What is a hedge row in ww2?

Originally built by the Romans, the hedgerows were mounds of dirt raised in irregular patterns that served as fences between plots of land. Irrigation ditches with raised sides provided water to all the fields and animals.

What is the purpose of bocage?

American personnel usually referred to bocage as hedgerows. The German army also used sunken lanes to implement strong points and defenses to stop the American troops on the Cotentin Peninsula and around the town of Saint-Lô.

What was significant about the hedgerow country?

During World War II following the Allied Invasion of Normandy, the allies found themselves in ‘hedgerow country’ (bocage). It was ideal for German troops to hide in and not be seen until it was too late. The hedgerows were thick enough to hide tanks and artillery pieces.

What was hedgerow fighting?

The summer of 1944 witnessed terrible clashes between the US military and the German army in Normandy.

Are there still hedgerows in Normandy?

Hedgerows in 1944 At the time of the Normandy landing, the hedges are on average five meters tall, a smaller height than today. Particularly well maintained, they have an economic role predominant in the region, which has largely disappeared these days.

What kind of trees are in Normandy?

Trees and Forests in Normandy

• The Bayeux Weeping Beech Tree.
• La Royauté Arboretum, Saint Denis de Méré
• Estry Yew – L’if millénaire d’Estry.
• Forêt Dominiale de Saint Sever – Noues de Sienne.
• Foret de Grimbosq.
• Vergers de Ducy.
• La Chêne Chapel.

What is bocage country?

Definition of bocage 1 : countryside or landscape (as of western France) marked by intermingling patches of woodland and heath, small fields, tall hedgerows, and orchards.

How were tanks able to break through hedgerows?

Openings that did exist within the patchwork of hedges were already covered by German anti-personnel and anti-tank weapons; armor moving through these gaps attracted immediate defensive fire. Tanks were able to push their way over the hedgerows, but in doing so they exposed their weak underside armor.

When did the US Army start using hedge cutters?

A hedgecutter developed by the 79th Infantry Division was in operation by 5 July, and a few days later, XIX Corps demonstrated a set of prongs that had been initially developed to create holes for the placement of explosives.

How did the irregular Hedges affect the invasion of Normandy?

The irregular hedges made it hard for them to see the whole situation, as well as lines of fire. On the second day of the Normandy invasion along hedgerows near Sainte-Mère-Eglise, dead German soldiers and their equipment fill a ditch while a wounded American is being treated nearby.

How many tanks mounted the hedgecutter?

^ The US official campaign historian states that by the time Operation Cobra was launched, “three out of every five tanks in the First Army mounted the hedgecutter”. ^ These tanks were of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade. ^ a b Blumenson 2005, p. 207.