We are getting away from the original topic of this thread which was about the battles on the 7th of June.
Hubert Mayer’s book came with a separate map book. From this one can see that Villeneuve is located about 400 to 500 metres north of the railway line, while the site reported by Kurt Mayer is a few hundred yards south of the railway.
Crewman is missing the most important point. Yes things happen on the battlefield which should not happen. However the murders committed by 12th SS were of an entire different nature. Most of the murders did not happen on the battlefield, but occurred well to the rear of the German front lines. The victims were taken as prisoners of war and had been disarmed and moved to the rear by the Germans. Some were questioned; others had the wounds treated, before they were ordered to be murdered.
These acts were unique in Normandy to 12th SS. No other unit, either Allied or German committed such acts, or murdered prisoners in this manner. The murders all occurred in the first ten days after the Normandy landings, and then suddenly stopped. This may be due to the fact that senior officers realized that the war was lost. Also the Allies had dropped leaflets warning that persons guilty of war crimes will be held accountable.
“As a result of the investigations made by the Special Inquiries Section G-1, SHAEF, covering the period following the Allied landings in Normandy, it was found that the conduct of the 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitler-Jügend) presented a consistent pattern of brutality and ruthlessness.” (Supplementary Report, SHAEF Court of Inquiry)
|