By 1445 the 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry's advance had flushed out the remaining Panthers. Trailing a short distance behind the advance guard, two M-10s from Company C, 899th TD Battalion, detected a pair of Panthers emerging from a nearby wooded area about one mile southwest of la Caplainerie. The M-10s destroyed them before the German vehicles could return fire. As the dust settled, the Americans then spotted another enemy tank moving along a tree-lined side road to the east. Both opened fire, knocking out a third Panther. The destruction of the 4th Company was now complete.

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With his badly exposed men being chewed up by the combined firepower of American infantry, tank destroyers, aircraft and artillery, Bayerlein ordered his division to pull back. Rommel's attempt to restore the deteriorating situation north of St. Lô had been a failure; the only result was the loss of irreplaceable tanks and Panzergrenadiers.

Americans who fought Panzer Lehr readily acknowledged the abilities of their opponents. 'These are clearly a better type of German [soldier] than we had been fighting,' one TD officer noted. Although they had achieved a breakthrough in places and fought well, it is arguable whether Panzer Lehr could have accomplished the difficult mission it was assigned. Bayerlein's men were facing experienced foes with a proven combat record. The 30th Division had been fighting nonstop since June 15, suffering numerous casualties but gaining valuable experience in

the process. The 9th Infantry Division's superlative performance prompted an officer from the 3rd Armored Division to remark: '[T]he American infantry did not let the enemy tank penetration bother them. They knew their own defense in depth of TDs and antitank guns had been set up. This defense in depth behind the infantry is SOP [standard operating procedure] and consequently the Panther penetration caused no demoralization.'

No less important a factor contributing to the defeat of the German counterattack was the physical characteristics of the hedgerow country that had frustrated American commanders no end. One captured German armor crewman complained about the 'unwise tactics' his superiors used by employing tanks in such terrain. 'The Panther had a gun that was very effective at great ranges, and at such ranges they were safe from `ambush' flanking fires that threatened them at every corner of every hedgerow,' the tanker remarked. 'The narrow sunken roads provided partial defilade for the big tanks, but they frequently got wedged into tight passages and found that the high hedges restricted traverse for [our] long-barreled 75mm guns.'

The hedgerows were impartial witnesses to the fighting in Normandy, offering protection to defenders and creating obstacles for attackers regardless of nationality. And while the Allies are frequently criticized for failing to take the existence of the hedgerows into account when planning for the Normandy campaign, Bayerlein's failed attack demonstrated that despite four years of occupation, the Germans had failed to adequately prepare for these ancient Norman obstructions as well.

Although it was a long, frustrating summer, over a lengthy period of time Allied forces operating in Normandy were able to develop means of overcoming these complex natural obstacles. Hard-pressed by ever increasing Allied numbers and with counterattacks such as that of Panzer Lehr failing to halt the Allied buildup, the Germans never had a chance to overcome the difficulties presented by the hedgerows. Despite the best efforts of Panzer Lehr and other German formations, St. Lô fell to the 29th Infantry Division on July 18, 1944, and the stage was set for the eventual Allied breakout from Normandy.

This article was written by Mark J. Reardon and originally appeared in the December 2005 issue of World War II magazine. For more great articles subscribe to World War II magazine today!

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