“German generals would later say it was during the fight for places like Saint–Lô where they ‘lost the war.’”
By Ted Neill
WHAT SEEMS inevitable in hindsight often isn’t in the present moment. Such was the case 43 days after the D-Day landings. Even as American, British and Canadian forces were slogging their way inland through Normandy’s hedgerows, in some places losing a man for every yard gained, the outcome of the Allied invasion of France still hung in the balance.
Crucial to the success of the campaign was the capture of Saint-Lô, a tiny French town 20 miles in from the coast. A strategically vital crossroads for the whole of Normandy and beyond, its capture on July 19 after nearly two-weeks of intense fighting was pivotal to the long-awaited Allied break-out across Europe. German generals would later say it was during the fight for places like Saint–Lô where they “lost the war.”
My grandfather, Robert L. Fowler, was a sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 35th Division, 134th Infantry Regiment at the time – one of a handful of units that broke through the German defenses to take Saint-Lô.
My latest book, Finding St. Lo: A Memoir of War and Family, tracks Fowler’s own experiences in the momentous battle, along with those of one of his comrades: an army medic by the name of Gordon E. Cross.
To mark the release of the book, here are nine fascinating facts about the Battle of Saint-Lô, one of the most important clashes of the Second World War.
The town was the key to Normandy… and France
A number of major roads in Normandy intersect at Saint-Lô. Taking it would allow the Allies access to the entire region and provide an avenue of advance towards Paris. Germans knew its importance of the town and realized if they could hold onto it, the Allies would be trapped. The fight for Saint-Lô would be some of the bitterest in the Normandy campaign.
Saint-Lô was in the crosshairs almost immediately
British and American strategists knew that once the landings on the Normandy coast began, German reinforcements from the interior of France would be rushed forward to attack the Allied beachheads and that those enemy tanks and troops have to move through Saint–Lô. The evening before Operation Overlord, leaflets were dropped to warn civilians in the area to flee before Allied bombers were slated to level the town on June 6. Unfortunately, high winds scattered the papers. As a result, the bombing took many residents by surprise. Civilian casualties were heavy. The city would be bombed twice more as Allied troops approached in the weeks after the landings. Germans planes would later pound what was left of it.
The fight for Saint-Lô was marked by close combat
The countryside approaching the town was divided by a deadly maze of earthen embankments known as hedgerows. Fighting through this bocage country was famously bloody as combatants engaged each other at distances sometimes of just a few yards. Ground had to be won step-by-bloody-step in close-fought infantry battles from one field to the next. Soldiers could often not see much farther than the next hedgerow and frequently scurried over one only to come face to face with the enemy. “On along the hedge and—there are men standing looking at me—they are not GIs! They are Germans!” recalled medic Gordon Cross after one particularly harrowing encounter with the enemy.
The struggle for two hills overlooking the town was especially savage
Not large by most standards, hills 192 and 122 (named for their elevation in meters above sea level) were two of just a handful of vital elevated positions throughout the relatively flat Normandy countryside. Both overlooked the area around Saint–Lô; both represented crucial high-ground that had to be captured in order to secure the city. “Hill 122 will forever be etched in the memories of all the men that served,” Fowler would later remember. “Moving up to our positions and taking over from the 29th [Infantry Division] on the night of July 13, 1944, is the date all of us in the Third Battalion will remember.” The lasted from June into July with most of the action concentrated between July 7 and 22. In that interval alone, the 29th lost 3,706 soldiers; the 30th Division suffered 3,934 casualties and the 35th Division, 2,437.
Which division first entered Saint-Lô remains in dispute
It was the combined efforts of the 2nd, 30th, and 35th divisions, along with the 29th, that broke through the German defences around the town. After clearing the approaches to Saint-Lô, the other divisions held back, so the 29th could enter first. After suffering heavy casualties on Omaha Beach the previous month, and having fought the Germans to a standstill in the bocage country, the 29th was given the honour of being the unit to formally capture Saint-Lô. Amazingly, my grandfather remembers being among the first Americans to actually set foot in the city. But as members of the 134th Regiment, which belonged to the 35th Division, his unit was ordered to pull back once the city was secured so that the 29th could go down in history as the official liberators of Saint-Lô.
