CHAR SHERMAN 2E DB DU GÉNÉRAL LECLERC ET MONUMENTS DE LA LIBÉRATION - MÉZIÈRES SUR PONTHOIN

Visible from the road, the Sherman tank commemorates the fierce fighting that took place in Mézières during the Liberation.

On 10 August 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, General Leclerc's 2nd armoured division - the 2nd DB - fought a hard battle against the German 9th Panzerdivision to liberate Mézières.

The French division, which had landed ten days earlier on Utah Beach on 1 August, arrived at Le Mans on 9 August 1944 and was attached to the XV Corps of the 3rd American Army, commanded by General Patton. While at La Chapelle-Saint-Aubin, it was ordered to head for Alençon to reinforce the Allied encirclement movement and close the Falaise pocket.

After passing Sargé-lès-le-Mans, Savigné-l'Évêque and Courcebœufs, the 1st platoon commanded by Lieutenant Zagrodzki fell into a German ambush at Le Sablon, near Mézières, at around 9am. Two Sherman tanks were destroyed, killing five French soldiers. Another tank tried to outflank the Germans but was hit by a shell.

After a fierce battle, the French finally prevailed and Mézières was liberated in the afternoon, becoming the first French commune liberated in combat by the 2nd DB2.

Other sites and monuments in the commune bear witness to this past.