More on the History of It All...

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So, as I mentioned to a friend over on koobecaF, I'm trying to keep this story as close to the actual events as I can. Which, as you might guess, requires a bit of research as to who was where, on what day, and what did they do there and then? As I write more, I'm finding some very good resources. On Wednesday I found the War Diaries for the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers of the British 15 (Scottish) Division. Very excited I was.

Now Sgt Billy Wallace and his lads have been, more or less, where their historical counterparts were on the days I've covered so far. Again, more or less. My intent here is to produce an entertaining work of historical fiction. I want to give my impressions of what the men on the ground, in contact with the enemy, on both sides, had to go through during the campaign in Normandy and perhaps all the way through the end of the war. (Not too ambitious am I?)

On the other hand, Sgt Bill Brandt's squad wandered off the path rather severely. Some of you may have remembered that Brandt and Jack Wilson came ashore on Omaha Beach on the 6th of June. I made a point of mentioning that they were not assigned to the 29th (Blue and Gray) Infantry Division. As there were two divisions assaulting Omaha on the 6th of June, that means Bill and Jack (et al) are assigned to the Big Red One, the 1st Infantry Division.

Some of you, who really know your history, may note that Brandt's squad was on the West Coast of the Cotentin on D + 13. Well away from where the Big Red One was operating...

Where I had them (red), where they should have been (green).
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Now I'm not saying that Sgt Brandt's L.T. (2Lt Heintzelman) was lost or anything, so far he seems like a fine young officer. What little we know of him.

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Anyhoo... I digress.

Scott the Badger had also mentioned that seeing a map would be helpful. Pictures and words can tell a story, but only a map can really fix your position in the world. Unless, of course, one is a brand new lieutenant...

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Once again though, I digress.

I've got Brandt and Wilson (et al) back to where they're supposed to be, somewhere west of Villers-Bocage, fighting tooth and nail against the 3rd Fallschirmjäger Division. Now that I have a great source for maps (check the "Source" under that first one) I think I can keep the lads in the right place. For now, let's just say that their battalion was temporarily attached to the 9th Infantry Division and leave it at that. (No one wants to know what goes in the sausage, right?)

You might note that two of the main characters are named with a variant of "Bill." Well Sgt Wallace's full first name is simply "Billy," not "William." I mean while it would be cool to have William Wallace fighting in your outfit, it's the wrong time period. I chose the name at random, after we first met then-Corporal Wallace, I noticed the connection. D'oh. So "Billy" it is, one of my favorite sergeants way back in the day was called "Billy." So there's that.

As to Sgt Brandt, okay, that's me not being clever at all. I actually know a "Bill Brandt," the character is kind of based on him, a little. But in the interests of full disclosure, the fictional Sgt Brandt's parents emigrated from the old country in the early 1920s. Though the good sergeant was born in the good old US of A, his mama named him "Wilhelm," after a favorite uncle. But in school all his friends called him Bill. If they'd called him "Willy," I'd still be trying to figure out how Willy Brandt (former West German chancellor) wound up in the American Army.

So yes, I am being a bit more careful with how I choose the names of the characters. Those fellows do seem to be multiplying though don't they? I'm trying to stick with a single American infantry squad, a single British infantry squad, and a single British tank crew. There will be more Germans coming along, but they tend to get killed or captured rather a lot. I'll try and moderate that...

The odds are pretty good that good old Jan Kołodziej, now going by Paweł Kowalski might eventually show back up as part of the Polish 1st Armored Division. How he went from unwilling German conscript to POW, to being in the employ of the Americans as an interpreter, to being with his fellow Poles is a long story, which I may, or may not, completely explore some day. It's a problem when you have too many threads in a story, hard to keep track of 'em all. (Like the British leftenant-colonel who suddenly became a major, until an alert reader posed the "WTF?" question.)

While the war does continue to rage, I needed to step back for a day, regroup, then prepare for the big offensive to attempt to seize Caen. Operation Epsom will see Sgt Wallace and the 6th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers heavily involved, not all of them are going to make it, the Brits took heavy casualties in that attack, as did the Germans.

Brandt and his boys will see action again soon, those assault guns didn't quite make it to support Unterfeldwebel Günther Hahn's attack. Of course, their company is still a bit shook up from losing their First Sergeant, slightly disorganized as there is no one to sign their leave paperwork or issue their pay (heh). No doubt the numerous Allied aircraft wandering about, sometimes calling in naval gunfire, may be stalling their planned mini-counterattack. We shall see.

So, I think we're all caught up.

In other news:

My beloved automotive transport, Big Girl, who has been in the family for 15 years, is on her way out. To be replaced by a much newer vehicle. As Big Girl was gifted to me by The Nuke, I paid zero dollars for her, initially. The new vehicle will actually have to be paid for, by me.

I see myself working well into my 70s. (Though the real plan is three more years, we'll see.)

See you back at the front, tomorrow.

Ciao.

Did anyone notice that I used the same picture twice yesterday? Well, I did.