I presume the date is a typo and should be 11 June as 90 Fd supporting 231 Bde on 11/7
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
  8. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    I included this story in Gunners in Normandy. Post war, Smedley was a proto Brexiteer who objected to plans for Britian to enter the Common Market he was also an enemy of the Egg and Milk Marketing boards. He went into the pirate radio station busdiness and was aquitted of murdering Screaming Lord Sutch's agent. He did it , but successfully claimed self defence.
     
  9. IanTurnbull

    IanTurnbull Well-Known Member

    Thanks Sheldrake
    Endlessly fascinating when you drill down like that. I was a R London fan myself but do remember that incident.
    WRT suppirt from 90 Fd, as far as I can tell their Battery Gun positions were situated around Vaux/Martragny on the 11/6, which is roughly 7 Kms north of Cristot. Would Capt Smedley have used them for the shoots (his own was Battery 358) or would he have been on the RA net and used 147 Fd at Pt 103, perhaps via Lt Col Phayre?
    Ian
     
  10. IanTurnbull

    IanTurnbull Well-Known Member

    Just notices that Garry Johnson/Christopher Dunphie updated their navigation aid in their later book "Gold Beach - inland from King" and the Sunken Lane is now 300 yards after the corner so the last map in post 85 is definitely right.
    Ian
     
  11. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    24L - War Diary - an account of Cristot on the 16d6m1944 was detailed in an Appendix in the 24L War Diary...

    APPX ‘D’
    Being an account of an attack by ‘C’ Sqn under KOYLI on 16 June 1944, on the village of Cristot.
    The plan was for KOYLI to attack the area Cristot – Boulets, which was thought to contain some 400 enemy infantry supported by a few SP guns with six tanks in the vicinity.
    The KOYLI advanced from Le Haut D’Audrieu, on a front of 500 yards with 2 Coys up. One Troop of tanks led each company with one troop behind the leading platoons. The start line was crossed at 1200 hours and at this time an artillery barrage from 7 Fd Regts, 3 Med Regts and Naval fire opened. The tanks and infantry advanced close behind the barrage with the tanks firing their machine guns into all the hedges in front and to the flanks. Apart from a few snipers no opposition was met until about 500 yards short of Cristot when some heavy mortar fire opened from the direction of the village. Observation was extremely difficult owing to smoke etc., from our own barrage. ‘C’ Sqn fired HE into the village and in particular at the church tower which it was thought might contain an OP, and the artillery under command ‘C’ Sqn was also asked to shell the village. After 15 mins, the enemy mortar fire had ceased and the infantry were able to get into the Western edge of the village.
    There was a deep sunken road right across the Western edge of the village and this proved to be a difficult Anti Tank obstacle. However, two Tps of tanks, one on each company front managed to cross and support the infantry onto their objectives, the remaining tanks worked their way round to the left flank and got on to the objective while the infantry were consolidating facing East. The wrecks of 2 SP guns, one armd car and 2 ½-tracked TCVS were found in the village, also about 12 German dead. The country was very close with sunken roads and deep ditches and considerable difficulty was experienced in getting tanks into good fire positions.
    At approx. 1600 hours the infantry moved forward a few hundred yards and took up positions along the hedge facing SE from 881698 to 882701. The tanks moved forward to this position but were unable to get any further forward owing to ditches. The infantry sent patrols forward to the high ground in front, but no opposition was met, although six enemy tanks were seen entering a wood due south of the position.
     
  12. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Unfortunately, for some reason there's no mention of the 24th Lancers at all here yet...

    Cristot en 1944 – Calvados – Battle of Normandy - D-Day Overlord

    The references around the 16th June 1944 say...

