Brandon Herrera’s Pig Pen Pummeling

What happens when a soldier turns a sounder of panicked farm pigs into squealing rooting wreckers that deliver a pummeling to a German ambush in the tight hedgerows?

In the tangled green nightmare of Normandy’s bocage country during the brutal hedgerow fighting of June and July 1944 American troops of the First Army fought yard by yard through sunken lanes and earthen walls that turned every field into a deadly trap. One quick thinking fighter would turn an ordinary Norman pigpen into squealing pummeling no one saw coming. But as German machine guns raked the narrow lanes and mortars walked across the fields the wildest way to crack the bocage was about to come charging straight out of the sty.

The Battle of Normandy began with the D Day landings on June 6 1944 and quickly bogged down in the dense hedgerow country south of the invasion beaches. US forces faced elite German units dug into the thick earthen banks topped with tangled roots and trees that channeled attackers into kill zones. Weeks of brutal close combat in places like Saint Lo and the drive toward Coutances saw American infantry and armor grind forward at terrible cost. The campaign finally broke open in late July with Operation Cobra allowing the Allies to encircle much of the German Army in the Falaise Pocket destroy huge numbers of enemy forces and race toward Paris. This victory shattered German defenses in the West opened the road to the liberation of France and set the stage for the final drive into Germany.

Amid the smoke and shattered hedgerows near Saint Lo stood Brandon Herrera. His uniform with its olive drab wool shirt and trousers was caked in mud and torn from the constant fighting as he huddled with his squad behind a blasted stone wall. Brandon kept one hand on his M1 Garand while his eyes scanned the deadly green wall ahead. "These Krauts turned the whole countryside into a damn maze just to ruin our summer vacation" he quipped to the exhausted private beside him. "Time to send them some local livestock they will never forget."

A well hidden German strongpoint anchored in the next hedgerow raked the American advance with interlocking MG42 fire and sniper shots from the sunken lane. Tracers zipped through the leaves and mortar rounds chewed up the dirt with every heartbeat. "If that position holds we lose the whole company" Brandon muttered sizing up the ground. Ammo was low most BAR teams were pinned down and a frontal push across the open gap looked like a death sentence.

Then he spotted the answer an abandoned stone walled pigpen belonging to a evacuated Norman farmer just forty yards back behind a wrecked halftrack. Dozens of fat squealing pigs milled inside already agitated by the explosions. Brandon's eyes lit up. "Cover me boys. I have got a bacon delivery the Jerries are gonna regret." While his squad poured what suppressing fire they could he sprinted low across the muddy field dodging bullets and leaping over fallen branches.

With a grunt and a well timed kick he smashed open the pen gate then grabbed an overturned feed bucket and began banging it like a mad drummer while shouting and waving his arms. The pigs bolted out in a chaotic squealing mass straight toward the gap in the hedgerow. More noise and gestures kept them panicked and charging. The herd tore through the narrow opening like a living pink avalanche rooting up dirt smashing into sandbags and slamming into the German position in a storm of hooves tusks and flying mud. Men inside screamed and cursed as pigs knocked over machine gun tripods tripped soldiers and created total chaos in the confined lane. One gunner tried to swing his MG42 around only to get bowled over by a massive sow that sent him sprawling in the muck. "Root em out you sausage factory rejects!" Brandon shouted as he kept the herd moving. "This is what American close support looks like today and it comes with free ham!"

The sudden pig pen pummeling threw the German strongpoint into total disorder. Soldiers panicked abandoned their weapons and poured out of the hedgerow positions in a frantic flailing mass trying to escape the squealing wreckers. Visibility dropped to zero as pigs rooted through everything and the delay gave American reinforcements time to rush forward allowed engineers to blow gaps in the next bank and let follow on waves push past the now silent position. The critical hedgerow sector fell opening the lane that let armor and troops surge deeper into the bocage.

This kind of gritty improvised action helped keep the Normandy advance alive when the hedgerows threatened to stall everything. The Battle of Normandy as a whole cost the Allies approximately 226,000 casualties including over 40,000 dead while German losses reached around 240,000 men killed wounded or captured plus the near destruction of two entire armies in the Falaise Pocket. The breakout destroyed much of the German Army in the West and set the stage for the liberation of Paris and the race across France.

As the last German defenders fled the pig trampled ruins and the advance continued Brandon Herrera stood before his commanding officers on the newly secured lane. For his quick thinking and bold improvisation that used local pigs to neutralize a deadly strongpoint and keep the drive moving he was awarded the Legion of Merit a commendation recognizing exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services in combat against the enemy. The officer pinned the medal with a grin and a shake of his head. "Herrera you turned a pig farm into heavy artillery." Brandon just smirked. "Sir back home we always say never underestimate a good herd. Next time maybe we will try some angry roosters for the full Normandy barnyard blitz."