Fighting In The Normandy Bocage (WW2 Documentary)

The use of aerial photos really gives perspective and brings the videos to life, brilliant 👌🏻👌🏻

Absolutely terrific. From the explanation of the tactics to the psychology of fighting in this area, I learned more about the Bocage in the 19 minutes of this excellent video than in countless other full length WWII documentaries.. Many thanks. Superior production, as usual.

Headed over the pond this June for the 80th anniversary of D-day. My grandfather served in the 1st Division and went in on Omaha Beach. He fought through the hellish battle shown here. I was in Normandy with my grandfather for the 50th anniversary, the respect and admiration he received was heart warming. He has passed since but this year will be a generational trip with my father and my son. I hope my son will grasp what the greatest generation went through.

Dude, that was really well done. Its easy to forget that battles between armies are fought platoon against platoon, section against section, man against man. You really captured the personalised essence of the hedgerow fighting... like that heroic sergeant who takes out the machine gun nest with a grenade, only to get killed himself not long after.. so sad.

Your efforts keep the memory of the fallen alive . . . especially now as the world struggles to recognize the Evil still within it.

Your documentaries are unmatched. Please keep it up. Thank you so much!

Thank you. My grandfather was in the 35th Infantry Division & went all the way across europe until the war’s end. He never talked about the war, only all the places & countries he walked through.

The way you present the intensity of what the men went through. It was truly a frightening time and to the one's who died so we can free and live the way do. I'm sure if the men saw what the world has become. We are close to another world war and people don't realise it. All these wars around are so close to making the conflict spreading. The politicians should do the fighting won't be many wars then

As always great content and I love the way you tell these stories. Having 4 uncles on my fathers side fighting in Europe during WWII. I was so fortunate to have uncles like that to teach me how to hunt, fish and even farm growing up.

I really enjoyed that. The graphics were brilliant and made the understanding of the action very clear to someone who has never had to put their life on the line like those brave boys.

My fathers brother was a 2nd Lt in 3rd (?) Armored. Trained in England for the invasion. He was killed 6/29/44 in what I believe the 1st excursion off the beach. Deployed w 15 Shermans, were ambushed in field while leaving the hedge groves. 1st person accounts tell of him “circling the wagons” when he was killed outside of his tank. Body was never recovered adding to my families angst but was awarded Distinguished Service Cross and memorialized on wall at Normandy Cemetery. I’m planning on going ASAP as my family never had chance to go. Of the 15 Shermans 5 made it back.

Wow! Your commentary was like listening to an audiobook by Middlebrook or Beevor. A well-researched and scholarly documentary, with graphic footage added, brillianly illustrates the Bocage in all its deadly glory, where sudden death lay in wait amongst the undergrowth !!

My family lost a member fighting in the hedgerows. My Great uncle Private Frank Phillips. I still honor him on Memorial day with flags and flowers.

I was with the 35th ID when I was in the Guard. Proud to have worn that patch.

My grandfather was a combat engineer who fought in Normandy. He described the hedgerows as pure hell.

Great narration and good video. My father landed at Omaha about one week after D Day, walked across the beach and formed up with other members of the 333st Combat Unit and went a short distance inland to fight. He did not know what Bocage might be, but they learned quick. Dad did not like to talk about combat, but did relay to me once his sense of wonder as the Lieutenant ordered to move the company to a certain location ordered Dad and one other private to walk across the middle of the small meadow and toward the rocks on the other side. Ordered them to walk right thru the middle and waste no time. As the rest of the company followed a few minutes later, my 18 year-old father remarked it seemed like a slow way to make progress. His older companion said something like, "this way the company finds out if there are any snipers over here and don't lose more than one or two guys". Then two more privates were selected for the next field. They found out about machine guns and snipers the 'hard way'. They were securing paths for the infantry columns to follow. Dad enjoyed much more telling stories about liberating wine cellars Thanks again.

I was an MC in the U.S. Navy. A cameraman. When I wasn’t deployed I was back in Naples, Italy. Lots of brass to film there. It’s funny watching footage of Generals and Admirals from so long ago that I can clearly see are staged. It’s the nature of the business. The footage at 0:55 … that’s not staged. 99 percent of higher ups looking at maps are staged. Like “alright camera dude, you got your shot, get out of here.” But that footage, that’s real. You can tell from Eisenhowers intensity. Also how often do you ever ever see footage of Ike wearing glasses?

My great uncle fought in Normandy with 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, and he wrote in his war diary that the hedgerows were so thick that they had to blast through them with dynamite quite often to get their armor and trucks through. Even the heavy Tiger I struggled to penetrate these incredibly dense barriers, some of which were up to 5 feet thick. They made great defensive cover but were absolute Hell to attack through when counterattacks were ordered, which was frequently the case for his division in the first few weeks of the invasion.

Visited the region last year,very well done doco!

My Father landed on D-day, what was left of his unit was put into Patton's 3rd Army. He collected a purple hart 44 days past D-day in the hedge rows. He came back to the states with grim stories about Sherman Tanks climbing a hedge row, exposing their under-armored bottoms to a German 88 no one knew about.