Footsteps of WWII · Normandy
Hill 112, Esquay-Notre-Dame
Battlefield · Jun–Aug 1944
The story
This low, broad hill south-west of Caen, between the Odon and Orne, gives a view over much of the battlefield. Tanks of the 11th Armoured Division first reached it at the end of Operation Epsom in late June but were withdrawn. On 10–11 July, in Operation Jupiter, the 43rd (Wessex) Division under Major-General Ivor Thomas attacked again against the 10th SS Panzer Division, with Tiger tanks of the 102nd SS Heavy Tank Battalion and later the 9th SS Panzer Division. The summit changed hands repeatedly and remained contested for weeks. Jupiter failed tactically, but it wore down two SS panzer divisions.
What to look for
A quiet plateau of fields. At the crossroads stand a Churchill tank, the 43rd (Wessex) Division memorial, an infantryman statue and a memorial wall; a short walk leads to the Bois Calloué memorial wood. The true summit is south of the monuments, near the orchard.
Plan your visit
Open-air site, free and accessible at all times, with no facilities. Roadside parking beside the memorials on the D8 (address given as Vieux).
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Caen Memorial (Mémorial de Caen) · 10 km
- Pegasus Bridge and Memorial Pegasus · 19 km
- Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer · 24 km
- Sword Beach and the Grand Bunker, Ouistreham · 24 km
- Museum of the Battle of Normandy, Bayeux · 25 km
- Bayeux War Cemetery and Memorial · 25 km
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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