Carentan and Caumont

12^th June 1944 – US 101^st Airborne at last take Carentan at the base of the Cherbourg peninsula and the US bridgeheads from Omaha and Utah join up.  The Allies in Normandy now have a united 50 mile front-line, penetrating 5 to 20 miles inland from the beaches.  They have landed 326,000 men and 54,000 vehicles (from OnWar website).

Churchill visited Normandy  for the day, coming over from Portsmouth and meeting Montgomery on ‘Gold’ beach.

The US 1^st Division liberate Caumont-L’Éventé (the area Eric Brewer reached on D-day).  The village of Livry, to the north-east, is taken and cleared by the British 7^th Armoured Division but they are unable to capture Tilly-sur-Seules. 

8th Armoured Brigade launch attacks between Tessel and Bretteville from St Pierre but suffer heavy casualties.  50^th Division are ordered to hold the line from Point 103 – La Belle Épine and 8^th Armoured withdraw from St. Pierre. (From ‘The 8^th Armoured Brigade Break-Out from the Normandy Bridgehead June 7^th – 12^th 1944’ by Brigadier HJB Cracroft , Commander.)

Eric Brewer’s diary entry for 12th June reads: “Shifted to Tilly and opened up on by Spandau Squadron still active.”  He also managed to find the time to write to his family:

Tpr Brewer 14631319

B Squadron 13 Troop, 61^st Recce RAC, APO England

12^th June 1944 

Dear Mum Dad and all …

“we have not been able to write letters until today as they could not make arrangements until it was possible to get the postal side of things organised and they seem to be okay now”…

“Well I have not much news but as you can guess I am in France and keeping okay and everything is going okay. There is plenty to do and by the look of things the war can’t last much longer; don’t think no longer than Christmas at the most so cross your fingers and keep that kettle on.”

(From Eric Brewer’s diary and letters by kind permission of Derek Brewer and his family)

 

12^th June 1944 - Alfred Rosenberg, Head of the Reich Ministry for occupied Eastern Territories orders the kidnapping of 40,000 Polish children aged 10 to 14 for slave labour in Germany under the Heuaktion.  (From World War 2 Net.)