The Hedgerows - Normandy, France
The Hedgerows
Normandy, France
June, 1944
By Mark Maritato
On June 6th 1944 the American and Allied Expeditionary Force landed on the beaches of Normandy France proceeded by a massive Naval bombardment and landings by U.S. and British Airborne troops. As the American infantry fought it's way inland from the beachheads they encountered a formidable and almost impenetrable obstacle. The farm lands and property lots which made up the vast majority of the immediate French countryside were overgrown with large hedges growing over old stone walls and old growth foliage. Known as the "Bocage" or "Hedgerows" much of this foliage had been growing there undisturbed for many decades and offered the German forces a ready-made maze of cover that can be easily defended.The hedgerows bordered open blocks of pastures that effectively concealed the enemy. The Americans soon realized that fighting through the hedgerows country will prove to be a difficult task. The Germans could cover an entire farm lot with one or two machine gun and mortar positions catching allied forces and tanks in a deadly cross-fire. The Americans Ingeniously devised a method of welding large makeshift Iron rakes made from the German "Hedgehog" obstacles from the beaches to the fronts of their M1 tanks which enabled the Americans to smash through the hedges and attack the Germans directly.
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