On the 76th anniversary of the start of Operation Lüttich, the German advance on Avranches in Normandy, we’d like to share two videos that Historian Kevin Hymel recently appeared in on WW2TV.
Both videos were recorded from the battlefields and cover the epic defense by men of the U.S. 30th “Old Hickory” Infantry Division. Joining Kevin is host historian Paul Woodadge, who created WW2TV, and Frank Gubbels from the Netherlands, a 30th Division historian.
Operation Lüttich – Mortain Part 1
The first part covers the 117th Infantry Regiment’s stand in Saint-Barthélemy and their “last stand” position astride the road to Avranches, as well as the battle for Le Neufbourg, where two famous photos were taken. They also look at the action of the American anti-tank gunners and examine how the German plan began to unravel.
Operation Lüttich – Mortain Part 2
The second part covers the fighting in the town of Mortain and also the battle for Hill 314. They visit the Little Chapel and look at the foxholes and positions around the hillside, including where the Forward Observers were directing Allied artillery fire and the attacks from the air by British Typhoons.
