Location of the Brecourt (Normandy, France) WW2 Howitzer battery using a geoforensic search strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT The assault on D-day by Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Corps on a German howitzer battery at Brecourt Manor (Normandy) that was firing upon Utah Beach is a famous action of World War 2. Understanding the firefight and disablement of the guns depends on where the four howitzers and crew were located. Three of the locations are unequivocal, with post-WW2 accounts and the search described here in agreement. One Howitzer position (the northernmost of the four) remains in contention, with two different positions described. A geoforensic search strategy (desktop study, geophysics, excavation) was deployed that shows strong evidence for the location of the debated fourth gun, together with aerial photographic and military tactical evidence for why this fourth Howitzer was moved to a second location close to D-day.