Hill 112

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Hill 112 is the name of an area, approximately 15 km south-west of Caen, just off road junction 10, onto route D8, near Esquay, that was the scene of several major battles during the Battle of Normandy between the German Army and the British Army. It was named after the spot height on the pre-war French IGN map (altitude 112 metres).

The British forces included the men of the 15th Scottish Division, 11th Armoured Division, 43rd Wessex Division and 53rd Welsh Division. Principal among the units fighting on Hill 112 (in addition to those mentioned below) were the West Country infantry from Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset and Cornwall, and the tanks of 7th and 9th Royal Tank Regiments, plus numerous other units. Approximately 63,000 men over a period of seven weeks fought on and around Hill 112.

The first battle for Hill 112 was fought at the end of Operation Epsom, when the tanks of 11th Armoured Division broke out from a bridgehead established by the 2nd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders at Tourmauville. Hill 112 was only an intermediate objective on the way to the River Orne crossings but such was the German reaction that the 23rd Hussars were only able to capture and hold the hill with difficulty.

Hill 112, at the end of a narrow salient, was held by the infantry of The Rifle Brigade. Here they remained under heavy shell and mortar fire until, warned by ULTRA decryptions of German radio traffic that II SS Panzerkorps was arriving and about to attack, Montgomery ordered them to withdraw and the hill to be abandoned to the Germans.

The British commanders, led by Montgomery, intended to hold the approximately seven German Panzer Divisions, on their front. While the British held the panzers, the Americans captured Cherbourg and broke out from the beachhead. The American objective was feasible because the Americans had only the equivalent of one-and-a-half Panzer divisions facing them throughout most of the campaign.

The main attack on Hill 112 was strategically designed to FIX the German panzers and tactically to gain 'elbow room' in what was still a tight beachhead. The predominantly Territorial Army soldiers of 43rd Wessex Division were to attack positions held by 10th Frundsberg SS Panzer Division in what was an extremely fierce battle. The German defenders survived naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire but held their ground, crucially supported by Tiger tanks from the 101st Schwere Panzer Battalion. These mighty tanks armed with the 88 mm gun had both greater protection and firepower and outclassed the opposing British Churchill tank and Sherman tank.

Even though the hill was not captured and was left as a no-man's-land between the two armies, important surrounding villages had been taken. Above all, however, the 9th Hohenstaufen SS Panzer Division, which had been in the process of moving out of the line to form an operational reserve, was brought back to contain the British. Therefore, on the strategic level Operation JUPITER was a significant success.

It was not until American troops eventually started to break out from the Normandy lodgement, as Operation Cobra developed momentum, in August 1944, that the Germans withdrew from Hill 112 and the 53rd Welsh Division occupied the feature, with barely a fight.

Casualties during that period amounted to approximately 25,000 British troops and 500 British tanks. The 43rd Wessex sustained 7,000 casualties in 12 days - 10-22 July.

Hill 112 was without a doubt the 'key to Normandy' and featured large in both sides' strategic-level plans. But ultimately when COBRA got moving it lost its value.^{[citation needed]}

The importance of the battles for Hill 112 is remembered by the erection of the 43rd Wessex Division's memorial by the residents of Normandy, to the combatants and civilians who lost their lives.

[edit] Hill 112 in popular culture

The Battle for Hill 112 is depicted in the forthcoming tactical wargame Panzerblitz: Hill of Death from Multi-Man Publishing. Panzerblitz: Hill of Death is a modern follow-up to the Avalon Hill games of the 1970s Panzerblitz and Panzer Leader.

Hill 112 is plays an important role in the "Liberation of Caen" scenario in computer game Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, a Real Time Strategy game from THQ.