The story
On August 22, at dawn, the advance starts again. The light vehicles of the Group are now able to cross the Dives on a bridge built by the Belgian engineers. At 1300hrs, the Belgians enters Villers-sur-Mer where the Group receives a fervent reception from the populace. Everywhere, French, British and Belgian flags flutter, bells ring and the crowd shouts: "Long live Belgium! Thank you! Long live France !". In the evening, Touques is passed and Deauville is liberated. The Belgian Group is the first to have reached this river. General GALE summons Colonel PIRON to his HQ to congratulate him on the rapid progress of his Group. Lieutenant Benjamin PINKOUS is wounded by mortar. He died on August, 24.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.