OPERATION EPSOM - 49TH DIVISION AT THE VILLAGE OF FONTENAY- LE-PESNEL (PART 1) [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: OPERATION EPSOM - 49TH DIVISION AT THE VILLAGE OF FONTENAY- LE-PESNEL (PART 1) [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: A70 58-1
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Wrecked armoured fighting vehicles and guns from 146th Brigade and its supporting units and the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend are found in Fontenay-le-Pesnel as British troops consolidate their hold on the devastated village.
  • Description: A 4th Lincolnshire Regiment Universal Carrier overtakes a Loyd carrier hit and set on fire by an anti-tank projectile in a meadow outside Fontenay; the 6-pounder gun it was towing lies a few yards away. Dead cattle and the corpse of an SS man (from the 26th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment) are found in fields outside the village. In Fontenay itself, a 7.5cm anti-tank gun covering the Caen-Juvigny road has been overrun, with one of its gunners lying dead nearby, while further down the road can be seen a burnt-out Sherman tank and a smouldering Panther Ausf G tank, which the cameraman examines in detail. The cameraman then surveys the extent of the destruction in the village - a product of mortar and artillery fire from both sides - and observes men of the Hallamshire Regiment looking for snipers in and around Fontenay, during which a fatally injured German is given water to drink, and digging in.
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-06-25
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor) Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company) Ginger (Sergeant) (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, Div 49 (regiment/service) British Army, Lincolnshire Regiment, 4th Battalion (regiment/service) British Army, York and Lancashire Regiment, 4th Battalion (regiment/service) German Waffen-SS & 26 SS Panzer Grenadier Regt (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: armour, British - carrier: Universal (object name) armour, British - carrier: Loyd & [damaged] (object name) armour, United States - tank: M4 Sherman & [British] & [wrecked] (object name) weapons, German - gun [AT]: 7.5cm gun (object name) armour, German - tank: Pzkpfw V Ausf G & Panther I & [wrecked] (object name) combat, British (object name) weapons, British - gun: 6-pounder gun (object name) casualties, German dead - battlefield (object name) casualties, German wounded - battlefield (object name) destruction, French military - area (object name) 01/5(4-16).232 [ Operation Epsom] (event) Fontenay-le-Pesnel, Calvados, France (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: None Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Footage: 403 ft; Running time: 4 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Notes: Summary: the activity seen here was part of 30th Corps' attempts to capture the Rauray spur and thus clear the way for 8th Corps in an offensive timed for the 26 June Remarks: good action footage Summary: burnt-out Sherman depicted is possibly from the Notts (Sherwood Forest) Rangers.
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    A70 58-1

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