Gémenos
Infantry of the 7eme Regiment de Tirailleurs Algeriens and tanks of CC1 passing on the road from Gemenos. Other units of de 3eme cleared the nearby mountains of Germans.
Caen
The battle did not go as planned for the Allies, instead dragging on for two months, because German forces devoted most of their reserves to holding Caen, particularly their badly-needed armor reserves.The old city of Caen—with many buildings dating back to the Middle Ages—was largely destroyed by Allied bombing and the fighting. The reconstruction of Caen lasted until 1962. Today, little of the pre-war city remains.
Brignolis
The city was cleared by 1030 hours on Aug. 19 after a two-day battle. German troops in the action represented the 338th, 242nd and 244th infantry divisions along with the 189th Reserve Division. During the next 24 hours, Third Division troops would advance another 30 miles
The Germans defended Brignoles in vain with two battalions of the 338th Infantry Division. The battle for Brignoles was the toughest fight during the breakout from the beachhead for the Second Battalion of the 30th Regiment and a patrol of the Third Recon Troop.
Little has changed in this small park. The tree has grown older since then and the ornament at entry has disappeared.
Arromanches-les-Bains
Mulberry
On Gold Beach in Normandy, the situation of Arromanches-les-Bains was particular : the beach was embedded between two twenty meters height cliffs, where the defences had been built by the Germans. At 7:30 a. m, on 6 June 1944, the British troops – the 1st Hampshire and the 1st Dorset – landed eastward from Arromanches, in Le Hamel, without artillery support.
In this area the fortifications of the beach were built up with two strong points : the WN 36 and the WN 37. In a short time the 1st Hampshire lost three commander-in-chief facing WN 37. The breakthrough was achieved in the afternoon with the landing of tanks and reinforcements. Vehicles and infantry quickly moved inland. A company of New-Hampshire liberated Saint-Côme-de-Fresné, after heavy shelling of open sea anchored battleships. The British entered in Arromanches-les-Bains in the evening around 9:00 p. m.
Arromanches beach front. Click to enlarge
Persano
Near Persano stood a tobacco factory which was like a revolving door: after first being attacked on the September 11 by the 157th Regiment, it changed hands twice the following day before coming under American control. On September 13 a strong German counterattack recaptured the tobacco factory, and they remained unshakable there for five more days and in so doing were able to block any American advance further inland.
Nowdays the fram houses different companies, but for a part it is still not rebuilt. It looks like ages stood still and some rebuilt buldings are collapsed again.
A well-described account of the fierce fighting surrounding the tobacco factory can be found here: A Journey to World War II Battlefields Part 7