Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is an incredible piece of World War Two history. D-Day Battle of Normandy 29th Infantry Division equipment is some of the most sought after material on the collectors market due to the devastating loss the division took on "Omaha beach" in the early morning hours of June 6th, 1944 then subsequently in the first few weeks of combat during the Battle of Normandy. This is a 100% genuine German M42 helmet which was captured and painted as a War Trophy of temperance by a member of the 29th Infantry Division. This is an exceptionally rare helmet and will be a highlight of any WWII collection.

The German M42 helmet is in good condition and shell size 66. It still retains its original liner and paint. What makes it special is the hand painted 29th ID blue/grey insignia to the front along with the following words in yellow paint which are mostly related to the Battle of Normandy:

Vire
Isigny
Hill 103
St. Germain
Vierville
St. Lo
England
France
Holland
Belgium
Germany

The paint is consistent with being applied during or just after WW2 based on how it has aged, faded and corroded along with the helmet. This paint has not been newly applied. This is the real deal. Below we have outline the significance of each location as it pertains to the 29th Infantry Division during the Summer of 1944:

Battle of Vire- The Battle of Vire occurred on 6 August 1944 when the US Army's US 29th Infantry Division attacked the German-held town of Vire in Normandy in conjunction with the British Army's Operation Bluecoat offensive. The 29th Infantry Division's 116th Infantry Regiment launched an attack on the town on the same day as the 13th/18th Royal Hussars captured Mont Pincon from the Wehrmacht, and the capture of Vire was a blow to the German plan to launch the Operation Luettich counterattack at Mortain.

Isigny (Isigny-sur-Mer) - The 116th Infantry was to join the Pointe du Hoc, located about 6 kilometers west of Vierville-sur-Mer, where survivors of the Rangers’ teams defended their positions, constantly attacked by German troops. For nearly three days, the 29th Infantry Division’s soldiers were slowly advancing at heavy casualties, eventually reaching Pointe du Hoc and freeing Colonel Rudder’s 90 surviving Rangers from the 225 who had landed. Were hitherto completely surrounded. Along the way, T/Sergeant Frank Peregory captures an enemy machine gun and captures a dozen German soldiers alone in a courageous action at the entrance to the village of Grandcamp. After the Rangers were released at Pointe du Hoc, the 175th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division headed for Isigny-sur-Mer, which it captured on June 9, 1944. The division then moved southwest, And has as main objective the city of Saint-Lô, true gateway to the south of Normandy. After heavy fighting, the city was liberated five weeks later. On September 18, 1944, the 29th Infantry was withdrawn from the front to allow his men to rest after more than three months of trying fighting. But six days later, on September 24, the division is moved along the German border.

HILL 103 - After repeated attempts, 1st Bn., 175th, drove up the rugged slopes of Hill 103, whose heights had afforded observation for German artillery, and overran the enemy's concrete gun emplacements in a rock quarry. The 115th came up on the left flank. Hill 103 was the key to the city. Div Arty observers now could spot targets past Fort Keranroux and Fort Montbarey and in the city itself. American artillery hammered everything in the valley.

St. Germain - July 26, 1944: Eight days after the capture of St. Lo, the 29th was in the line again. Replacements and supplies had been brought up through the torn countryside and rubbled towns. Kicking off with the 30th Inf. and 2nd Armd. Divs., the Blue and Gray drove southward over the dusty, winding country lanes to seize Percy, Tessy-sur-Vire, St. Germain de Tallevande, Vire, Villebaudon.

St. Lo - The Battle of Saint-Lô is one of the three conflicts in the Battle of the Hedgerows, which took place between July 7-19, 1944, just before Operation Cobra. Saint-Lô had fallen to Germany in 1940, and, after the Invasion of Normandy, the Americans targeted the city, as it served as a strategic crossroads. American bombardments caused heavy damage (up to 95% of the city was destroyed) and a high number of casualties, which resulted in the martyr city being called "The Capital of Ruins", popularized in a report by Samuel Beckett.

29th Infantry Division in WWII:
The cross-channel invasion of France finally came on June 6, 1944, D-Day, otherwise known as Operation Overlord, codename for the Allied invasion of Normandy. The 29th Infantry Division sent the 116th Infantry to support the western flank of the veteran 1st Infantry Division's 16th Infantry at Omaha Beach. Omaha was known to be the most difficult of the five landing beaches, due to its rough terrain and bluffs overlooking the beach, which had been well fortified by its German defenders of the 352nd Infantry Division. The 29th Division, 116th Infantry was assigned four sectors of the beach; Easy Green, Dog Red, Dog White, and Dog Green. Soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division boarded a large number of attack transports for the D-Day invasion, among them Landing craft, Landing Ship, Tank and Landing Ship, Infantry ships and other vessels such as the SS Empire Javelin, USS Charles Carroll, and USS Buncombe County.

