The relics displayed on these pages represent one small bitter struggle in the larger episode of what was known as the battle for Normandy.

As part of the break out from the beachhead towards St. Lo the American First Army had first to capture the crucial high ground known as Hill 192, or point 192. The importance of Hill 192 was not lost on the enemy and men of the 3rd Parachute Division were well dug in and would not let it fall without a fight.

On June 16th 1944 men of the 2nd "Indianhead" Division had motored down the highway towards Hill 192 with all three of it's Regiments committed to the attack. The 3rd Battalion of 38th Infantry Regiment drove the enemy partially up the forward slope of the hill but had to withdraw when it was realised that this unit alone was insufficient to dislodge the enemy from their dugouts.

The capture of St. Lo could not happen without Hill 192 falling to the Allies.

The next few days were spent devising a plan to assault the hill. There followed intense refreshment training in artillery/tank/infantry liaison. The assault would call for all three arms to work well together.

The Germans did not hold the hill along a strong defensive line. They used the lay of the land and had strong points with interlocking fields of fire. But as usual they had every junction, sunken road, and hedgerow covered with anti-tank, artillery or armour.

Above: Splintered with shrapnel hits or small arms fire, this American helmet was found near St. Lo during May 2005.

Hill 192 as we have said, was defended by the German 3rd Parachute Division. The 3rd Battalion, 9th Parachute Regiment opposing the 38th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 5th Parachute Regiment facing the men of the 23rd Infantry Regiment.

The attack on Hill 192 commenced on July 11th. Due to early morning mist planned air strikes on the hill were called off, although one strike, called for by the 2nd Infantry Division command did attack. Unfortunately the P47's hit the wrong target - the 38th Infantry!

Despite this the 38th Infantry left their jumping off point and advanced behind a rolling barrage. Company E of the 38th ran into stiff opposition at one of the German strong points nicknamed "kraut corner". Eventually this position was taken in a flanking movement and 15 POW's were taken. However three Fallschirmjäger refused to give up and held off the Americans with sustained MG fire until a tank dozer eliminated them by burying them alive under 5ft of earth!

Exhibits List