    "As of 15 June, the Germans began to retreat from their units in the Cristot sector. On the night of the 15th to the 16th of June, they recovered to the south at the level of the departmental 9 between Saint-Manvieu-Norrey and Fontenay-le-Pesnel. The Allies realized the situation and decided to launch an attack at the same time: the 49th English infantry division was in charge of seizing the commune of Cristot. From 15 June to 23:00 until 16:00 at 04:00, the Allies carry out a continuous artillery fire in order to prevent their opponent from sleeping. A few hours before the beginning of the offensive planned for noon, the warships bombard the land between Brouay and Cristot; A quarter of an hour before the assault, they are fighter-bombers targeting the Germans still in the area.
    Early in the afternoon, it was the 1/4th Battalion that captured Brouay without fighting. The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry belonged to the 49th Infantry Division. The village is completely destroyed.
    "
     
  13. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    There is an IWM audio here...

    Rochester, William Turnbull (Oral history) | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)
    Served with 11th Bn Durham Light Infantry in GB and North West Europe, 1944.

    Which mentions some of the events around Cristot...

    From the IWM description of the audio content...

    "REEL 17 Continues: opinion of PIAT; descriptions of 6lb and 25lb anti-tank guns and shells; maps issued of coastline; opinion of training; need to guard against careless talk and sealed-in camp; troops in company; role as sergeant major; voyage to France; boarding of landing craft. Aspects of operations as NCO with 11th Bn Durham Light Infantry in North West Europe, 6/1944-7/1944: memories of beachmaster and scenes on beach; equipment carried; self- heating tins of soup; disembarkation from landing craft; movement inland and landmark headed for; landed at Asnelles with Cristot as aim; damage in area; contact with civilians; German sniper in church tower; role during march; arrival in Cristot; arrangement of platoons and reason for ordering troops to dig in; shelters made by troops and demonstration with contents of sacks used; terrain passed over; length of stay in Christot; sentries set up; layout of company. REEL 18 Continues: advance behind 151 Brigade; first casualty and reaction to it; importance of POWs; time in Brécy and reception from civilians; description of Rucqueville; movement through fields; movement through Martragny; casualty in Saint Leger and search for sniper; state of Ducy St Margarite and contact with civilians; stay in Loucelles including story of woman walking along Bayeux-Caen Road; casualty from mortar fire; situation outside village; story of patrol sent out; plan for ambush of Germans; success of action; morale; activity outside Cristot; knowledge of German units; movement towards Fontenay le Pesnel; scene of destroyed tanks; arrival outside Rauray; hole in field used for cover; orders given to patrol about movement; information gained from patrol; time patrol sent out; role of patrol; formation of advance into Rauray; terrain; sudden appearance of sunken road and opposition faced."

    ------- x ------- x -------

    The first mention of Cristot is as an intended destination target, from the beach on REEL 17 at around 21m30s.

    He mentions meeting the Priest in Cristot and that they knew that there was a sniper in the tower of Cristot church as he had fired one or two shots - and "that's how we knew he was there" - re. REEL 17, 23m20s.

    By his account - 23m30s it was actually the "anti-tanks" that blew the top off of Cristot's church tower.

    REEL 18 - starts with them leaving Cristot after their having "spent two nights there".

    ------- x ------- x -------

    Edit - Though in - 11th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry War Diary June 1944 - 70 Brigade (newmp.org.uk)

    ...events are accounted for in the above as a narrative that seems to completely miss out much about Cristot and merely jumps ahead several days to the Parc de Boislonde, almost as if there are pages missing from the original account or the individual making the entries had not been able to complete those for the 16th June 1944 until 21st June 1944, an - as yet - inexplicable gap of around 5 days.

