The Normandy Campaign · 2021. 3. 18. · The Normandy Campaign 22-27 minutes Canada in the Second...

The Normandy Campaign

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22-27 minutes

Canada in the Second World War


Extending the Bridgehead, June 7th - July 4th, 1944

Personnel of the Royal Canadian Artillery with a 17-pounder anti

tank gun in Normandy, 22 June 1944.

Photo by Ken Bell. Department of National Defence I National

Archives of Canada, PA- 169273.

The day following the Normandy landing, the 9th Infantry Brigade

led the march towards Carpiquet where an airfield had been

designated as the objective. The North Nova Scotia Highlanders,

supported by the 27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers)

captured the village of Buron but a few kilometres further south ran

into a German counter-offensive. The Canadians were facing the

12th SS Panzer Division (Hitlerjugend), a unit of young - mostly 18-

year olds - but fanatical soldiers. The North Nova Scotia

Highlanders put up a fierce fight but were finally forced to pull back.

Near Authie, a neighbouring village, black smoke rose in column

from the burning debris of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers' tanks,

decimated by the German Panthers.

rThe enemy then engaged our fire from BURON with 75, 88s,

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mortars and everything they had. Under this fire enemy infantry

advanced and penetrated the forward slit trenches of D Company.

It was impossible to stop them ...

North Nova Scotia Highlanders, War Dia[Y. 7 June 1944

During the next couple of days, Canadians could hardly move

without meeting with stubborn resistance from German divisions.

Fierce fighting ensued, and costly for both sides in human lives and

in material.

• June 8th: counter-offensive at Putot-en-Bessin and Norrey. Putot

was captured by the Germans during the afternoon and retaken by

7th Brigade units.

• June 8th-9th: counter-offensive at Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse.

Eventful night combat where Canadians with their PIAT

successfully drove back the Panther tanks, retaining Bretteville.

• June 11th: Canadian assault on le Mesnil-Patry. Canadians were

driven back after violent combat; the Queen's Own Rifle and the 1st

Hussars suffering heavy casualties.

I am writing this at the request of my Squadron Leader for

information it may give to him and others re missing persons and

tactical and technical data. I knew nothing of the situation, saw little

of the action, and was quite unnerved and exhausted when I left

my tank ...

Account of ersonal ex eriences in action on Sun 11 Jun 44 by_

Troo12er AO. Dodds, 6 Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st

Hussars

Lance Corporal W.J. Curtis, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps,

fixes the burned leg of a French boy, while his young brother looks

on. Between Colomby-sur-Thaon and Villons-les-Buissons,

Normandy, 19 June 1944.


Archives of Canada, PA-141703.

After the failure of the operation at le Mesnil-Patry, Canadian troops

consolidated their positions, taking a pause for several weeks.

Actually June 11th was a turning point in Allied operations: the US,

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British and Canadian bridgeheads were now linked to one another.

Some 326,000 men, 45,000 vehicles and over 104,000 tonnes of

supplies had been shipped to the continent, and artificial harbours

being built at Arromanches and Saint-Laurent were nearing

completion. The air force had its own airfields on French soil, from

which Spitfire and Typhoon fighters could take off and target any

enemy position or vehicle they may encounter on the road or in the

countryside.

In the last two weeks of June, the Anglo-Canadian front hardly

moved, to the extent that public opinion began to question the

success of the operation and the importance of casualties. Actually

the slowing down was part of General Montgome[Y.'s strategy: by

retaining elite Panzer divisions on the Anglo-Canadian front, he

would help the breakthrough planned by the US forces, the capture

of Caen being a key element of that strategy. That city was still

occupied by the Germans and was an obstacle to the progression

of the 21st Army Group towards the Seine.

No 412 Squadron Spitfires at Field Base B4 near Beny-sur-Mer,

shortly after D-Day.

National Defence Image Library, PL 30268.

Combat-tested Canadian soldiers had by then little in common with

the nicely lined-up troops that generals proudly inspected a month

earlier. They were now experienced, rugged-looking men who knew

how to hide, how to disperse rapidly when needed, how to spot

snipers and landmines. When shells and bullet rained around them

and there was nothing left but to pray, they still knew how to avoid

the worst. They had become survivors.

