Battle Display Team. 125th Reg.

07/06/2026

FROM DDAY - FALAISE.

Over the past week we've been following the story of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125 and the men of the 21st Panzer Division during the opening days of the Normandy Campaign.

Rather than simply posting photographs, our aim is to tell the story of the regiment's journey through Normandy. From the airborne landings around Pegasus Bridge and the fighting at Bénouville, through the bitter battles east of the Orne, and ultimately towards the dramatic events of the Falaise Pocket in August 1944.

As we move forward, the posts will begin to cover larger periods of the campaign rather than individual days. This will allow us to follow the regiment through the major battles that shaped the Normandy Campaign, including the fighting for Bréville, the Bavent Woods, Operations Charnwood and Goodwood, and finally the retreat towards Falaise.

This is all building towards our display at Tankfest,bovington, where we will be portraying the final stages of the Normandy campaign and the desperate attempts of German units to escape the Falaise Pocket.

We hope you'll continue to follow the journey as we trace the path of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125 from the early hours of D-Day to the closing battles of Normandy.

07/06/2026

7 June 1944 one day after D-Day

The men of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125 found themselves facing a very different battlefield.

The British airborne troops who had seized Pegasus Bridge and the crossings over the River Orne during the night of 6 June were now being reinforced by troops advancing inland from Sword Beach. The opportunity to throw the Allies back into the sea was rapidly disappearing.

Throughout the day, the regiment fought alongside other elements of the 21st Panzer Division in a series of local counterattacks around Bénouville, Le Port and the Orne bridgehead. The dense hedgerows, villages and orchards of Normandy made every movement dangerous, while Allied artillery and aircraft increasingly dominated the battlefield.

Photographs taken during this period show the men of the 125th concealed in trenches, sunken lanes and woodland positions, their helmets covered with foliage as they watched the growing Allied bridgehead.

By the evening of 7 June, the fighting had settled into a brutal struggle for control of the ground east of Caen. The quick victory many had expected had not materialised. Instead, the regiment faced the beginning of a long and costly battle for Normandy.

06/06/2026

6 June 1944, Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives, Normandy

One of the more remarkable photographs connected to the fighting in Normandy shows British airborne troops being marched through Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives under German guard.

Taken during the evening of 6 June 1944, roughly between 5pm and 6pm . the prisoners were being escorted past the abbey church before being moved to a staging area and eventually sent into captivity in Germany. Some of the paratroopers are still wearing their distinctive Denison Smocks and airborne helmets, a stark reminder that many had only landed in Normandy a few hours earlier.

Among those visible in the group was Lance Corporal Frank Gleeson of the 12th paracute Battalion, (5th Brigade) 6th Airborne, who had been captured earlier that morning in the Bas de Ranville area during the fierce fighting east of the Orne.

For the men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, June 6th was spent battling British airborne forces across the villages, bridges and fields east of Caen. While many airborne troops successfully achieved their objectives, others found themselves isolated, wounded, or taken prisoner as the battle for Normandy began.

These photographs offer a rare glimpse into the human side of D-Day, showing both the determination of the airborne soldiers and the reality that not every landing went according to plan.

06/06/2026

6 June 1944 | 16:00-18:00 hrs | The 21st Panzer Division Strikes Back

As fierce fighting continues around Ranville, Bénouville and the British airborne bridgehead, another battle is unfolding to the west.

During the late afternoon, elements of the 21st Panzer Division, led by tanks of Panzer Regiment 22 and infantry from the 192nd Panzergrenadier Regiment, launch a major counterattack towards the coast. Advancing north through Lebisey, Biéville-Beuville and Périers-sur-le-Dan, their objective is clear: drive a wedge between the troops that landed on Sword Beach and the airborne forces holding the bridges east of the Orne.

For a brief moment, the attack achieves what no other German armoured formation would accomplish on D-Day. Elements of the division reach the vicinity of the coast between Sword Beach and Juno Beach, becoming the only German armoured force to reach the sea on 6 June 1944.

Meanwhile, to the east, the men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment continue their battle around Bénouville and Pegasus Bridge, attempting to contain the British airborne bridgehead.

Despite the determination of the German counterattack, Allied aircraft, naval gunfire and increasing numbers of British troops begin to halt the advance. As evening approaches, the opportunity to split the Allied beachhead is slipping away.

06/06/2026

6 June 1944 | Afternoon | Château de Bénouville

As fighting raged around Bénouville and the vital crossings over the Caen Canal, the grounds of the Château de Bénouville became a battlefield.

Throughout the afternoon, men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, supported by tanks and artillery from the 21st Panzer Division, fought British airborne troops holding the bridgehead east of the Orne. The château and its surrounding grounds lay directly in the path of the fighting as German forces attempted to contain the airborne landings and regain the initiative.

