Wn41 Battr. Franziska,
le Petit Fontaine, Ryes,
K.V.U Gruppe Bessin, K.V.Gr Bayeux.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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The Dorset Regement landed on Gold Beach with the objective of taking Wn40, Wn40a, Wn40b & Wn41.
I have covered these attacks previously, but I thought I would also add Wn41 in on its own.

10cm le.F.H.14/19(t).

British soldiers ready to advance.

 

 

 

 

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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le Petit Fontaine, just passed this barn on the left.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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The route of the Dorsets from Jig Beach to Wn41.
Green - C Company.
Yellow - A Company.

 

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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Wn41 Ryes - le Petit Fontaine a battery of four Field Howitzers which were horse drawn artillery.

Batterie Franciska.
4 x 10cm le.F.H.14/19(t).

10cm le.F.H.14/19(t).

10cm le.F.H.14/19(t) were a horse drawn batterie.

10cm powder bags.

10cm shells

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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This picture in WO 205/1108 file of the batterie site. Yellow possibly - barbed wire & white - trenches.

Two plans of the area.

Barbed wire.

 

Trenches.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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An after action report on the batterie position.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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A look through Google Earth Pro and it shows up around 2000/2009 time, since then I believe its been ploughed up. The other three cannot be found.

A concrete base for a 10cm le.F.H. 14/19(t). There may have been three more of these up in the far field, this one has now disappeared.
[Needs investigating] --- we did on the 15 October 2017 and only found a few ammunition niches in the side of a track.

The Dorset’s put in another attack later on D-Day here but found it empty of troops , leaving their guns and much of their equipment and all the ammunition had been fired off. They had run out of ammunition at 06:00 on D-Day.
Artillery are given a 'Load' of shells meaning a certain amount. That is the amount they can fire off before they need re-supply. I believe in Normandy they had 'Two Loads' per Batterie but one load may have been removed(on orders from Artillery command) for safety and held back away from the gun position due to the increased Allied bombing . Re supply would have been easy, either lorried transport or horse drawn carts and could have brought up plenty of shells. But due to the constant fighter and fighter bombers, no ammunition got through to any of the forward batteries on D-Day.

10cm le.F.H.14/19(t).

Boys will be boys.

Ringstand from the air.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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Just past the le Petit Fontaine farm house a track leads up onto the hill and along there are about four ammunition niches.

Ammunition niche in the left bank of the track, the first emplacement is to the left behind the hedge..

Ammunition niche.

An ammunition niche when in use.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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Another niche in the hedgrow.

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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Time Team Special 17 (2004).
Also: -
Click here for the Channel 4 Time Team D-Day Special.

Three recommended books: -
Three Assault Landings, Lt-Gen. Bredin. The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester.
They Couldn't Have Done Better. Christopher Jary, Semper Fidelis ISBN: 978-0-9929033-4-3.
The D-Day Landing on Gold Beach. Andrew Holborn. ISBN: 978-1-4411-8326-6.
The 56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day. Andrew Holborn. ISBN: 978-1-4411-1908-7 (hard back) 978-1-4411-1908-1 (Paper back).

Wn41Battr. Franziska le Petit Fontaine

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© 2013 Richard Drew