Caen, July 4th - 21st, 1944

On July 4th , 1944, in preparation for the move on Caen, Major

General Rod Keller sent four regiments against the village of

Carpiquet and its airfield: the North Shore Regiment, the Queen's

Own Rifles, the Regiment de la Chaudiere and the Royal Winnipeg

Rifles. They were supported by the tanks of the Fort Garry Horse

and by the whole artillery of the 3rd Division. As they moved

through wheat fields, Canadian infantrymen encountered a massive

barrage of artillery and mortar fire. Soldiers fell, mowed down by

death. Near the hangars, concealed in concrete pillboxes and

bunkers that defended the airfield , Germans fired relentlessly at the

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approaching Canadian troops. The village and some hangars were

finally captured by the 3rd Division after intense combat and

retained despite the following counter-attacks. Victory was still

incomplete, though, as hangars on the southern side remained in

enemy hands. Canadians held fast for several days under

intermittent mortar and artillery fire before the Germans finally

abandoned their position and the Carpiquet airfield.

Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa machine gunners firing through a

hedge during the attack on Carpiquet, July 4th, 1944.

Photo by Donald I. Grant. Department of National Defence I

National Archives of Canada, PA-138359.

In preparation for the assault on Caen, the Allies ordered massive

air strikes. On July 7th at 2230, waves of heavy bombers dropped

2,561 tonnes of bombs on the city. At dawn, only smouldering ruins

could be seen; a useless destruction since German troops had

already retreated and settled in the vicinity.

After the bombings, British artillery continued pounding Caen as

well as every enemy artillery position that could be located . In the

morning of July 8th, the British divisions started off, and a few hours

later, on signal, the 3rd Canadian Division did the same thing,

attacking Gruchy and Buron . Canadian troops recaptured familiar

sites such as Authie and the Abbaye d'Ardennes. Resistance was

fierce; on the battlefield flesh was torn by exploding landmines,

shredded by shrapnel, pierced by bullets or charred in burning

tanks .

The Germans gave orders to evacuate Caen on July 9th around

0300. The city was liberated but only in part: the enemy still held

the southern sector on the other side of the Orne River. Canadian

losses during this operation amounted to 330 men killed and 864

wounded , more than on D-Day. A glimmer of hope: the church of

Saint-Etienne at the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, where thousands of

civilians had taken refuge had been spared.

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While fighting continued around Caen, Lieutenant-Colonel GuY.

Simonds set up the HQ of II Canadian Corps in Amblie. Under

Major-General Charles Foulkes, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division

also was stationed in Normandy, thus completing the Corps'

strength. Canadian forces were therefore quite significantly

increased when they prepared their assault on the region south

east of Caen , towards Bourguebus and Falaise.

For the first time in history, Canadian soldiers were fighting under

their very own colours.

The Canadian Flag in Normand,'.

Canadian troops of the 3rd Infantry Division entering Caen,

Normandy, after heavy bombing by Allied aircrafts and artillery, 10

July 1944.

Photo by Harold G. Aikman. Department of National Defence I


On July 18th, 1944, at day break, an air raid that dropped 7,700

tonnes of bombs, synchronized with counter-battery fire from 33

artillery regiments preceded the crossing of the Orne River by the

British and the Canadians, codenamed Operation Atlantic. II

Canadian Corps crossed the river near Caen and captured first

Colombelles, then Faubourg-de-Vaucelles. Its progression was

through the industrial area outside Caen . Unfortunately the

bombings did not abate the Germans' firepower as hoped. German

divisions held strong positions, such as the Verrieres Ridge near

Route nationale 158, from which well-concealed tanks and guns

took shots at Allied armoured vehicles and decimated infantry

companies. The Canadians paid a heavy tribute but were able to

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seize neighbouring villages, Saint-Andre-sur-Orne, Ifs and

Bourguebus. But the Verrieres Ridge remained impregnable.

Tuesday, July 18, 1944: pitch dark and we frantically started

digging in hard stone ground. Bad night - little sleep - Jerry shells

and mortars - up in morning to find had slept beside latrine.

rlil/ery barrage and huge Air Force support - Libs, Lancasters,

Forls. Assault troops got orders and filed off up road to battle.

