The Village of Canteloup is around 10km to the South East on Caen. Here Kompanie 1 of Schwere (Heavy) Panzer Abteilung 503 (who had the distinction of being equipped with some of the first Tiger II‘s) camped in the grounds of the Château for two weeks in July 1944.
You may already know the famous pictures taken here because they've been used in so many publications over the years. They show a couple of Tiger II’s in a lane hidden under tree cover and in one picture two British POW’s are seen bringing up food canteens for the crews. When I located this site I was surprised how little the scene had changed since 1944. Although the big trees have sadly been felled, new ones have replace them and it's still possible to see at the sides of the lane the original tree stumps.
A walk down the lane to the end past the church and you’ll notice to the left the now ruined Château of Canteloup, still a very impressive building, its moat has dried up and its ancient grounds are now all over grown.
Once home I sadly discovered that it had actually been used as the headquarters for the 21st Panzer Regiment and that another well known photo had been taken on the entrance steps of Oberst Hermann Von Oppeln-Bronikowski in black panzer uniform on the day he was awared the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross (received 28th July 1944) and also the German Cross in Gold. He was awarded the Swords to the Knights Cross on 17th April 1945. If I’d only known this at the time I could have easily walked to the steps and taken a prefect match, oh well another visit for next time.
Below is my picture of the lane with the original picture merged into it. This is followed by a Picture of Oberst Hermann Von Oppeln-Bronikowski with the steps and rails behind him merged into the best picture I took showing the front of the building with the steps and railings in the distance. Next picture is just to show you how impressive the building still is even though its ruined and now overgrown and finally another original picture showing the British POW's with the Tigers.
Just a thought, The Germans always seemed to choose impressive buildings for use as headquarters.
LUCKYSTRIKE
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