HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

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AETIUS 1980
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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#46

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 02 Oct 2021, 19:31

An essential location for the Hauptmann d.R DEPTOLLA (Kdr II./Gr.Rgt.736) to have an almost entire view of its tactical area. The conditions on June 6, however, will make the first observations of the assault waves problematic.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#47

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 02 Oct 2021, 20:27

Emilie, if you are interested in the defenses on or around Tailleville, you should push your way to Bois de Tombette, west of the Hamlet. The Germans set up the Alarm.Flak.Bttr.716 in mid-January 1944, later joined by Al.26/XII, a Luftwaffe ad hoc unit. An initially sketchy arrangement, was increased by the construction of two Tobruk and two shelters for personnel on the wooded area. There were still some remains in the mid-1990s.
Regards
AETIUS


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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#48

Post by Emilie » 03 Oct 2021, 11:20

AETIUS 1980 wrote:
02 Oct 2021, 20:27
Emilie, if you are interested in the defenses on or around Tailleville, you should push your way to Bois de Tombette, west of the Hamlet. The Germans set up the Alarm.Flak.Bttr.716 in mid-January 1944, later joined by Al.26/XII, a Luftwaffe ad hoc unit. An initially sketchy arrangement, was increased by the construction of two Tobruk and two shelters for personnel on the wooded area. There were still some remains in the mid-1990s.
Regards
AETIUS
Yes I have seen the site you are talking about. There is nothing anymore in the wooded area and I didn't know the remains could still be found till the mid-1990s. But if you cross the road, just on the other side of this road, you can still find the nine shelters belonging to the same site.
You can clearly see them on this website :
https://www.junobeach.org/remains-germa ... tte-woods/

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#49

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 03 Oct 2021, 11:40

I know the site. Most of the constructions, if not all of them, are the work of the men of 8.Schw.u.Radfahr/736 and French people from the surrounding area.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#50

Post by Emilie » 03 Oct 2021, 17:52

AETIUS 1980 wrote:
03 Oct 2021, 11:40
I know the site. Most of the constructions, if not all of them, are the work of the men of 8.Schw.u.Radfahr/736 and French people from the surrounding area.
It seems that this position was bombed on the 5th of June 1944 in the morning, according to the testimony of a sixteen years old inhabitant of the nearby village of Bernières. He had been requisitioned by the Germans with other civilians to put leaves around four cannons that had just been put into action there. Still according to the boy it was a fortified position with concrete shelters for the soldiers. This position was the target of British bombers. The commander of the position ordered everybody present on the site that day to shelter in nearby trenches. Among the civilians there were also ten Poles who normally were working in iron mines near Caen and who had also been requisitioned to work in La Tombette. Then a German soldier came to shelter in the same place but he didn't stay a long time because the Polish workers were looking at him with animosity.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#51

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 03 Oct 2021, 18:18

We must remain cautious with certain testimonies. I do not find any trace of bombardment on the site by observing aerial photos dating from June 6, so it was more likely to be the umpteenth straffing of Stp Distelfink. With regard to the presence of a group of Poles, a member of 2./Pz.Jg.kp.716 himself Polish, evokes his transfer to Caen in April 1944 with a large contingent of his national comrades. Although most of it was broken down into 716.Inf.Div or neighboring units, perhaps a minority was kept for use in earthworks. The shelters which served as accommodation for the 8./736 will also be abandoned during the night of the 5th to the 6th following the various missions allocated to the company.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#52

