346.Infanterie-Division in action near Bréville-les-Monts

This article includes photographs of fatal casualties

At the time of the Normandy invasion, 346.ID was positioned in the area around le Havre. Once the Allied landings commenced, the division moved westwards towards the Allies' left flank, remaining in this area until withdrawing with the rest of the German forces in August.

There's some interesting footage of elements of 346.ID included in the German newsreel (Die Deutsche Wochenschau) of 21st June 1944 (#720)[i]. The footage is mixed in with a load of other bits of film featuring Panzer Lehr and 12.SS-Panzer-Division personnel (taken around the same time but about 25km further west), some stock training footage and other bits taken goodness knows where. This is typical for the Wochenschau and most newsreels of the time. Along with the film are some good photos (now held by the Bundesarchiv) taken by a Propaganda Kompanie photographer by the name of Scheck. Together they provide some good representation of the German forces fighting British 6th Airborne Division and 51st Highland Division shortly after D-Day. What follows is an attempt to tie the images with units and places to give them extra context. I first put this together some years ago after a conversation with my friend Niels Henkemans and posted it on Twitter but since the descent of that site I no longer have an account there so here it is. I naturally welcome further information that might confirm or contradict my thoughts. Please feel free to add any comments, corrections, criticism (constructive) and anything else which would improve our understanding of the events of 1944. 

The images by Scheck[ii] and the film by the unknown PK film cameraman were probably taken on the 11th June 1944 in two locations. First, just east of Bréville (now Bréville-les-Monts) in the area circled in red on the map below. This little cluster of houses is known as le Bas de Bréville. The map is from 1943 and the original was 1:100 000, with every square being 1000 x 1000 metres. Further images were taken in Bréville itself, circled in blue. This small village (population 248 in 1936), sits atop the northern end of the ridge which overlooks the river Orne and Caen Canal to the west and the low-lying plain of the river Dives to the east. In the following images, Scheck's photos have the associated Bundesarchiv number while still from the film footage only have the small watermark in the top left corner.

 

The footage starts with a heavily camouflaged Ford Maultier half-tracked lorry mounting a 2cm Flak38 anti-aircraft gun maneouvring into position behind a low hedge. The vehicle has had its cab cut down.

 This vehicle belonged to 3.Kompanie, Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 346, the division’s anti-tank battalion. As was "standard"[iii], 1.Kompanie had Marder III self-propelled guns, 2.Kompanie StuG III assault guns and 3.Kompanie anti-aircraft guns, in this case including several of which were self-propelled.

The organisational chart[iv] for the unit for 1st June 1944 below confirms the presence of fourteen Maultier ‘in place of missing prime movers’. The chart also notes twelve Flak38 (as mounted on the Maultier) and three Flak30. Incidentally the same chart indicates the ten StuG III that 2.Komp. should have had were still not on strength at this point although at least some of these had arrived by the time of the action in question.

Back to the film... the cameraman pans left to focus on a group of infantrymen, either non-mounted personnel from 3./PzJägAbt.346 or from Grenadier-Regiment 858[v] which also fought in this area. This group includes a radio team (the large packs on the back of the soldiers third and fifth from left contain the radio and the battery/accessory sets).

This same group were photographed by Scheck, with the Maultier in the background. It would seem that Scheck is in fact the NCO (with the white strip around his collar) furthest to the left of the group above. Scheck’s image (below) helps confirm the location.

The large house beyond the Maultier can be seen in the centre of this aerial photo from 1944[vi], along with a small barn (since demolished) just to the right. The low hedge behind which the soldiers and vehicle are hiding is that which surrounds the orchard to the right of the image.

This IGN[vii] image below shows the same location today and in 1947. The barn (with a missing roof in 1947) has gone and a new garage built closer to the house. As the area is well within the commuter belt for Caen, housing naturally has increased:

Another of Scheck’s photos shows the barn and the tree beside it. The chimney of the main house is just visible between the two soldiers standing on the platform of the lorry:

Scheck also took a couple of close-ups of the Maultier Flak crew:

The film jumps about a bit in the newsreel but again features close-up footage of the Maultier crew. This is followed by views across the field into which they're firing:

Their target appears to be a crashed Horsa glider. The footage includes a close up of a burning example:

The following still offers another clue as to the location, the large solitary tree in the middle of the field.

The tree is clearly visible in this IGN[viii] aerial photo from 1935. It was still there in 1959 but was gone by 1963.

The tree also helps clarify where some other still photos were taken by Scheck. These were used in journals but I don't think are held by the Bundesarchiv. They show two British PoWs, probably from 5/Black Watch given the headgear. 

Two of them show a Marder III from 1./PzJägAbt.346. In the first one the solitary tree is visible just above the gun shield of the Marder.

 Fred Deprun suggests in an article in issue 51 of Normandie1944 magazine that it is the well-known #102, photographed and filmed[ix] passing the wing of a crashed Horsa by Château de Grangues. The chap sitting on the engine deck is one clue and the foliage appears to be in the same "pattern".

This still gives a nice impression of the paint scheme of this unit's Marder vehicles. Large solid patches of green and brown leaving thinner strips of dark yellow visible.

