The La Firere Bridge (1 Viewer)
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Firebat
2nd Lieutenant
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La Fière Bridge
On D-day on of the most important objectives of the 82nd Airborne Division was the La Fière bridge. The bridge itself might look like a small objective, but in June 1944 was only one of two locations where the Merderet river could be crossed by armor. The strategic importance was further enhanced by flooding the banks of the river by the German forces. From the bridge a 500m causeway ran trough the flooded fields, being fully exposed from the sides. The bridge and causeway, connecting the hamlet Cauquigny and the La Fière Manoir, would be the stage of some of the most intense fighting of the entire Normandy campaign. The fierceness of the battle is reflected by S.L.A. Marshall (Chief Historian, European Theatre of Operations) who described it as "the bloodiest small struggle in the experience of American arms"
Just about a half-hour before this attack, a 57MM A. T. gun was assigned to Company "A". I located this gun about 150 yards from the bridge on the road where it curves to the right as you approach the bridge. Incidentally, this was my C.P. and later the Battalion C.P. This gave the gun excellent cover and a good field of fire.
On the bridge I had three bazooka teams. Two of them were from Company "A" and the third was either from "B" or "C" Company. The two Company "A" bazookas were dug in to the left and right of the bridge. Because of the fact that the road itself was the causeway type, they were as of necessity dug in below the level of the road, so that in order to fire, they had to get out of their foxholes. The third bazooka was over more to the south where better cover was available.
To continue, I had just completed my inspection of our defenses and was 40 to 50 yards from the bridge. Major Kellam and Captain Royaden were nearby. The first two tanks were within 15 Qr 20 yards of each other, the third was back about 50 yards. When the lead tank was about 40 or 50 yards away from the bridge, the two Company "A" bazooka teams got up just like clock work to the edge of the road. They were under the heaviest small arms fire from the other side of the causeway, and from the cannon and machine gun fire from the tanks. To this day, I’ll never be able to explain why all four of them were not killed. They fired and reloaded with the precision of well-oiled machinery. Watching them made it hard to believe that this was nothing but a routine drill. I don’t think that either crew wasted a shot. The first tank received several direct hits. The treads were knocked off, and within a matter of minutes it was on fire. Then they went to work on the second tank, and within about 30 seconds, it was on fire. They fired every rocket that they had and then jumped into their foxholes. The 57mm during this time was firing and eventually knocked out the last tank. The gun crew did an excellent job.
My two bazooka crews called for more ammunition. Major Kellam ran up toward the bridge with a bag of rockets followed by Captain Roysden. When they were within 15 or 20 yards of the bridge, the Germans opened up with mortar fire on the bridge. Major Kellam was killed and Captain Roysden was rendered unconscious from the concussion. He died later that day. Both of the bazookas were destroyed by the mortar fire. Lt. Weir (Reg. Hq. Co.) and I carried Captain Roysden back. I then took over command of the battalion, being the senior officer present.
Company "B" was put into reserve in the perimeter of Company "A", so that we had almost a 560 degree perimeter defense. The rest of the day we were under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. The mortar fire was very effective as against the two forward platoons because of tree bursts. It took very little imagination on the part of the Krauts to figure out just where we would be dug in. As I recall, there was less than a seventy-five yard frontage on either side of the bridge from where we could effectively defend, so they could throw their mortar fin in our general direction with good results. During the night, the fire let up, but they started early the next morning and kept it up. My third platoon took the worst beating, as they were in a heavier wooded area, (tree bursts).
The second tank attack came on the afternoon of the second day. I was over on the north side of the bridge with the first platoon. For about an hour before the attack, they increased their mortar fire to the extent that the third platoon was just about knocked out, but not quite. I was not aware of this at the time. In addition to already heavy casualties, Sgt. Monahan, the platoon Sgt. was fatally wounded.
I learned second hand that some other troops had retreated through the third platoon’s position, and then through my C.P. Rumors were around that we were going to give up the bridge. As a result of this, the 57MM A.T. crew took off. I didn’t have an Executive Officer at the time. Earlier that day, he (Tom Furey) was put in command of "C" Company. My First Sergeant was a jump casualty, so my Company Headquarters at the time was non-existent except for runners and radio operators. I can’t recall why, but our radios were not working. The only way that we could communicate was through runners.