Rather sad sight to watch them go by- some not to return. No

opposition at first - creeping barrage - then casualties back -

mostly Jerries - and many prisoners. CCP had one killed. CO

moved up to front with carrier, but we stayed behind. QORs put up

good fight and took 600 prisoners. Finally moved up p.m. Just got

dug in and moved again. Crossed a mined area in convoy Vehicle

in front of our RAP vehicle blown up by mine - one bad burn - we

were not hurl. Got into big shell-hole beside road out of way of

exploding ammunition that was whizzing overhead. Got casualty

back via jeep. Rest of convoy stayed pat till a.m. - scared to move!

Slept in bomb crater.

Douglas Oatway, 22nd Canadian Field Ambulance,

from Canadians, A Battalion at War, p. 92

French civilians evacuated from Caen, July 13th, 1944.



General H.D.G. Crerar, Commanding Officer of the First Canadian

Army, had been in Normandy since June 18th, but did not engage

the enemy before July 23rd. The First Canadian Army was sent in

to replace the Second British Army between Caen and the Channel;

I British Corps then came under the command of the First Canadian

Army.

(canadian ArmY. units in NormandY. from JulY. 1944

In order to make a breakthrough beyond the bridgehead , General

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Montgomery prepared a series of major operations all along the

front. In the east, the First Canadian Army and the Second British

Army would march on Falaise in order to lead the enemy into

believing that a major thrust was to be made in that direction.

Meanwhile on the western front, the First and Third US armies were

to clear Brittany and launch a sweeping movement through Laval

Mayenne and towards Le Mans and Alenc;;on .

The Canadian push towards Falaise was completed in several

phases; those were operations Spring, Totalize and Tractable. On

July 25th, during the first of these operations, II Canadian Corps

met again with the 1st SS Panzer Division and the 272nd Infantry

Division. Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds [can-pep-can-simonds

e.doc] believed that an assault in broad daylight would fail, as the

July 19th assault did. He opted for a night assault with artificial

lighting. Unfortunately this was not enough to ensure the success of

the operation as the Germans held on stubbornly. Casualties were

numerous and it became obvious that the Canadians would not

pass ... Simons decided to suspend Operation Spring before the

assigned objectives could be reached.

July 25th, 1944, will remain as one of the bloodiest dates in the

history of WWII : on that day 362 men were killed or mortally

wounded, more than 840 injured. The Canadian Black Watch

Regiment was most severely hit with 307 casualties among officers

and men, including 118 killed. One regiment put on an exceptional

show of gallantry, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. The audacity of

Lieutenant Colonel J.L. Rockingham made ii possible to capture

Verrieres and to hold the village for three days against repeated

enemy attacks.

Troops of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles near Ifs, France, 25 July 1944.

Photo by Ken Bell. Deparlment of National Defence I National


Further west, fighting raged on the US front. Adol12h Hitler ordered

his troops to launch a large-scale attack on Martain and Avranches,

an insane project. Warned by British intelligence, US General Omar

Bradley and British General Bernard Montgomery immediately saw

in this tactical mistake an opportunity to seize. They would let the

German division enter a narrow lane, a gap that the Allies would

then close, completely surrounding the enemy. To make this

possible, Canadian troops needed to pierce the German lines that

stood in their way south east of Caen. This was the goal of

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Operation Totalize.

To achieve his objectives, Lieutenant-General Simonds received

additional troops: the 51st Highland Division, a British infantry

brigade and the 1st Polish Armoured Division were placed under

the command of II Canadian Corps. The Corps had to cross a

stretch of ground that laid on both sides of Route nationale 158,

and that offered the enemy many advantages: open ground with no

shelter for infantry troops, hidden long-range antitank guns and

mortars ensuring in-depth defence. Simonds decided to pierce the

antitank screen under cover of darkness following massive air

bombings. To protect the infantry the Canadian general had a

stroke of genius: since the artillery regiments did not need their self

propelled guns, they could be used as troop carriers by taking off

the guns. These vehicles were called Kangaroos. The artillery

regiments had already received 25-pounder guns instead of the

SPs.

On August 7th, armoured vehicles and tanks were positioned near

the Verrieres Ridge in accordance with Operation Totalize. At 2300

heavy bombers were pounding the German defences and

Canadians felt their enthusiasm growing as they heard the engines

roar and the bombs explode. At 2330 II Corps' columns started off

on both sides of the Caen-Falaise road. Darkness and clouds of

dust made progression increasingly difficult and several units lost

their way. In spite of the heavy bombing, German artillery and tanks

were able to put up a grim resistance. In spite of the confusion, II

Corps reached its first objectives and was in position to proceed

with phase two.

