THE HEDGEROW WAR - Two Months in the Hell of the Bocage (June-August 1944)

The hedgerow war was arguably the most gruelling fighting undertaken by American troops in Europe, before the Hürtgen Forest and the Ardennes counter-offensive. In the weeks following the Landings, the GIs found themselves confronted with an unexpected environment whose significance high command had not truly grasped. The bocage proved to be a deadly trap for inexperienced American recruits, while simultaneously offering a formidable advantage to the German defenders.

Much has been written about the hedgerow war, about the liberation of the towns and villages of the Saint-Lô bocage, the marshes of Sainteny, the hills of Mont Castre, and the La Haye-du-Puits sector. But what was the daily reality for the men plunged into the heart of this hell? How did one organise an attack on enemy positions? What lessons were drawn from German resistance? How did one respond to American pressure? What was the role of aviation, tanks or artillery? How were front-line units supplied, and how were the wounded evacuated?

Such were the principal daily challenges facing every combatant, German or American. This work attempts to address them by plunging the reader into the heart of the battle.

Illustrated with period photographs and objects from the collection of the Normandy Victory Museum, this work immerses the reader in the heart of the hedgerow battle. It presents the daily reality and the stakes faced by combatants — occupiers and Allies alike — bogged down in the bocage of Saint-Lô and the marshlands.