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Joël Stoppels Battlefield Tours

Name: Joël Stoppels Battlefield Tours
Address: Calvijnstraat 4, Groningen, 9746BE, NL
Telephone: +31502803684
Price range: ££
Rating: 5

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Nederland
Groningen
Joël Stoppels Battlefield Tours

De tours zijn geschikt voor alle leeftijden. Visiting battlefields from any conflict is both a fascinating and moving experience.
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Battlefield Tours is gespecialiseerd in het geven van rondleidingen over de bevrijding van Nederland en Europa in de Tweede Wereldoorlog en neemt u mee naar de meest indrukwekkende locaties! Soldiers who fought those wars left behind a legacy; their name on a war memorial, an experience passed down to the family or a faded photograph in a frame. How do we understand the significance of that legacy

and how do we understand what the battlefields mean to us now? These are all questions we regularly ask on Battlefield Tours and they are at the heart of what we do: myself and my team of Specialist Battlefield Guides of The International Guild of Battlefield Guides are there to help you decipher that legacy, and understand a past that touched us all; whether it relates to the sandy beaches of Normandy or the concrete walls that once surrounded Berlin.

13/06/2026

Men of the Durham Light Infantry operate a Wireless 18-set and keep watch for the enemy, near Bayeux, Normandy, 11 June 1944. The Wireless Set No. 18 was a man pack transmitter-receiver developed in 1940 for short range communication in forward areas between Battalion HQ and Company HQ. Frequency coverage was 6 to 9MHz with an RF output of 0.25W. Range was up to 10 miles.

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13/06/2026

The last major Canadian operation undertaken against the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" during the month of June in Normandy was “a complete and costly failure.” At 1430 hours 11 June 1944, the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, having warned at 0800 hours, launched the 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) and the Queen’s Own Rifles toward Le Mesnil-Patry in an effort to secure the high ground south of Cheux. Incredibly, a squadron of tanks with a company of infantry riding on them led the advance. Forced to dismount by mortar and machinegun fire, some of these infantrymen managed to accompany the tanks into Le Mesnil-Patry, which was defended by elements of the 2nd Battalion, 26 Panzergrenadier Regiment. Unhappily for the attackers, the 2nd (Panzerkampfwagen IV) Battalion, 12th Panzer Regiment, had just deployed to the south of the town. An immediate counterattack by elements of a panzer company, for the loss of three Panzerkampfwagen IVs, resulted in the virtual annihilation of the leading Hussar squadron. During this attack the infantry company suffered 96 casualties, more than half of them missing. The action of Le Mesnil-Patry was the last major operation in June, the last two weeks of June were comparatively calm on the Canadian front. Total Canadian casualties to this point amounted to 196 officers and 2,635 other ranks, slightly more than one-third of whom were dead.

Source: Stacey, Victory Campaign, pp. 139-140 & Blood and Honor, pp. 199-202. The Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign by John A. English.

📸 Picture: Lieutenant J.A.R. Gregoire leading a patrol past a disabled German halftrack vehicle in the Normandy beachhead, France, 10 June 1944. Canadian Archives a129042-v6

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12/06/2026

On 8 and 9 June 1944, D Company of the Royal Regina Rifles turned the Cardonville farm—known as the “Flax Factory”—into a fortress in the Normandy bridgehead. This isolated farm along the Caen–Bayeux railway line had been one of the regiment’s D-Day objectives. Some loopholes were cut into the thick walls, while emergency exits were created at ground level. The Canadians knew a German counterattack was coming.

It soon arrived. Elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend launched repeated attacks against the position. German tanks advanced towards the farm, but without infantry support they were vulnerable and eventually withdrew to avoid Allied fighter-bombers. The greater threat came from the Panzer Grenadiers. Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Brown’s company had already been reduced to just 60 men, yet they held their ground. Realising the situation was becoming critical, Brown contacted Lieutenant-Colonel Fred Clifford of the 13th Field Regiment and requested artillery fire directly in front of the farm. The response was immediate.

A concentrated artillery barrage—a “stonk” in Canadian artillery terminology—crashed down around the German attackers. While the Canadians sheltered in their slit trenches, the shells tore into the advancing enemy formations. The attack collapsed and the Germans were forced to withdraw. For two days, this small farmhouse became one of the key strongpoints defending the Canadian beachhead in Normandy.

