The story of the 83rd and the Battle of St. Malo is told on a website ...
By the beginning of August, the 83rd was part of Patton's 3rd Army, and while most of the 3rd Army turned east out of the Cotentin Peninsula toward Paris, the 83rd Division turned west into Brittany through Coutances and Avranches. The coastal towns of St. Malo and Dinard belonged to them alone.
Strategically, the battle for St. Malo may not have been one of the "big battles," but that does not detract from the monumental campaign that it was. It is an incredible tale about an American commander with the improbable name of Major Speedie (329th Infantry) and a "mad" German Colonel (von Aulock)--complete with monacle, flapping coat, German Police dog, and a mysterious mistress having a "past" with Russian royalty. He said he would hold out to the last man in an ancient fortress that had been heavily reinforced with concrete and contained underground tunnels, storage areas, power plants, ammo dumps, living quarters, and even a hospital.
The 329th moving up from the south made slow progress through wire, mine fields, mortar and artillery fire, and machine gun crossfire from pillboxes to take Montais, Le Bourelais, and La Balue Station. Then following a house-to-house assault, all of St. Servan, except the Fortress Citadel, was taken.
Images of the Battle of St Malo
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