The first platoon was under heavy fire also. The platoon leader, Lt. Oakley, who had been doing an excellent job, was fatally wounded, and Sgt. Ricci was leaving the junior squad leader, Sgt. Owens, in command. You will recall that we have had some communication about Sgt. Owens in the past as to his personal courage and the way he commanded the platoon at this most critical time. I recommended Sgt. Owens and my tour bazooka men for the D.S.C. The bazooka men were awarded the D.S.C., but Sgt. Owens was not. This is a story in itself.
The second attack was with two tanks and infantry. I was unable to estimate the size. The tanks stayed out of effective bazooka range. (We had one bazooka left.) Not hearing any fire from the 57MM, I went over to it and found it unmanned. I tried to fire it, but the crew had taken the firing mechanism. I organized five or six men behind the hedge on the southerly side of the road with Gammon grenades, and just about this time, two of the gun crew returned with the firing mechanism. They knocked out the two tanks. They were two youngsters not more than 17 or 18 years old, who returned on their own initiative. I recommended them for Silver Stars.
In conclusion, we held the bridge until relieved. In Co. "A" alone, in those days (three in all), we had seventeen known dead and about three times that number wounded. The rest of the battalion also had heavy casualties.
On D-day on of the most important objectives of the 82nd Airborne Division was the La Fière bridge. The bridge itself might look like a small objective, but in June 1944 was only one of two locations where the Merderet river could be crossed by armor. The strategic importance was further enhanced by flooding the banks of the river by the German forces. From the bridge a 500m causeway ran trough the flooded fields, being fully exposed from the sides. The bridge and causeway, connecting the hamlet Cauquigny and the La Fière Manoir, would be the stage of some of the most intense fighting of the entire Normandy campaign. The fierceness of the battle is reflected by S.L.A. Marshall (Chief Historian, European Theatre of Operations) who described it as "the bloodiest small struggle in the experience of American arms"
Just about a half-hour before this attack, a 57MM A. T. gun was assigned to Company "A". I located this gun about 150 yards from the bridge on the road where it curves to the right as you approach the bridge. Incidentally, this was my C.P. and later the Battalion C.P. This gave the gun excellent cover and a good field of fire.
On the bridge I had three bazooka teams. Two of them were from Company "A" and the third was either from "B" or "C" Company. The two Company "A" bazookas were dug in to the left and right of the bridge. Because of the fact that the road itself was the causeway type, they were as of necessity dug in below the level of the road, so that in order to fire, they had to get out of their foxholes. The third bazooka was over more to the south where better cover was available.
To continue, I had just completed my inspection of our defenses and was 40 to 50 yards from the bridge. Major Kellam and Captain Royaden were nearby. The first two tanks were within 15 Qr 20 yards of each other, the third was back about 50 yards. When the lead tank was about 40 or 50 yards away from the bridge, the two Company "A" bazooka teams got up just like clock work to the edge of the road. They were under the heaviest small arms fire from the other side of the causeway, and from the cannon and machine gun fire from the tanks. To this day, I’ll never be able to explain why all four of them were not killed. They fired and reloaded with the precision of well-oiled machinery. Watching them made it hard to believe that this was nothing but a routine drill. I don’t think that either crew wasted a shot. The first tank received several direct hits. The treads were knocked off, and within a matter of minutes it was on fire. Then they went to work on the second tank, and within about 30 seconds, it was on fire. They fired every rocket that they had and then jumped into their foxholes. The 57mm during this time was firing and eventually knocked out the last tank. The gun crew did an excellent job.
My two bazooka crews called for more ammunition. Major Kellam ran up toward the bridge with a bag of rockets followed by Captain Roysden. When they were within 15 or 20 yards of the bridge, the Germans opened up with mortar fire on the bridge. Major Kellam was killed and Captain Roysden was rendered unconscious from the concussion. He died later that day. Both of the bazookas were destroyed by the mortar fire. Lt. Weir (Reg. Hq. Co.) and I carried Captain Roysden back. I then took over command of the battalion, being the senior officer present.