It was during this period that one of the most famous photographs of the regiment was taken. A group of grenadiers from the 125th pose beside a captured American-built Willys Jeep, a vehicle that had found its way into the heart of the battle around Bénouville.

The image has become one of the best-known photographs of the regiment in Normandy, capturing a brief moment during one of the most important days in its history.

Behind the camera, however, the battle was far from over. Around the château, Pegasus Bridge, Ranville and the surrounding villages, German and British forces continued to fight for control of the ground that would shape the Normandy campaign.

06/06/2026

6 June 1944 12:02

This photograph shows Gefreiter Hans Höller of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, 21st Panzer Division. It was taken outside the housekeeper's house at the Château de Bénouville after a reconnaissance mission on D-Day.

Earlier that morning, Höller had climbed onto the roof of the château to observe the fighting around Pegasus Bridge. From this vantage point, he could see British airborne troops holding the bridge and the surrounding area. The position was soon spotted and came under fire from British forces, forcing Höller and his comrades to withdraw.

Throughout the day, the men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment were drawn into the desperate fighting around the Orne bridgehead as German forces attempted to contain the Allied airborne landings east of Caen.

Unlike many of his comrades, Höller survived the Normandy campaign, escaped through the Falaise Pocket in August 1944, and continued fighting until his eventual capture later in the war at Lorraine by the free French forces.
Supposedly he survived ex*****on due to haveing an Africa core cuff title.

A remarkable photograph of a soldier who witnessed the opening hours of D-Day from one of the most important locations in Normandy.

06/06/2026

6 June 1944 | 10:00-12:00 hrs

As British troops continue to push inland from Sword Beach, the German response begins to gather momentum east of the Orne.

For the men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, the morning's confusion is giving way to action. Elements of Kampfgruppe von Luck begin moving from the Caen area towards Escoville, Herouvillette, Ranville and Bénouville, where British airborne troops have seized vital bridges and road junctions.

Reconnaissance patrols report enemy positions around Ranville and the crossings over the Caen Canal and River Orne. The objective is clear: contain the airborne bridgehead before it can link up with the forces advancing inland from Sword Beach.

Supporting the advance are elements of Panzer Regiment 22, whose tanks are being committed to counter the airborne landings, while guns of Artillery Regiment 155 provide fire support against British positions around the bridgehead. Across the division's sector, commanders are attempting to organise a coordinated response as reports continue to arrive from both the beaches and the airborne battle east of the Orne.

As German half-tracks, tanks and infantry move forward along the roads north-east of Caen, the first clashes begin with British paratroopers holding villages, crossroads and defensive positions around Ranville and Bénouville.

By midday, the battle is spreading across the countryside east of the Orne. The men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, supported by the tanks of Panzer Regiment 22 and the guns of Artillery Regiment 155, are now fully entering the fight that will define their Normandy campaign.

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

**6 June 1944 | 07:00-08:00 hrs**

As dawn breaks over Normandy, the scale of the invasion becomes impossible to ignore.

An immense Allied fleet now fills the horizon, while warships pound German coastal defences in preparation for the landings. Landing craft race towards Sword Beach carrying the first wave of British assault troops.

At 07:25 British time, the first soldiers of the British 3rd Infantry Division land on Sword Beach and begin pushing inland. The invasion of Fortress Europe has begun.

To the east of the Orne, British airborne troops continue to hold Pegasus Bridge and the surrounding crossings. Reports of parachutists, glider landings and fierce fighting continue to flood into German headquarters.

For the men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment, The enemy has arrived by land, sea and air. As commanders assess the situation and reconnaissance patrols gather information, preparations begin for the battles that will soon engulf Normandy.

06/06/2026

05:00-06:00 hrs, 6 June 1944

One hour before the beach landings.

As dawn approached over Normandy, the men of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment found themselves in an increasingly chaotic situation. Throughout the night, reports of British paratroopers landing around Ranville, Bénouville and the Orne bridges had continued to arrive. Communications were disrupted, patrols were reporting enemy activity across the countryside, and German commanders were struggling to establish a clear picture of events.

The bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne remained in British hands, while the battered defenders of the Merville Battery had already reported a major airborne assault.

At the same time, an even greater threat was gathering offshore.

As the first light of day spread across the Channel, German observers could see an astonishing sight. The horizon was filled with Allied ships. Battleships, cruisers, destroyers and landing craft stretched as far as the eye could see.

Shortly before 06:00, the first naval bombardment began. The thunder of Allied naval guns echoed across Normandy as shells crashed into coastal batteries and defensive positions. For the men of the 125th, already dealing with the airborne landings east of the Orne, it was becoming clear that this was no diversion.

05:30-06:00: Naval bombardment intensifies.
Around 06:00: Landing craft begin their final run toward the beaches.

The invasion had begun.