From the very first moment of the
Normandy invasion the Allies had absolute air supremacy. Heavy and medium fighter-bombers hammered railheads, junctions, and bridges and devastated exposed Panzers and infantry. U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower remarked:
If I didn’t have air supremacy, I wouldn’t be here. Allied air superiority took a heavy toll on German forces in Normandy. During the fighting, 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen, despite its fanatical resistance, was all but annihilated. It was heavily engaged in the Normandy battles, fighting alongside 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich in a stubborn but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to prevent the American breakout. The division's manpower strength was 18.354 officers and men in June 1944 when engaged in the fighting for the Bocage country near Saint Lô and Coutances were it suffered heavy losses. Götz von Berlichingen was then in the line of advance for Operation Cobra, and again suffered heavy losses attempting to halt the Allied offensive. Cobra was an offensive launched by the U.S. Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings to break out of Normandy. It commenced on July 25 1944 with a concentrated aerial bombardment from thousands of Allied aircraft. The largest air bombardment in support of ground forces yet. Simultaneously, the British launched
Operation Goodwood and the Canadians Operation Atlantic. The division was encircled by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division around Roncey where it lost most of its armored equipment and by the end of July 1944, its strength was reduced to 8,530 men. Top image: Boeing B-17 heavy bombers of the USAAF 381st Bombardment Group on a bomber mission in 1944. The Group supported the Normandy invasion in June 1944 and bombed suspected positions in advance of ground forces at
Saint-Lô in July 1944. The B-17 is accounted for over 290,000 sorties during World War II. USAFHRA. PD. Middle clips: an SS non-commissioned officer and a SS-Panzergrenadier during the battles in Normandy, both presumed to have belonged to Götz von Berlichingen. Clips from Die Deutsche Wochenschau: Normandie am 12. Juni 1944. Fair use. Bottom image: a Panther tank move through the Normandy bocage. Part of translated German caption on photo reverse: 'Panthers' roll forward to reinforce. Normandy, July 5 1944. Credit: Jakob Lagerweij. Commons: Bundesarchiv.
The Götz von Berlichingen was raised in France in late 1943 under the command of battle experienced German SS officers and NCOs. It was formed with the majority of its original cadre coming from replacement units and conscripts, many of whom were Romanian Germans and French and Italian volunteers from units deployed in France. One of the few SS formations to be employed exclusively on the western front.
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