I rode around the Suisse Normande back in March and had all kinds of plans to write up the whole ride, but work and family considerations have left me berating myself for not getting something up. With that in mind, I am putting up some info from the Battle of Mont Pincon. The battle for the area lasted a few days, but the interesting bit to me happened in the evening of 6 August 1944 and overnight.
A quick intro to the battle can be found here.
In short, British tanks from the 13/18 Hussars barrelled up the hill along an uncovered track and occupied the key communications node of a hill before the Germans knew what happened.

The map below shows many of the tracks on the hill and the track running from the southwest side to the west side of the hill was the one taken by the Hussars.

I'm including 2 short videos on Youtube.

The first is riding up the main road to see the 2 modern radio towers / antennae, which give a good idea of why Mont Pincon was so important to the German defense of this area. One could surmise that the loss of these posts led to some of the confusion that caused the Germans to get trapped in Falaise pocket not long after this.

The second video is to show the road (that is not shown on Google Maps), from the north, to the Hussars overnight leaguer area. They actually came up from the southwest, but, alas, I cannot find my video for that part of the ride. There is a battle interpretation board at the end and the monument to the 13/18 Hussars is nearby.

I'm planning on writing a lot more on Mont Pincon, Operations Bluecoat and Cobra and the great riding around the Suisse Normande, but this should hold you for a while. ;o)

Book and Map Recommendations

As part of my research on Operation Bluecoat, I travelled along this road running from Villers Bocage to Vire.

It was a great ride and, just off it, I visited the British cemetery at Saint-Cahrles-de-Percy, which was quite a moving place. The American cemeteries have the stark white marble crosses and stars of David, but are bare except for name, rank, unit, home state and date of death. The British traditional headstones are made in what looks like the local Normandy stone, which resembles Cotswold stone, and had all of the basic data as well. However, the British also allowed the families to put incriptions on the stones. When I walked along reading the families' inscriptions, I welled up like I never had in the American cemeteries. I think the British stones make the visit far more personal. You feel the pain that parents, wives and children.... many of whom are still alive today... felt with the loss of huge chunks of their lives with each man's passing. I recommend this cemetery to anyone travelling in Normandy. It truly drives home the magnitude of human suffering, including those back home.

Heres a picture of the cemetery at Saint-Charles-de-Percy;

Motorcycle Ride Recommendation

Try this circular route, which takes in Villers Bocage, Vire, Montchauvet, Aunay and Saint-Charles-de-Percy.

Book Recommendation: Operation Bluecoat from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Map Recommendation: Michelin Historical Map 102: Battle of Normandy from AbeBooks.com or Amazon.com

Accor Hotels in the Caen area