Breaking the Panzers

This work describes the vital defensive fighting on 1 July 1944 at Rauray in Normandy. Although the 1st Tyneside Scottish battalion gained a battle honour for their victory against the might of two of Germany’s elite SS Panzer Divisions, the engagement and its significance for the Normandy campaign as a whole have been largely forgotten. The enemy’s last throw came on 1 July, a fierce attempt to penetrate the Allied line and force the British back to the coast. After more than 14 hours of fighting and resolute defence by British anti-tank guns and artillery, the 2nd and 9th Panzer Divisions were halted in their tracks. Here is a reconstruction of one day’s battle in World War II, the background and build-up behind it and the men and battalion involved. The entire action of the bloody fighting is told through eyewitness accounts, full signal reports, and photographs to give a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the battle.