SAINT-GILLES Manche - 5 km west of Saint-Lô
The "Old Hickory" launched the attack on the left flank
On 18 July a Task force under General Cota liberated Saint-Lô. The city suffered heavy destructions in the fighting and was nicknamed "the capital of the ruins". A week later General Bradley Commander of the 1st American Army launched the Operation Cobra. General Collins VIIth Corps was assigned to carry out the decisive breaktrough. On 25 July American aircrafts dropped 3 300 tons bombs on the German lines west of Saint-Lô. The 30th Infantry Division "Old Hickory" launched the attack on the left flank. The American infantry progressed through a ploughed ground and encountered a weak opposition near Hébécrevon. The next day on 26 July, troops commanded by General Hobbs renewed the offensive, supported by tanks of the 2nd Armoured Division CCA. The German infantry of the II Fallschirm-Jäger Korps withdrew facing the onrush of the Americans who liberated Saint-Gilles.
  
     
   
 
 
 
General Collins plaque
Plaque in memory of General Joseph Lawton Collins commander of the VIIth American Army Corps. The Operation Cobra was launched on 25 July 1944 by the VIIth Army Corps and liberated Saint-Gilles on 26 July.
Situation :on the wall, left of the church porch entrance
 
   
   
ROAD MAP
 
INTERESTING WEB SITES

Personal web site about D-day and Normandy battle
http://www.debarquement-normandie.com/
Personal web site about the German tanks
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/profiles.htm
Personal web site about the 2rd US Armored Division
http://www.2ndarmoredhellonwheels.com/
Personal web site about the 2nd World War – weapons of all countries
http://www.secondeguerre.net/index2.html

 
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