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Normandie
Besetzung (Gettysburg,
PA)
We were
portraying the Nr.
5 Kompanie, Gren. Regt. 915 / 352nd Infanterie Division
in Normandie prior to the Allied Invasion.
The 352nd was formed in St. Lo, Normandy, on
December 5th 1943. The division was built around the surviving elements
of the 321st Infantrie Division (which had been destroyed at Kursk), the
268th Infanterie Division, and Grenadier Regiment 546 (which were mostly
survivors from the fighting in Stalingrad).
Since most of the officers were combat
experienced veterans, their knowledge of actual combat experience was
passed down to the new men during the training. Initially, it was
believed that the division would be deployed on the Eastern Front,
however as early as January 1944 the division was assigned the security of the St. Lo sector which was to
include a part of the Normandy Coast. |