NORMANDY WWII THEN & NOW: SAINT-LÔ
duda-wsm • July 3, 2021
St. Lo 1944
On D-Day June 6, 1944, the US 29th Infantry Division landed on the western part of Omaha Beach for the Invasion of Northwestern Europe. The French city of Saint-Lô was one of the strategic objectives for Operation Overlord and a stepping stone into launching Operation Cobra, the break out of Normandy. For this reason, the allies performed strategic bombardments on the city on the night of June 6 and June 7, 1944. After a month of fighting by the 29th, 30th and 35th Infantry Divisions under the XIX Corps towards Saint Lo, the 29th Division entered the city on July 18, 1944.
Together with Normandy Tour Guide, Florent Plana and Lloyd Scott, we take some incredible Then & Now photographs 77 years after this battle.
Then & Now Photographs:
The Ghost Plane of La Fosse
Dutch Researcher Searches and Finds Little Boy in 1944 Photograph
The 104th Infantry Division 'Timberwolves'
Color Photography During The Battle of the Bulge
Jaap Bothe, a very well respected name within the history of the Dutch Korps Kommandotroepen , was a member of the No. 2 Dutch Troop. As a 16 year old, he started working as a servant on the S.S. Towa on the Dutch-South America line. In the port of Montevideo he witnessed the sinking of the German battle cruiser Graf von Spee in 1939. On his way home he witnessed the hell of Dunkirk and made an emergency stop in Cardiff, only to miss the boat back home. That same ship was torpedoed and Jaap Bothe had escaped death. Eventually, Bothe ended up in Canada and joined the Prinses Irene Brigade where also the No. 2. (Dutch) Troop was formed. In September 1944 some of these commando's were attached to several Airborne units to take part in Operation Market Garden. Jaap W. Bothe was attached to the 101st Airboren Division. He was given an American paratrooper uniform and US army equipment and came in by a glider near Son, Holland on September 18, 1944. During the flight, war correspondent and post-war TV-Host Walter Cronkite was sitting opposite him. Most of his tasks were related to translating and madiating between the Dutch civilians and American troops.
BASTOGNE 2020 - For this year's anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge the team of SNAFU DOCS produced sevaral Then & Now videos. The Battle of the Bulge is a term for history buffs that is inseparable with the German Counter Offensive against the US frontlines in Belgium and Luxembourg that started on Decemeber 16, 1944. The offensive was intended to stop the Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle ever fought by the US Army in World War II. In this episode of WWII Then & Now we travel around the city of Bastogne to take several Then & Now comparison photographs to cover the story of the 10th Armored Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Many thanks to WWII Researchers: Bob Konings , Joey van Meesen and Florent Plana for helping to produce this video.