The Breakthrough seemed to go on schedule. Normandy is a dairy and apple country covered with hedgerows boxing in different pastures for the cows. These hedgerows made a perfect cover for machine guns, and it was slow going for the ground troops. I saw many dead and wounded cows.
Eventually American and British troops pored through at St Lo and moved quickly into France. This is where the cavalry was most useful. We had jeeps, armored cars and gun carriers that looked like tanks with no tops. The armored cars had rubber tires and could go as fast as the jeeps.
We would now tour France, fortified with a couple of bottles of hard cider we picked up in apple country.
During my stay in Cherbourg Peninsula, I saw many of the gliders that were made of canvas and bamboo that were used on D-Day. The gliders were towed by transport lanes and cut loose over France filled with troops. It was very rare to see one that wasn’t totaled. This is probably why they were referred to as ‘Flying Coffins’.
Paratroopers had a better chance to land wherever they could on their own.