Bocage - what is it and what does it look like

I've notcied in the map live-streams that the Bocage seems to be missing from the Normandy Map.

Eg: http://i.imgur.com/6YZHa4f.jpg

There is also some discussion on Reddit about this, although the term being used there is "hedges", which is a little misleading.

Firstly, "Bocage" is not the same as "hedges" or "hedgerows".

A hedgerow is just a row hedge... tanks can bust through hedgerows.

A lot of people confuse "Bocage" with the famous English "hedgerows".

They are not the same thing. They perform different fuctions, are constructed differently and look different.

The Bocage is different, largely due to the presence of the steep 1 to 1.5 m high bank which is used to demark the field / property boundaries. Getting a vehicle accross the Bocage is a tricky business, much more of an obstacle than a "hedge".

An English hedgerow sits flush with the normal ground level, like this:

http://imgur.com/a/zYfuI

There is also the added complication that the "Bocage" does not cover all of the Normandy area, but is largely concentrated west of Caen and the River Orne. The British had much less Bocage country to deal with than the Americans did, as the British forces were concentrated more in the Orne Valley, with the Americans advancing inland to the west.

No hedgerows

I haven't seen any hedgerows in the videos so far and this seems like a strange omission: Looking at photos of the area the boundaries are far more tree-based than in the UK, but there are a good amount of smaller bushes and some hedges.

Anyway, there is a lack of ground clutter and animals etc but I can understand why these could be excluded for performance reasons.

Hedges though are just a textured rectangle: Are all the field boundaries trees or will there be a mixture in the map?

See here, same topic:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=3101623#post3101623

Normandy does not have "hedgerows" it has "Bocage" - hence why the boundaries can support mature trees, which are less common in an english "hedgerow".

I hadn't seen that thread - thanks.

Normandy does have lots of hedges as well though - do a google image search for them and you'll find plenty in WW2 photos.

I agree most of the talk is about the bocage but that's presumably due to the greater significance/fame.

We have a variation of the bocage bank where I live by the way: Devon banks.

Do you know when the Bocages were built?

Do you know when the Bocages were built?

The question should be, "since when are they being removed" :-D

According to wikipedia, the Celts began to build them 2000 years ago, as a way to fence in their property. Since 19th/20th century, more and more are removed - probably as they make modern farming difficult.

I also read somewhere (can't remember where) that they shall help to keep the soil in place. Otherwise the costal winds would erode the flat land into the atlantic eventually. Not sure, if this function was intentional (by the celts?) or just a positive coincidence.

thanks ;)