Post by Emilie » 03 Oct 2021, 18:53

AETIUS 1980 wrote:
03 Oct 2021, 18:18
We must remain cautious with certain testimonies. I do not find any trace of bombardment on the site by observing aerial photos dating from June 6, so it was more likely to be the umpteenth straffing of Stp Distelfink. With regard to the presence of a group of Poles, a member of 2./Pz.Jg.kp.716 himself Polish, evokes his transfer to Caen in April 1944 with a large contingent of his national comrades. Although most of it was broken down into 716.Inf.Div or neighboring units, perhaps a minority was kept for use in earthworks. The shelters which served as accommodation for the 8./736 will also be abandoned during the night of the 5th to the 6th following the various missions allocated to the company.
I have found this testimony in a book called "Nous avons vécu le 6 juin 1944 à Bernières-sur-Mer". It is a collection of testimonies of several inhabitants of Bernières-sur-Mer which has been made in 2013 in order to keep the memory of what happened. So I don't know how accurate it is as we just have to rely on people's memory. But knowing that the bombers coming from Southern England and going to the nearby Stp Distelfink they had to fly above La Tombette. It's possible that La Tombette wasn't the target, but this boy couldn't know that and just obeyed the orders to shelter.

There is a second testimony of it made by another inhabitant of Bernières aged 19 about the same event :
On the 5th of June 1944 I was going to Bény-sur-Mer bringing a barrel of water to the Germans for their animals and themselves. Suddenly a formation of bombers appeared taking the direction of La Tombette where the famous 88 cannons battery was, just at the South of Bernières. Not all of them were destroyed.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#53

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 03 Oct 2021, 19:04

It was in fact six 7,5 cm Flak M. 33 (f). They were partly sabotaged by their crew members on June 6, just before being captured by the Canadians.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#54

Post by Emilie » 03 Oct 2021, 19:19

AETIUS 1980 wrote:
03 Oct 2021, 19:04
It was in fact six 7,5 cm Flak M. 33 (f). They were partly sabotaged by their crew members on June 6, just before being captured by the Canadians.
I just realised there is something about it on the site of Juno Beach, of which I gave the link earlier.

About the Poles, I knew there were Poles enroled in the Wehrmacht (against their will, like the "Malgré nous"). I might be wrong but in the first testimony I wrote, it just sounds as if they were civilians requisitioned as workers. Or, it might be they were already in France before WW2 because there was a big lack of work force after WW1 and many Poles have come to France to work in mines.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#55

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 03 Oct 2021, 19:32

You had a large Polish community in Potigny near Falaise from the 1920s to 1950s / 1960s. It was also called at the time: "la Petite Varsovie ". About the Polish or Volksdeutshe, I have already replied to a post on the subject, which is more at the level of the 716.Inf.Div.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#56

Post by Emilie » 03 Oct 2021, 19:35

AETIUS 1980 wrote:
03 Oct 2021, 19:32
You had a large Polish community in Potigny near Falaise from the 1920s to 1950s / 1960s. It was also called at the time: "la Petite Varsovie ". About the Polish or Volksdeutshe, I have already replied to a post on the subject, which is more at the level of the 716.Inf.Div.
Ok. I will have a look. Thank you very much !

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#57

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 03 Oct 2021, 19:41

You're welcome
Regards
AETIUS

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#58

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 05 Oct 2021, 09:27

Morning,
If you research this notion of Polish minority in Calvados, you should also look at the side of the Société Métallurgique de Normandie established by Krupp in 1913 in Colombelles. An important contribution of Poles then settled in this village, May-sur-Orne, St André-sur-Orne to Falaise. Iron mines running to the latter town. These famous mine shafts will also be an unpleasant surprise for the Canadians during the fighting of July and August 1944.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#59

Post by Emilie » 05 Oct 2021, 13:46

Hi AETIUS,
Thanks for the information. It confirms what I thought, that is that the Poles mentioned in the testimony of that lad in Bernières were there before the war and came to France for work. The Company you are talking about just above was located in Colombelles near Caen.
Still in the same book some other inhabitants of Bernières mention the presence of Poles wearing a German uniform. From Poremania, the "Volksdeutsche". By the way I haven't found yet your comment about them.

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Re: HQ of the 736th Grenadier-Regiment in Normandy

#60

Post by AETIUS 1980 » 05 Oct 2021, 14:03

Most probably : Poméranie
If you have no objection, send me your email and I will be able to answer any questions about the Volksdeutshe within the 716.Inf.Div.
Regards

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