As the ships were traveling to the beach, the heavy seas, combined with the chaos of the fighting caused most of the landing force to be thrown off-course and most of the 116th Infantry missed its landing spots. Most of the regiment's tank support, launched from too far off-shore, foundered and sank in the channel. The soldiers of the 116th Infantry were the first to hit the beach at 0630, coming under heavy fire from German fortifications. Company A of the 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry, from the Virginia National Guard in Bedford, Virginia was annihilated by overwhelming fire as it landed on the 116th's westernmost section of the beach, along with half of Company C of the 2nd Ranger Battalion which was landing to the west of the 116th. The catastrophic losses suffered by this small Virginia community led to it being selected for the site of the National D-Day Memorial. The 1st Infantry Division's forces ran into similar fortifications on the eastern half of the beach, suffering massive casualties coming ashore. By 0830, the landings were called off for lack of space on the beach, as the Americans on Omaha Beach were unable to overcome German fortifications guarding the beach exits. Lieutenant General Omar Nelson Bradley, commanding the American First Army, considered evacuating the survivors and landing the rest of the divisions elsewhere. However, by noon, elements of the American forces had been able to organize and advance off the beach, and the landings resumed. By nightfall, the division headquarters landed on the beach with about 60 percent of the division's total strength, and began organizing the push inland. On 7 June, a second wave of 20,000 reinforcements from both the 1st and 29th Divisions was sent ashore. By the end of D-Day, 2,400 men from the two divisions had become casualties on Omaha Beach. Added to casualties at other beaches and air-drops made the total casualties for the Normandy landings 6,500 Americans and 3,000 British and Canadians, lighter numbers than expected.

The entire division had landed in Normandy by 7 June. By 9 June, Omaha Beach was secure and the division occupied Isigny. On 14 July, the division was reassigned to XIX Corps, part of the First Army, itself part of the 12th Army Group.

Breakout
The division cut across the Elle River and advanced slowly toward Saint-Lô, fighting bitterly in the Normandy hedge rows. German reserves formed a new defensive front outside the town, and American forces fought a fierce battle with them two miles outside of the town.German forces used the dense bocage foliage to their advantage, mounting fierce resistance in house-to-house fighting in the ravaged Saint-Lô. By the end of the fight, the Germans were relying on artillery support to hold the town following the depletion of the infantry contingent. The 29th Division, which was already undermanned after heavy casualties on D-Day, was even further depleted in the intense fighting for Saint-Lô. Eventually, the 29th was able to capture the city in a direct assault, supported by airstrikes from P-47 Thunderbolts.

After taking Saint-Lô, on 18 July, the division joined in the battle for Vire, capturing that strongly held city by 7 August. it continued to face stiff German resistance as it advanced to key positions southeast of Saint-Lô. It was then reassigned to V Corps, and then again to VIII Corps. Turning west, the 29th took part in the assault on Brest which lasted from 25 August until 18 September. After a short rest, the division returned to XIX Corps and moved to defensive positions along the Teveren-Geilenkirchen line in Germany and maintained those positions through October. On 16 November, the division began its drive to the Roer River, blasting its way through Siersdorf, Setterich, Durboslar, and Bettendorf, and reaching the Roer by the end of the month. Heavy fighting reduced Jülich Sportplatz and the Hasenfeld Gut on 8 December.

From 8 December 1944 to 23 February 1945, the division was assigned to XIII Corps and held defensive positions along the Rur and prepared for the next major offensive. The division was reassigned to XIX Corps, and the attack jumped off across the Rur on 23 February, and carried the division through Jülich, Broich, Immerath, and Titz, to Mönchengladbach by 1 March 1945. The division was out of combat in March. In early April the division was reassigned to XVI Corps, where the 116th Infantry helped mop up in the Ruhr area. On 19 April 1945 the division, assigned to XIII Corps, pushed to the Elbe River and held defensive positions until 4 May. Meanwhile, the 175th Infantry cleared the Klotze Forest. After V-E Day, the division was on military duty in the Bremen enclave. It was assigned to XVI Corps again for this assignment.