    15th June 1944 Ducy-St-Marguerite
    10:00 hours. The Battalion moved forward to Ducy-St-Marguerite and Headquarters was soon established in a pleasant little orchard just off the road.
    So far there had been no sign of the enemy, but there was periodic shelling, by our own artillery, of enemy positions to the WEST of Tilly-Sur-Seulles which a Panzer Division was still holding.
    Mention should be made of the large scale air activity. Five landing strips had been constructed with the result that Spitfires and Typhoons were able to maintain a constant patrol over the beachhead area. Enemy air activity was nil as far as could be seen.
    With the Brigade in Divisional Reserve the opportunity was taken to catch up with routine documentation (which had previously been impossible owing to the non-arrival of the Office Truck).
    22nd June 1944 Ducy-St-Marguerite
    Orders were received for the Battalion to relieve 1st/7th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in the Cristot area. Reconnaissances were carried out in preparation for this relief.
    23rd June 1944 PARC De BOISLANDE
    12:00 hours. The relief of 1st/7th Duke of Wellington’s Regiment was completed. Three Standing Patrols were established in the PARC De BOISLANDE. Enemy infantry and tank movement was observed. Briefing of the patrols took place and a vigorous patrol programme was to be carried out in the PARC De BOISLANDE.
    Lt. Price took out a large Fighting Patrol which met a certain amount of Spandau fire. Captain Sopwith took out a small Reconnaissance Patrol which reported no sign of enemy in the area patrolled.
    24th June 1944 PARC De BOISLANDE
    There was spasmodic mortaring and shelling of our positions during the day. Standing Patrols were maintained. At night Lt Hoggard took out a Fighting Patrol to search for enemy in the PARC and had the misfortune to be fired on by one of our Standing Patrols, one casualty resulting.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2023
  14. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Re. This IWM Photo...

    ANOTHER VILLAGE CAPTURED | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)

    B5655 : Original wartime caption: British troops watching a farm building blaze after they had entered the village of Christot. The Germans puts up stiff resistance before abandoning the village.

    Sergeant Midgeley (Undefined)

    Production date : 1944-06-17

    ---- x ---- x ----

    It's certainly memorable, but the dating is a bit late for the description that the IWM has currently given there.

    There are a number of others in this photo series taken around the ruins of Cristot on the day after its capture by the British.

    How the farm building came to be ablaze is perhaps a little obscure. It might conceivably have been from smouldering fire from the prior days events, or as a result of renewed mortaring on that day.

    Another alternative is perhaps that the soldiers mopping up might have thought that a grenade was the safest way to check if the place was "safe" and were attempting to burn out any Germans that might have lingered there, or who might have crept back into the village overnight.

    ------- x ------- x -------

    Cristot.jpeg
     
  15. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

  16. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY



    Part 1 of a brief account of Private Richard Ostler, 6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's West Riding regiment, from the 11th June 1944, landing on Gold beach in Normandy, through the 17th and 18th June where they took part in the Battle of the Parc de Boislonde, (operation Martlet) which led to the demise of the 6th Dukes, to the middle of August 1944, where he was repatriated and Hospitalised.
     
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  17. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Re. Project '44 (project44.ca)

    ... and browsing the "frontline" markings around Cristot. There seems to be considerable doubt about who was actually in control of Cristot for quite a while after it was "liberated" on the 16d6m1944.

    If the frontlines of Project'44 are being largely based on these maps -
    [June 23, 1944], HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map. | Library of Congress (loc.gov)

    ...as I think seems to be the case in the explanation at Project'44....

    See - Mapping the Battle of Normandy — Project '44 (project44.ca)

    ...it perhaps explains what is going on.

    Screenshot (218).png

    Screenshot (219).png

    Screenshot (216).png

    Screenshot (217).png

    Screenshot (220).png

    Screenshot (221).png
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2023
  18. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Re. Point 102

    https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/normandy-point-102.100667

    For comparison - the area shown below - still under German control is actually further to the East - around Putot-en-Bessin in the north and Le Mesnil Patry..

    Screenshot (222).png

    The difference should be more obvious too after a glance at this... and it is/was perhaps easy to mistake the combination of Brouay and Cristot and the road leading south to Fontenay with the neighbouring combination of Putot-en-Bessin, Le Mesnil Patry and the road leading south from them...

    20230623_163847.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2023
  19. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Similarly - Brouay in 1944 – Calvados – Battle of Normandy - D-Day Overlord (dday-overlord.com)

    Says - Liberation: June 16, 1944 - and hence that part of the "German salient" - reaching up to Brouay no longer existed after the night of 15/16th June 1944...

