Ernst Barkmann - Normandy

Normandy

The Das Reich division remained on the Eastern front until January 1944. Early in February, the division was ordered to France to refit and to form a part of Panzergruppe West, the armoured reserve for the expected allied invasion. Leaving its remaining armour behind for other divisions to use, the Das Reich was posted to the Bordeaux region. With the exception of several skirmishes with partisans, the refit was uneventful. Barkmann, along with the rest of the I Battalion of the panzer regiment, was equipped with new model Panthers.

Operation Overlord, the expected Allied invasion, was launched on 6 June 1944. When the division was released for action by Führer headquarters, it was placed on high alert and remained in southern France in case of secondary invasions there. When it became clear that the Normandy invasion was the major Allied effort, the division was ordered north to the front. The division's transit to the front was marked by heavy Jabo and partisan attacks. Barkmann and the panzer regiment were not involved with the massacre of Oradour-sur-Glane, perpetrated by a Panzergrenadier unit of the division.

The division finally reached the front in early July and was thrown into action against the American forces near Saint-Lô. Barkmann, in his Panther Ausf A (Nr. 424) saw heavy fighting against American M4 Shermans and M5A1 Stuarts in the bocage. The narrow sunken roads and impassable hedgerows of the bocage meant that the German could establish a deadly defensive line and that the American matériel advantage could not be exploited. Barkmann claims he inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing Americans and halted a major armoured advance near Le Neufbourg. This conflicts with US accounts for the area that mention an action with the Unit protecting the flank of the main US advance on Marigny (Troop A, 4th Cavalry Squadron)where 2 M5 tanks, 2 M8 AC and 6 GP were destroyed. For his claims Barkmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). After the launch of Operation Cobra, the Das Reich avoided encirclement in the Falaise Pocket and, alongside the 9.SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen, fought to hold open an escape route for the trapped German forces. After the collapse of the pocket, the Das Reich fell back towards the West Wall. During the retreat, Barkmann was involved in many desperate rearguard actions, destroying many American vehicles.