The June 1944 fighting in the Ormel

The fights of June 44 at the Ormel

On the morning of June 6, the Ormel (which was called the Vaumicel Castle on American maps, following an error in the interpretation of French maps) was occupied very early by a group of daring Americans.

A section of Company B/116, 30 GIs commanded by Lieutenant Taylor, had disembarked from an LCA around 7:15 a.m., not far from Villa Hardelay. At that time, this piece of beach was little affected by German fire. No mortar shells either. They were probably too far from the strong defenses of the descent of Vierville. Taylor quickly led his section across the beach and on the pebbles, still losing 4 men killed and 2 wounded by machine guns. A few meters to his right, Taylor saw, coming out of another LCA, Lieutenants Harold Donaldson and Emil Winkler killed.

Without stopping to think, Taylor drove his section in line, at the top of the cliff, passing by chance between the WN70 (above the Chevallier villa) and WN71 (above the current beach bar), then on Vierville, on the side of the Gicqiau garage, where he arrived around 8 or 9 a.m.m. Luck pursued him. In 1 hour or 2 of combat, a group of Germans swept away without losing a man. When the skirmish calmed down, he was joined by Sergeant Pearce with a small squad of another LCA of Cie B/116, landed much further east towards St-Laurent. They counted themselves, they were 28 in all and they thought they were the only survivors of the 6 scattered LCAs of the B/116.

(In fact the survivors of another section of the "B" were now fighting with Rangers around the Gambier house, on the other side of the Vierville descent)

Lieutenant Taylor's probable itinerary.

Taylor then left for the South, through fields, towards the agreed assembly point of the 1st Battalion, located near Louvières. 500m from Vierville, inland, he saw the Ormel farm, an imposing stone construction, with fields lined with hedges that are easy to defend. He approached with his men. Shots stopped them 100m before the farm. Germans were behind a hedge. Always sure of themselves, Taylor's men flattened themselves, opening fire with guns, and throwing grenades, despite the distance.

Miraculously, a grenade hit the helmet of a German crouched in his hole. He jumped shouting: "Kamerad!, Kamerad!". On it 24 Germans came out from behind the hedge, hands on their heads. Taylor sent one of his riflemen to take these prisoners to the beach. The brief fight had cost him 3 wounded. In the Ormel, Taylor made 2 other prisoners, a German doctor and his nurse. Taylor declared them "prisoners on word", and left his 3 injured to their care, while he took his section to the first crossroads, 100m beyond the farm.

There, he was blocked by the sudden arrival of 3 German infantry trucks who immediately deployed in the fields on his flanks and began to surround him. At 3 against 1, in the first exchange of fire, lasting no more than 2 minutes, a rifleman lying near Taylor was killed, and the BAR submachine gun was snatched from Pearce's hands. They were only 20, and without automatic weapons.

Taylor ordered the fold on the farm. The enemy was very close. But the walls were thick and pierced with killers (prepared by the Germans) and at noon and early afternoon, they served the American riflemen. The only question was that of ammunition. Would they last longer than those of the Germans? The answer came in the afternoon, with thearrival of 15 Rangers of the 5th Battalion who, joining their fire to that of Taylor's men, made the Germans disappear.

Already, of all the US elements that had attacked and occupied Vierville, Taylor and his group were the farthest in the South. But Taylor was still isolated, with no links to his command. He then led the group forward, always towards Louvières, 18 of his own riflemen and 15 Rangers next in column. A man was shot dead while leaving the Ormel. As night fell, they prepared to bivouac when a runner joined them with a message so that the remains of the 1st Battalion would gather closer to Vierville. Taylor and his group met there for the night.

Later, still in shock, Sergeant Price paid tribute to Taylor. "We didn't see any sign of fear in him. Looking at him, he made us men. Forward or fighting, he led us. We followed him, that's all there was to do."

More than 30,000 Americans landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, but the set was conquered by a few handfuls of men like Taylor, bold, brave, skilled and lucky. All over Omaha Beach, they saved the day from a complete disaster.

We also have the story of the young teenagers Piprel who stayed at the Ormel during the fights. Their adventure was reported in the book "The craziest Day".

The Piprel family lived at the Casino hotel, on the beach. The Germans requisitioned the building and therefore resettled in 1943 in the town of Vierville.

"Pierre and Fernand Piprel are 18 and 20 years old, they refuse to take refuge in a cellar and want to leave. They decide to go to Ste-Honorine, 8 km east of Vierville, by small paths. But very quickly they are stopped by Germans who shoot with a machine gun. Forced to return, they find themselves at the Ormel farm where Louis Leterrier, the farmer, whom they know well for having worked there on occasion, welcomes them. The shrapnel is everywhere, we are at the end of the morning. Louis Leterrier houses everyone, the governess, the agricultural worker Félix Anger and the 2 young people, in the stable where the walls are thicker. (this is the building facing East, at the NE corner)

"There was no question of putting your nose out. At the end of the day, a shell fell nearby, killing a mule and sifting the walls with splinters.

During the night, an American was injured and in the early morning, on the orders of an American non-commissioned officer, we attached a horse to a car with hay around the bottom where we installed the injured to take him down to the nearest American emergency station. Shortly after our return to the Ormel, a small group of Germans, including a sergeant with a skinned nose and face, entered the stable, who asked us where the "tommies" were and we replied that we did not know. He was then threatening, but seeing a bottle of cider, he grabbed it and drank it with his comrades, then they left.

We were very scared and we thought they had received reinforcements and had rejected the Americans to the sea. That's why, on the morning of the 7th, we decided to carry out a reconnaissance towards the village. On the way, while scraping the hedges along the road, we saw that Mr. Ygouf's house was still burning..."