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12/06/2026

On Utah Beach, the 2nd Naval Beach battalion set up two aid stations to treat the wounded then evacuate them as soon as possible. This rare image shows the process: six medics help a wounded paratrooper aboard an LCVP. He will be taken back to either the sick bay of one of the attack transports, an LST converted to accommodate casualties, or one of four hospital ships. The aim was to get him back to England as soon as possible (Picture: NARA/ Caption: Sand & Steel)

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12/06/2026

Great then and now picture of the place de la République in Carentan. Left to right Privates Charles E. Rinehart of 506th PIR, Sergeant James V. Longane of 327th GIR and Private Charles A. West of the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne Division. Behind is the Carentan war memorial to the dead of the Great War.

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12/06/2026

Traces of the battle in Normandy are still visible after almost 82 years! Last week Ben Mayne was able to take these unique photos of the former Medical Dressing Station (MDS) of the 225 Parachute Field Ambulance in Bas de Ranville. Various names of soldiers have been scratched into the wall, for example H. Knaggs of the 51st Highland Division has scratched 'Highway Decorators' in the wall.

📸 Photo credits 👉 Ben Mayne

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11/06/2026

🎥 Meanwhile, at the front in Normandy, june 1944 ⤵

11/06/2026

During the fighting in and around Ste-Mère-Église, American and German medical personnel cared for casualties of both nations in the Hospice (505th Regimental Aid Station #2) situated in the center of Ste-Mère-Église. Toward the late hours of June 6, at least 120 wounded Americans were already medically treated within the former Hospice.

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11/06/2026

Life in a tank troop was often exhausting, especially during the Normandy campaign. Long days, short nights and constant movement left little time for proper meals.

Bill Bellamy of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars recalled that tank crews quickly developed a simple solution. Instead of stopping to cook, they filled their billycans with water, placed ration tins inside, clamped on the lids and secured them directly to the tank’s exhaust pipes.

As Bellamy wrote: “We put in our selected tins for the evening meal, clamped on the lid and strapped them to the exhaust with wire. They were ready for eating by the time we arrived.”

Typical choices included tins of pork and beans or the ever-present British favourite, treacle duff. The system worked surprisingly well. While the tank moved towards its next objective, the heat from the engine and exhaust slowly warmed the rations. Not exactly fine dining, but after days of fighting through the Normandy bocage, a hot meal was a luxury.

📖 Troop Leader – Bill Bellamy, 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars

11/06/2026

Directly to the front of the Le Ruquet (E1) Draw, is Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach. The E1 Draw was defended by German ‘Widerstandsnester’. Located on the eastern elevated forward slope of the E1 was the unfinished WN64. Its main armament, a Russian 76.2mm artillery piece, stood at the side of a half-completed casemate. The second ‘Widerstandsnest’ (WN65) was positioned just to the west of the E1 Draw and extended from the shingle embarkment bordering the beach to the top of the bluff. Similar in firepower to WN64, it was further advanced in its construction. At its core was a 75 mm artillery piece of the bluff and a 50mm gun enclosed within a concrete positioned approximately one third of the way up the bluff.

On D-Day WN65 was approached by three uncoordinated attacks. M16 halftracks belonging to the 467th Anti-Aircraft-Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion were lowering their Quad 50 machine guns in order to pour fire into WN65’s casemated 50mm gun position. With assistance from other destroyers, the USS Frankford directed fire into the strongpoint. Finally, at approximately 1000 hours, the 2nd Battalion, 18th RCT landed just to the west of WN65 and started working their way up the bluff. By 11:30 hours on June 6, 1944, E1 would be the first Draw to be cleared of the enemy. After it's capture on D-Day, WN65 became the first American Headquarters on Omaha Beach.

A memorial plaque for the 467th AA AW Batallion has been attached to the pillbox during the commemorations of the 50th anniversary. Inside the pillbox you will still find the 50mm anti-tank gun. Behind the pillbox, the summit of the coastal area provides a magnificent view over Omaha Beach and the Ruquet valley.

Sources:
- Omaha Beachhead (6 June–13 June 1944). American Forces in Action Series (2011 Digital ed.). Washington DC: Historical Division, War Department. 1945. OCLC 643549468.
- D-Day Then and Now by Winston G Ramsey.

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Adres

Calvijnstraat 4
Groningen
9746BE

Openingstijden

Maandag	09:00 - 05:00
Dinsdag	09:00 - 05:00
Woensdag	09:00 - 17:00
Donderdag	09:00 - 05:00
Vrijdag	09:00 - 05:00

Telefoon

+31502803684

Website

http://www.battlefieldtours.nu/

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