Allied attack in southern France, dec. 43

[cbe2009]

Hello,

This may be the famous needle in the haystack, but hopefully someone knows more.
The matter concerns an Obergefreiter Sterr, who was killed by shrapnels on December 1. 1943 in southern France. He was attached to a Jagdstaffel there.
Currently he is buried in Bourdon/France. To make matters even worse it says there that he died on the eleventh of December!!
Is it possible to establish what attack took place one the date(s) and what german airfield was attacked?

Help please!!
Thank you in advance,

Christian

[Leendert]

Christian,

Bourdon is not quite in the south of France, but in the NW, roughly between Abbeville and Amiens.
The entry for Obergefreiter Josef Sterr on volksbund.de says that he died at Vendeville.

Lille-Vendeville was a German fighter base (JG 26 etc) at times.

No conclusion yet if an Allied air attack took place on that airfield on 11 Dec 1943, but perhaps other board members have more details available.

Regards,

Leendert

[Leendert]

Christian,

There was an American air raid on Vendeville on 1 Dec 1943, given your info that Obergefr. Sterr was killed on that date.
But if he was killed in S. France, still according your info, then the location is far off...

There's also talk of Bryas Sud airfield as a secondary target.


See
http://www.b26.com/historian/chester_klier/047.htm


Regards,

Leendert

[cbe2009]

Thank you very much Leendert!!
Amazing that you could come with this, highly appreciated!!

Kind regards,

Christian

[Laurent Rizzotti]

AFAIK, all Germans killed in WWII in Southern France (in the area SW of a line Toulouse- Clermont-Ferrand - Lyon) have been reburied in the Dagneux war cemetery, in the Ain departement, NE of Lyon.

A German buried in Bourbon should have buried first in the area. This cemetery has been used to gather after the war all German WWII dead buried in the departement of Somme, Nord and Pas-de-Calais.

[cbe2009]

Thank you Laurent Rizzotti!!
Every bit helps me,

Christian