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Some things I learned on my trip to France (now with pics!)


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I made sure to go see the Bayeux tapestry while I was there, although it was terribly crowded. The Norman invasion is my favorite bit of medieval history. But then, I don't know a lot of medieval history....

Anyway, I recommend knowing the story before you see the Tapestry. The penguin classic, "1066 - The Year of the Conquest" is my favorite.

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Runyan99,

Thanks for the reports, and I'm looking forward to the photos too.

I've had a look for Lingreves in Hastings (Overlord), Wilmott (Struggle for Europe), Fendick (CANLOAN Officer), Reynolds (Steel inferno), Ellis (Victory in the west), Copp (Montgomery's scientists) and Meyer (History of 12. SS-Pzdiv, mapbook), and all were no joy :( At least, they all had Lingreves marked on their maps, but none in any detail, and certaily no wood. The partial exception was Meyer, but the reproduction detail was so poor that it was worthless anyway.

Sorry.

Oh! I just thought of one more place I can try. I'll let you know.Edit: no, nothing in Pemberton (Artillery tactics and equipment) either. Sorry.

Regards

JonS

[ May 28, 2004, 04:14 PM: Message edited by: JonS ]

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Okay then, picture time. Turns out I do get 10MB of web hosting space I didn't even know I had, so here goes! I'll add a few at a time.

Here is the St. Etienne church at Caen I had mentioned earlier. As you can see, it appears that most of the nave is missing. I have to assume this is bomb damage.

etienne.JPG

[ May 28, 2004, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: Runyan99 ]

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Here is the field at Brecourt Manor.

brecourt.JPG

The shot is taken from the main east-west road leading into the farm, and looking north. The actual farm buildings are just 20 meters behind you, as you look at this picture.

The hedgerow on the right is where the German guns were emplaced. It may be hard to judge distance from a photo, but again it is about 200 meters long. The American attack started at the far end of this hedgerow, and worked down. German MGs fired from the next hedgerow to the left, or east (not visible in this photo) as Winters made his attack.

Here is a quick schematic I did to illustrate. Brown like is a road, green line is a hedge.

brecourt%20schematic.JPG

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trimmed%20hedgerow.JPG

Here is one of my favorite pics. This is a country road lined with hedgerows. It is special spot because the hedgerow is neatly trimmed here for a memorial to a US general who was killed when his glider crashed.

So, you get a real good look at how large the earthen banks are underneath the hedgerows. Here, the earthen bank rises 2-3 feet above the level of the road. The effect is also exaggerated by the common feature of the roadside drainage ditch, which is commonly 1-2 feet deep. Then, you get a view of the fully 'forested' hedgerow further down the road.

A cross-section, if you will.

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Originally posted by Runyan99:

A couple more items today.

7) McDonald's has invaded France, but Budweiser and Starbucks have not.

The King of Beers, so I was told many years ago, can’t copy write/ trademark ‘Budweiser’ in Europe because the name belongs to a beer brewing region in the Czech Republic. Thus the absence of Budweiser in France. More info here:

http://www.budvar.cz/index.html

No guess about Starbucks.

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We have excellent Belgian, English and German beers - why would we bother with this canned piss, especially since we also have our own european brands of awful beers - Kronenbourg, 1664, Heineken...

You should definitely try those while you're here. Might dispel that "France is a land of (albeit smelly) gourmets where every dish is lined with foie gras and only served with the best wine" legend Americans treasure smile.gif

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