On the east side of D138.

Monument

The monument consists of a stone structure with a rectangular black plaque listing the names of the soldiers specifically from the 1st Platoon, Company C, 712th Tank Battalion who were killed on July 10, 1944. The monument commemorates the soldiers of the 712th Tank Battalion who fought during the brutal Normandy campaign in World War II. This particular battalion was involved in some of the harshest fighting as part of Operation Cobra, which was designed to break out from the Normandy beachhead.

The 712th Tank Battalion was supporting the 90th Infantry Division, and they encountered fierce resistance from German forces entrenched in the bocage (hedgerow) country, a landscape that provided significant defensive advantages to the Germans. One of the most notable battles involving the 712th was the assault on Mont Castre (Hill 122), a key position that dominated the surrounding area. This area saw intense combat, including close-quarters fighting in difficult, densely vegetated terrain.

The memorial specifically lists the names of soldiers who were killed in action (KIA) in this area on July 10, 1944. These men were part of a tank company that suffered heavy losses as they pushed through German defenses during the larger Allied effort to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula.

Note: Even though the monument says that these men were KIA on July 10, official records and their headstones show that their death was on July 11, except for PFC Wojtilla who was MIA and was declared dead a year after the incident.

Source of information and photo: www.normandie44lamemoire.com

Source of photo: www.google.com/maps

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KIA JULY 10 1944

1^ST PLATOON CO. C

712^TH TANK BATTALION