Back to Bréville...further film footage includes movement of a 2cm Flak30 and by now the cameraman is in the village of Bréville itself. Again, this could be one of those on the strength of 3./PzJägAbt.346 (as per chart above) or from GrenRgt.858:

Bréville was heavily damaged in 1944 and has changed significantly. The wall in the background is now gone. 

As the Flak30 crew moved along the road, they were filmed and also photographed as they passed a fallen Captain from 6th Airborne Division. 

Infantry in the same section of road with the unfortunate Captain in the foreground:

(In the footage the film cameraman focuses on the dead man for a couple of seconds)

Establishing the Captain's identity had proven difficult, even given the limited number of potential names. This was initially largely down to not confirming the location (see below). 6th Airborne expert Neil Barber[x] very kindly helped (thank you, Neil) and he suggested the identity of the officer is almost certainly Captain Ian Tait. On the 9th of June, Captain Tait (who had jumped in on D-Day as a member of 22nd Independent Parachute Company) was leading a patrol into Bréville, which was thought to be unoccupied at the time. Tait was killed by rifle fire just as the patrol reached the edge of the village[xi]. He was buried nearby alongside Private Ken Gillum, another member of the same patrol, shortly after Bréville's liberation. Both men now lie in Ranville CWGC cemetery.[xii][xiii]

I had previously thought this and the following images to be taken in le Bas de Bréville but couldn't get certain elements to fit. In particular, a short film sequence where the camera pans across a field. A road cuts in diagonally from the left and there's a row of trees roughly at right angles to the road. The only place in the area I can think of where this might fit is in Bréville itself.

There appear to be casualties laying in the field, possibly from 5/Black Watch which would date the footage as 11th or maybe 12th June. The road on the left runs past Château St Côme and on through to le Mesnil. The hayfeeders don't help with the modern comparison but it looks about right.

German patrols are filmed moving through the fields:

A close up of Captain Tait shows the "sunken" nature of the road back then. The Flak30 can be seen parked up in the background. 

The village of Bréville is today much, much larger than it was in 1944 and the right-hand bank has gone. 

In the background of Scheck's photos above, soldiers are resting in the shelter of the banks on either side of the road. Some mattresses have been acquired, presumably from the houses in Bréville. The footage and images of personnel resting giving a good idea of the appearance of the Germans in this area. In the foreground, a Zeltbahn-clad soldier. Probably one of the men shown lugging the Flak30 above. He wears jackboots as opposed to the more common ankle boots, as do at least three of the Flak30 crew. A 2cm Flak ammunition tin sits nearby with a machine gun beyond it, both of which are visible in the still photo above. 

Next to him, a grubby looking Gefreiter, certainly from PzJägAbt.346 (as indicated by the armoured vehicle crew tunic) enjoying a tin of something or other (some sort of meat conserve?). He sports an adhesive dressing on his forehead.

PK Scheck was also on hand here to capture the scene:

He took the next two shots just seconds apart, capturing the gesture of the chap smoking (also wearing the armoured vehicle crew uniform):

This other still from the movie footage seems to show the same group but on the other side of the road, their weapons facing south. They have similar attire and appear similarly (relatively) relaxed. 

Other photos by Scheck taken around the same time show casualty evacuation and treatment, the examination of British casualties and the escorting of British PoWs alongside a stables (this area has many horse farms):

Aftermath

At least three Marder were left behind in or near Bréville after its liberation on 12th June. One in a field just outside the village[xiv]. The gun barrel appears to be at almost maximum traverse, given its distance from the travel lock (the circular fitting to the right) or perhaps dislodged.

Two more in the little alley off the route de Merville. These were well-photographed[xv] and filmed[xvi] after the battle[xvii].

Photo below from IWM with the two Marder, an Opel Olympia and a Flak30. The paint scheme mentioned above is visible on the nearmost Marder[xviii]. 

.  .  .

Notes

[i] A very good resolution copy of this and other Wochenschau films are viewable on the Bundesarchiv site. Here's a link to this one. The relevant footage starts at 15:44

[ii] PK Scheck either remained with or returned to the division as he later photographed the well-known knocked out M10 17-pdr (commonly known as an Achilles) lost on 18th June just over 4km from Bréville-les-Monts, near Escoville.

[iii] In theory rather than practice

[iv] BAMA RH10/242

[v] As a bodenständige (or static) division, 346.ID had two regiments of infantry, numbered 857 and 858

[vi] Courtesy NCAP

[vii] IGN Remonter le temps

[viii] IGN Remonter le temps

[ix] Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr.719. Clip at 7:43

[x] Neil Barber's website is here

[xi] Further information here

[xii] CWGC page for Capt Ian Tait

[xiii] CWGC page for Pte Ken Gillum

[xiv] I'm not sure of a source for this. Please let me know if possible

[xv] Photo here from IWM. Ref B5473

[xvi] IWM film A70 44-2 Relevant footage at 3:59

[xvii] Some excellent analysis of the work done by AFPU personnel in the area can be found here 

[xviii] This closest Marder is interesting as it has a mix of "early" features (cast driver's hood, rivetted hull, holed drive sprocket) and "late" (external exhaust).