    As of June 15, the Germans began to withdraw their units located in the sector of Brouay. On the night of the 15th to the 16th of June, they recovered to the south at the level of the departmental 9 between Saint-Manvieu-Norrey and Fontenay-le-Pesnel. The Allies realized the situation and decided to launch an attack at the same time: the 49th British Infantry Division was in charge of seizing the commune of Cristot, south of Brouay. From 15 June to 23:00 until 16:00 at 04:00, the Allies carry out a continuous artillery fire in order to prevent their opponent from sleeping. A few hours before the beginning of the offensive planned for noon, the warships bombard the land between Brouay and Cristot; A quarter of an hour before the assault, they are fighter-bombers targeting the Germans still in the area.
    In the early afternoon, the 11th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers (belonging to the 147th Infantry Brigade of the 11th Armored Division) took over Brouay.
    Today, 375 British soldiers and 2 Canadian soldiers are buried in the Brouay military cemetery. 7 of them could not be identified (1 from the Royal Air Force and 6 from the British Army).

    Screenshot (238).png
     
  20. Tom R

    Tom R New Member




    The problem with putting the sunken lane immediately south of Cristot (as per your map) is that it doesn't match up with either the 6 Green Howards war diary (TNA: WO 171/1302) or their CO's post-operational account (TNA: WO 223/31). There are several crucial pieces of information. Firstly, the 6 GH war diary gives a grid reference where C Company were held up. It is 866702, about 250 metres north north east of Les Hauts Vents. This is the “White Farm” shown on Dunphie and Johnson’s map in Brightly shone the Dawn (and in Gold Beach: Inland from King June 1944 (Battleground Europe) – essentially the same account). Stéphane Jacquet reproduces the map in his Heimdal book, The Battle for Tilly-sur-Seulles 1944 and names the “White Farm” as La Ferme Bélière.


    This is significant because, secondly, Lt-Col Hastings in his account states that D Company (including CSM Hollis VC) were committed along the centre line “to clear the axis up to Les Hauts Vents”, which means that the sunken lane was between the start line (Point 103, probably using the St Pierre – Audrieu road) and Les Hauts Vents. Hastings goes on to say that this allowed D Coy to then capture Les Hauts Vents, where 3 Company, 12 SS Pz Recce Bn were defending, and link up with A Company, who had flanked the village to the south. According to Hastings clearing Les Hauts Vents “helped C Company get on [and capture the crossroads at the White Farm, 866702]. The position was now that the Bn was together one field short of its objective with heavy MG and anti-tank gunfire in front”.


    The third, and final piece of the jigsaw, is that although both the 4/7 RDG war diary (TNA: WO 171/838) and Major J.D.P. Stirling’s 1946 The First and the Last: The Story of the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards 1939-1945 talk about 6 GH attacking Cristot it is evident that they mean Les Hauts Vents. Stirling writes “To the South East of Point 103 was another piece of high ground known as Point 102 (Map ref 877693), and to command these two was to be in control of the whole area round about for several miles. An attack was therefore made by the 6th Green Howards, supported by ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons, on the village of Cristot, which was between the two heights, with the intention of pushing on beyond it to capture Point 102. Cristot is to the immediate north of Point 102, not between it and Point 103, whereas Les Hauts Vents lies in the saddle south east of Point 103 and north west of Point 102 as per Stirling's description.


    It's likely that B Squadron lost seven tanks (6 KIA, 3 WIA, 3 POW) somewhere between the immediate south east of Les Hauts Vents and Point 102, to the Panthers of 2 Company, 1st Bn, 12 SS Panzer Regiment and anti-tank guns of 12 SS Pz Recce Bn. C Squadron operating on the left flank, to the north of Les Hauts Vents around the ‘White Farm’ and immediately south of Cristot appear to have lost at least two tanks (3 KIA, 3 WIA), one of which was destroyed by an anti-tank gun co-located with the 12 SS Pz Recce Bn, which was situated immediately south of Cristot (Hubert Meyer, The History of the 12. SS-Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend, p.66).

    Here is my attempt to annotate the 1:25,000 GSGS map [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

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