When the Mummy, starring Boris Karloff, was released by Universal studios in 1932 it was inspired by a real event, and drew upon a mix of ideas, some new, and some very old. So what is the truth behind the legend of the mummy returned from the dead? The mummy came somewhere between the myth, the monster, and history.
By September of 1944, the Western Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachehead, and suddenly and quickly moved across northern France . By September 7th, the 90th division was stretched across the northern sector on Patton’s Third Army’s left, advancing slowly northeast. As they did so the German defenders made a risky attack in an effort to spoil the allied advance, cutting through Allied lines in a surprise action at the small town of Mairy-Mannville.