Company "B" was put into reserve in the perimeter of Company "A", so that we had almost a 560 degree perimeter defense. The rest of the day we were under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. The mortar fire was very effective as against the two forward platoons because of tree bursts. It took very little imagination on the part of the Krauts to figure out just where we would be dug in. As I recall, there was less than a seventy-five yard frontage on either side of the bridge from where we could effectively defend, so they could throw their mortar fin in our general direction with good results. During the night, the fire let up, but they started early the next morning and kept it up. My third platoon took the worst beating, as they were in a heavier wooded area, (tree bursts).
The second tank attack came on the afternoon of the second day. I was over on the north side of the bridge with the first platoon. For about an hour before the attack, they increased their mortar fire to the extent that the third platoon was just about knocked out, but not quite. I was not aware of this at the time. In addition to already heavy casualties, Sgt. Monahan, the platoon Sgt. was fatally wounded.
I learned second hand that some other troops had retreated through the third platoon’s position, and then through my C.P. Rumors were around that we were going to give up the bridge. As a result of this, the 57MM A.T. crew took off. I didn’t have an Executive Officer at the time. Earlier that day, he (Tom Furey) was put in command of "C" Company. My First Sergeant was a jump casualty, so my Company Headquarters at the time was non-existent except for runners and radio operators. I can’t recall why, but our radios were not working. The only way that we could communicate was through runners.
The first platoon was under heavy fire also. The platoon leader, Lt. Oakley, who had been doing an excellent job, was fatally wounded, and Sgt. Ricci was leaving the junior squad leader, Sgt. Owens, in command. You will recall that we have had some communication about Sgt. Owens in the past as to his personal courage and the way he commanded the platoon at this most critical time. I recommended Sgt. Owens and my tour bazooka men for the D.S.C. The bazooka men were awarded the D.S.C., but Sgt. Owens was not. This is a story in itself.
The second attack was with two tanks and infantry. I was unable to estimate the size. The tanks stayed out of effective bazooka range. (We had one bazooka left.) Not hearing any fire from the 57MM, I went over to it and found it unmanned. I tried to fire it, but the crew had taken the firing mechanism. I organized five or six men behind the hedge on the southerly side of the road with Gammon grenades, and just about this time, two of the gun crew returned with the firing mechanism. They knocked out the two tanks. They were two youngsters not more than 17 or 18 years old, who returned on their own initiative. I recommended them for Silver Stars.
In conclusion, we held the bridge until relieved. In Co. "A" alone, in those days (three in all), we had seventeen known dead and about three times that number wounded. The rest of the battalion also had heavy casualties.
Last edited:
Firebat
2nd Lieutenant
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- 3,348
Bayern
Staff Sergeant
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- Apr 26, 2012
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No problem it is well deserved. I have done only cotton ball shredded cannon ball effects with cigarette ash for black smoke and red/ orange felt pen for the blast effect.
This light bulb gig is the best!! It looks so real. No one ever has a blast right at the second of it. It is either before or after. Next thing we will have to have live animation!!
Very Cool!!!!:salute::
Post more stuff!!
Ludwig
Firebat
2nd Lieutenant
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- 3,348
Bayern
Staff Sergeant
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- Apr 26, 2012
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Ok I am sold. When do I start. I took a clay animation class and movie making years ago. We need to make the men really move, run and fight!!! Maybe we good have Andy make us clay soldiers in the molds and we could move them little by little, snapping shots...
Honestly, you guys really have something great going here!!
Ludwig
Firebat
2nd Lieutenant
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Well there is always 1/6th scale.........I have quite a number of 1/6th scale soldiers. I think one day I will try one of those frame by frame animations. We have been taliking about doing a segment like that in The Great Crusade series we are doing.......Very time consuming though....... Doing this type of work really connects me to my collection. Alex
craig1985taylor
Command Sergeant Major
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- May 25, 2008
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Wow these could be real photos taken in 1944 they are amazing.....{bravo}}
Firebat
2nd Lieutenant
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- Messages
- 3,348
Thank You Sir !
