"On what D+ day did the Allies first encounter hedgerows?" Topic

Just wondering.

Well Paratroops on the D. Most others, D+1.
link

Right from the outset. Sword was pretty open, though they encountered close terrain on the approaches to Caen. On Juno they encountered dense hedgerows and 'bocage' as soon as they passed over the ridge behind the beach and descended into the Seulles and Mue valleys. At Gold Beach they encountered dense terrain pretty much everywhere beyond the marsh behind the beach.

Though there were hedges everywhere in Normandy the terrain on the US sector was far-far more restrictive than the Commonwealth sector. SE of Caen is very open country. I think BLUECOAT was the only UK area that was anything like the US sector

Both air views same scale.

Top view is US area

This is NW of Caen

Hi

Where did you get the photos from?

Downloaded them from the IGN site

link

It takes a while to figure out how to work the above site however there is a much easier 1947 air map of just Normandy(the same air map as on the IGN site) here

link

In the last link the icon on right on the bottom row (under the other 6) is the 1947 air view. After a quick play around with the buttons you soon pick up how it works.

Edited to remove duplicated link and insert correct one.

Rangers at Pointe du Hoe were into hedge rows as soon as they topped the cliff. The reprint of "Small Unit Actions" Historical Division, War Department covers the Rangers there and it is very well illustrated with aerial photographs, pics on the ground, and detailed maps. Where the terrain opened up at all was orchards which took up larger fields between hedge rows. The reprint of the book was 1986 and I think I bought it at the US Government Bookstore. Along with the Ranger section it covers "Saipan: 27th Division on Tanapag Plain","Italy: 351st Infantry at Santa Maria Infante", "France: 4th Armored Division at Singling". An excellent study. In the US Army Official History of WWII series is a book titled "Three Battles: Arnauville, Altuzzo and Schmidt" that is worth a read.

As noted above, very quickly indeed. The plain SE of Caen was about the only open ground in the whole theatre, and even then it was studded with obstacles and bounded by wooded ridges and cut up with streams and marshes.

One of the reasons it was stuffed with armoured and panzer divisions during Goodwood of course.

The top of Hill 112 was also quite open, although the surrounding terrain wasn't.

Although we make much of the difficulties of fighting in Normandy, it was still nothing like the obstacles posed by say, the Reichswald, the Vosges, the Rhine or even any major city (which in the main both sides studiously avoided fighting extensively in). The unpleasantness was primarily due to the German decision to stand and fight, rather than conduct a phased withdrawal once it was obvious the invasion was ashore.

Nice pics. Thanks.

…and as soon as they topped the bluffs at Omaha

Excellent pictures, thanks for sharing.