Cobra 44 Commemorative Festival – 2nd edition

The second edition of the commemorative festival took place from July 22 to 24, 2022 at the Normandy Victory Museum in Carentan. Here is a summary of the events that took place during this festival, which is repeated every year. See this year’s Cobra 44 program in our agenda.

Friday, July 22, 2022

Evening: period dinner with concert by Swing Melodies orchestra

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Between 09:30 and 19:00: guided tours of the temporary exhibition “Trippelwagen”, by Grégory Oswald, curator of the Musée de Molsheim (Alsace)

Grégory Oswald shared with the audience all the secrets of the mythical amphibious car, notably during its production at the Bugatti factory in Molsheim from 1940 to 1944, all in front of the last example preserved in France, the SG6-41 at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur.

At 10:30 a.m. in the Greenfield room: “The ENIGMA Myth” lecture by cryptography enthusiast Edmond KERN. The ENIGMA machine specialist presented a lecture in which he told the story of the famous coding machine that the Germans believed to be indecipherable…

Between 10:30 am and 6:30 pm: signing of the comic strip “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations” by author Julien Hervieux.

Between 2pm and 7pm: demonstrations of the “ENIGMA” coding machine

Edmond Kern was inside the museum to show visitors around the famous German coding machine, whose secrets he knows inside out. Visitors were able to code and then decode their first name, on one of the few machines still in operation in the world.

Between 2 and 6 p.m.: themed guided tours: “Cobra’s objects come out of the showcases”.

Patrick Fissot, one of the museum’s founders and a history teacher, took visitors on an intimate tour of the museum’s aisles. Objects that were present during Operation Cobra were brought out of the display cases to tell their stories.

At 4:30pm: Conference “L’enfer du bocage à travers des lettres de GI’s” by Clément Horvath

The author offered an exclusive conference on soldiers’ letters during the Battle of the Hedges. Content from his book Till Victory, of course, but also previously unpublished letters and other unpublished correspondence from a new project, which C. Horvath will unveil at the end of the meeting…

The author was awarded the Prix de la Fondation Stéphane Bern pour l’Histoire in 2019 and the Distinguished Writing Award from the Army Historical Foundation (National Museum of the US Army) in 2022 for the English version of his book “Till Victory”.

At 5pm (Duration 1h30): Dodge tour / Special departure “At the heart of the Battle of the Hedges”.

Guided tour of what was the scene of the Battle of the Hedges: the Normandy bocage, aboard a vintage military vehicle (Dodge WC51). To understand what happened in those days of July 1944, get on board and let history tell you.

7:30pm: “Forgotten heroes and battles” show by Julien Hervieux, the history popularizer

Halfway between a history lesson and stand-up comedy, the creator of “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations” took visitors into a world he knows very well, and which he likes to show off with simplicity and emotion. It was as instructive as it was entertaining!

From 8.30pm: Swing Melodies orchestra concert

For the second evening, the Manche-based Swing Melodies Orchestra was on hand to dance and sing along to tunes from the 40s and 50s.

Sunday, July 24, 2023

Between 09:30 and 19:00: guided tours of the temporary exhibition “Trippelwagen”, by Grégory Oswald, curator of the Musée de Molsheim (Alsace)

Grégory Oswald shared with the audience all the secrets of the mythical amphibious car, notably during its production at the Bugatti factory in Molsheim from 1940 to 1944, all in front of the last example preserved in France, the SG6-41 at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur.

Between 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.: demonstrations of the “ENIGMA” coding machine

Edmond Kern was inside the museum to show visitors around the famous German coding machine, whose secrets he knows inside out. Visitors were able to code and then decode their first name, on one of the few machines still in operation in the world.

Between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.: signing of the comic book series “NORMANDIE JUIN 1944” by Jean-Blaise Djian

Jean-Blaise Djian was on hand to sign his “NORMANDIE JUIN 1944” series of historical comics. This series of books has been a great success, thanks to its educational format, which is accessible to all, and to the quality of the historical reconstruction, scenarios and drawings.

10:30am: Lecture: “The American Army in Normandy: strengths and weaknesses” by Christophe Prime

Christophe Prime is a renowned historian who works with the Mémorial de Caen. He has written several books and presented a fascinating lecture on the strengths and weaknesses of the American army in Normandy.

Between 10:30 am and 6:30 pm: signing of the comic strip “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations” by author Julien Hervieux.

Julien Hervieux, the history popularizer known by his pseudonym “Un odieux connard”, was on hand to sign his best-selling comic book “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations”.

Between 2pm and 6pm: themed guided tours: “Cobra objects come out of the showcases”.

Patrick Fissot, one of the museum’s founders and a history teacher, took visitors on an intimate tour of the museum’s aisles. Objects that were present during Operation Cobra were brought out of the display cases to tell their stories.

Between 2pm and 6pm: book signing for “D-DAY, un jour noir” by author Yves Corver

Yves Corver delivers a fictional account of the history of the black American soldiers who fought in the Second World War. Through Firmin’s story, he tackles the issues of war and D-Day, as well as the intolerance and racism these men faced in the field and within the troops themselves.

At 3pm: screening of the multi-award-winning webseries “Résistance”, with actors from the series and the director of photography.

A Norman director, Maxime Chefdeville, a Norman production, the French Corp, and a 99% Norman cast for this wesberia on the Resistance in Normandy. The series, with its quirky tone and its assumed references to such French films as “La Grande vadrouille”, “La 7ème Compagnie” or “Kaamelott”, takes us on the adventures of the FIFI (and not FFI), a group of Normans determined to resist the German occupier. A selection of episodes will make up this one-hour screening, which will be followed by an exchange with the team.

5 p.m.: Dodge tour / Special departure “In the heart of the Battle of the Hedges”.

Guided tour of what was the scene of the Battle of the Hedges: the Normandy bocage, aboard a vintage military vehicle (Dodge WC51). To understand what happened in those days of July 1944, get on board and let history tell you.

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: 50s Retro Day organized by A10 Canteen restaurant

During the festival: C’MAFIG presented an exhibition of models and dioramas. This club of enthusiasts, which takes part in numerous exhibitions and competitions, presented its creations in the form of models and dioramas, including airplanes, armored vehicles, civil and military vehicles…

Our thanks to the association of reenactors Forty’s Group Reenactment for its participation in the logistics of the event.