The first U.S. soldier to “officially” enter Saint-Lô was a corpse
Major Thomas Howie, a.k.a. the Major of Saint-Lô, was a member of the 116th Regiment assigned to the 29th Division. Howie had been killed on July 17 by a shell fragment a day after leading a bayonet charge against German troops who had surrounded another American battalion. When the 29th entered Saint-Lô the following day, Major General Charles Gerhardt ordered that Howie’s body be carried on the hood of the lead jeep so Howie could be the first U.S. soldier to formally enter the city.
Casualties on both sides were astronomical
Overall, the fight for Saint–Lô was one of the bloodiest chapters of the war in Europe. Between July 3 and 22, more than 11,000 U.S. GIs were killed there. German casualties are estimated to be similar. Ninety percent of the Americans killed in the battle in infantry units. In my grandfather’s company, only six of the original 42 men survived. “I started thinking of what I could have done to have saved them,” he’d remember later. “And I had such a sad and remorseful feeling come over me that I started crying like a baby. The company commander thought I might be losing it, but I told him that I just felt such sorrow.”
The aftermath of the battle was marked by a tragic blunder
In the days following Saint–Lô’s capture, the town would be the scene of one of the United States’ worst friendly fire incidents of the Second World War. On July 25, hundreds of American heavy bombers mounted a massive raid to blast a hole through the German lines beyond the town. During the mission, dubbed Operation Cobra, a communications breakdown resulted in a number of the planes release their payloads on top of U.S. troops. Fowler and Cross witnessed the entire episode. “The Air Force must have gathered every heavy bomber in England for a daylight bombing mission,” Fowler recalled. Prior to the blunder, Cross described the sight of more than 3,000 planes from their side coming to their aid as “wonderful.” More than 130 U.S. soldiers were killed in the raid, including Lt. Gen. Leslie McNair, the highest-ranking American to be killed in a friendly fire mishap.
St. Croix Cathedral in Saint-Lô still contains an unexploded shell from the battle
Saint-Lô was reduced to rubble in the fierce fighting that took place there in July of 1944. As many as 95 per cent of its buildings were destroyed. In fact, the town would earn the grim nickname “the Capital of Ruins” in the aftermath of the campaign. Even to this day, a shell, emptied of charges, remains lodged in the wall of a church, one of the few buildings left partially standing. It was the same place of worship where the late Major Howie’s body was lain.
Finding Saint-Lô: A Memoir of War and Family is Available on Amazon in print and e-book now. For more info, CLICK HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Gordon C. Cross entered the army during the Second World War at 38. He trained as an X-ray technician expecting to be attached to some sort of field hospital far from the front. Such was not to be the case. He wrote this diary on scraps of paper stuffed into his helmet. He passed away in 1973. He is survived by his daughter, Carol Cross, and son, Bill Cross, as well as two granddaughters, Kelly Cross and Katelyn Cross.
Robert “Bob” Fowler family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1934. He joined the National Guard at age 16, despite the requirement to be 18. He received a Bronze Star for his courage in battle at Saint-Lô and a Purple Heart for his injuries. The bullet he was shot with was never removed and he carried it in his hip the rest of his life. He passed in 2006. He is survived by his five daughters, fourteen grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren. In 2018 the Nebraska National Guard named an annual award for outstanding non-commissioned officers after him.
Ted Neill lives in Seattle. He an Amazon best-selling author of nine novels. His two memoirs Two Years of Wonder and Finding Saint-Lô – A Memoir of WWII and Family, explore the impact of mental illness and substance abuse on him and his family, and the role of the recovery community in their paths towards healing. His work has appeared in the Washington Post and Recovery Today. All his books are available on his Amazon page: Ted Neill
My father Sergeant James Riley killed a German sniper who was up in a church tower. I have the officer’s 1921 Italian Bodeo.
My father was wounded July 11, 1944 at St Lo. 30th division 120 th infantry. He was a LT with communications. James W. Salte from Newton, GA. He passed Oct. 1973 at the age of 58.
I miss spelled Salter
Montgomery wrote:
“the breakout was finally launched was a line the St.Lo-Periers road, should have been captured in the initial plan by the American First Army on D-Day plus 5, that was the 11th June. But they didn’t actually capture it until the 18th July.”
It was FIVE weeks late. And little German armour around as well. Most was facing the British in the Caen sector. The US met little German armour in Normandy.