"Photo-Tour of the Battle of Perrier Ridge ('The NorMons')" Topic

Inspired by Bry Barnard's superb article and scenario on the desperate defence of the Perrier Ridge by the 'NorMons' Battlegroup at Pavee in early August 1944 ( PDF link ), I decided to read up on this little-known battle. The battle was regarded by Bry's 'Uncle Evan' as the worst he'd ever been involved in (and he was in a few bad ones!) and one of the four Normandy VCs – that of Cpl Sidney Bates VC – was won there (the only posthumous Normandy VC).

Suitably inspired by the heroic tale of the 'NorMons', my mate Ian and I slipped away from the Memsahibs in Rouen last week and went to explore this little corner of a foreign field. Since then, Jim Baker at Fire & Fury Games has taken an interest and has kindly posted up the photo album online and it may be found here:

link

PS Beware Frenchmen bearing gifts: we nearly didn't survive the experience, thanks to a pair of off-duty French policemen/battlefield metal-detectorists, who handed me what I quickly identified as an unexploded German hand-grenade!

8o(

Nicely detailed report – thanks for posting

R. Mark Davies:
A very interesting P.D.F. and great photos. Glad the grenade remained a dud and didn't ruin your trip. Do you think the fighting was as heavy as that around Tilly a la Campagne and La Hogue? Thanks for the report.
Rod Robertson.

That's difficult to judge, but both 11th Armoured Division and 3rd Division seem to regard the Perrier Ridge and 6th August in particular as one of their stiffest fights (though 3rd Division's hardest fight of the campaign was probably the Chateau de la Londe, north of Caen). As mentioned above, Bry's Uncle Evan regarded Pavee as their worst ever battle, though in terms of casualties Broekhuizen in November 1944 was far worse for the 3rd Mons.

Sorry Rod, I was getting my Tillys mixed up: the fighting around Tilly-la-Campagne, the Verrieres Ridge and Operation 'Spring' in general has got to be one of the most horrific battles of the entire campaign and the most WW1-like in its intensity. That's the battle where the Canadian Black Watch were almost completely wiped out. It's also where the most intense defensive fire target of the war was fired by the RA/RCA/RN.

R Mark Davies:
You might want to take a look at the following sites for some interesting back-ground to the battle. If they're still alive there might be some usful sources in these pages (stretcher bearers for example) for Mr. Barnard to contact.
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I knew nothing of this battle and the struggle that was waged for a fortnight around it, so I thank you for bringing it to my attention. I've got some learning to do!
Rod Robertson.

Likewise! I'm grateful to Bry for alerting me to the importance of the action. It's a bit like the 'Rauray Moment' a few years ago, when Patrick Delaforce raised the subject of Rauray and emphasised the importance of that key little battle that nobody had heard of. I think that Pavee also deserves more recognition.

I'm also baffled as to why the Germans didn't make more of an effort to hang on to the Presles Ridge, as it's a phenomenal feature and totally comanding of the land to the north and west of it.