Riding into Kangaroos, men of the 4th Infantry Brigade await the

signal to start operation Totalize , August 7th , 1944.

Department of National Defence I National Archives of Canada,

PA-129172.

On August 8th , Simonds requested the US Air Force to provide

aerial bombing support. At 1300, 678 aircraft flew over German

positions. The German Flak countered with accurate fire and

several aircraft were hit. The leader of a 12-bomber squadron being

heavily damaged dropped his bomb load before reaching its target

and the other aircraft, reacting automatically did the same. The

bombs fell far behind the combat line but in an area that was filled

with Allied troops waiting to move up to the front. Some 65 men

were killed and 250 wounded from the 3rd Canadian Infantry

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Division and from the 1st Polish Armoured Division, not to mention

equipment losses. Major-General Rod Keller, the commander of the

3rd Division was among those injured.

This job turned out to be the Christmas package of the day. The

enemy were reported to have dug in at Jean Blanc, and created

what promised to be a ve,y troublesome foremost defended

locality. Our squadron, led by FIL Scharff, took-off at 19:15 hours

car,ying 500 lb. bombs to blast this foremost defended locality into

submission.

439 S uadron O erations Record Book, August 9, 1944

The operation went on until the morning of August 11th, but did not

manage to break through the German defence line. II Corps halted

while still far from Falaise. Meanwhile, the great German offensive,

planned for August 7th , had failed and the divisions under General

von Luge were in danger of being caught in a pincer between the

British and Canadian forces on one side and the US Army on the

other. This was exactly what Montgomery had hoped for. But for the

Allies' plan to materialize, the First Canadian Army had to move

beyond Falaise and to join forces with the US Army near Chambois.

The Allies believed that a successful issue could do much to

accelerate Germany's defeat. II Canadian Corps had to move on to

Falaise at all costs.

Tank concentration of the Fort Garry Horse ready to leave for noon

attack from Bretteville-Le-Rabet, Normandy, during Operation

Tractable, 14August 1944.



Lieutenant-General Simonds put together the most daring operation

of his whole military career: Tractable. His tanks were formed in two

dense columns that were ordered to charge through the

countryside. On one side , the 4th Armoured Division , on the other

the 3rd Infantry Division and the 2nd Armoured Brigade. The flanks

of the columns were to be protected by smoke screens and

bombings. The whole concept rested on two key elements: speed

and surprise.

On August 14th at 1142, Operation Tractable was launched and the

two tank columns started off. In the afternoon, RAF bombers

reached their targets and dropped 3,723 tonnes of explosives.

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Once again, unfortunate mistakes were made: thinking that yellow

signals identified targets rather than friendly positions, several

crews dropped their bombs on Canadian and Polish rear guard

troops. Some 165 men were killed by friendly fire . The two columns,

nevertheless, drove on through clouds of dust and smoke.

Armoured troop carrier vehicles (Kangaroos) proved efficient; the

infantrymen were rapidly on their targets and the chase began .

German resistance started to weaken.

On August 15th, Lieutenant-General Simonds was ordered to

capture Falaise as soon as possible and then to move on

eastwards to Trun in order to prevent the German Seventh Army

and the 5th Panzer division from escaping. The occupation of

Falaise was to be the mission of the 2nd Canadian Division, which

entered the town in the afternoon of August 16th and cleaned up

the remaining enemy positions, a difficult task for some 60 Hitler

Youth fighters had entrenched themselves in the Ecole superieure,

right in the centre of town.

Vehicles from the 3rd Infantry Division moving through the

countryside during Operation Tractable, August 14th, 1944. In the

foreground, gunners towing 6-pounder antitank guns.


National Archives of Canada, PA-116536w.

Meanwhile, the 4th Armoured Division which was to move on to

Trun ran into some difficulties near Damblainville: the Germans held

a hill from which they could with heavy mortar and machine gun fire

stop the Canadians from crossing the Ante River. In the afternoon

of the 17th, the Division finally succeeded in crossing the river and

could move on towards Trun. Nearby, the advanced troops of the

1st Polish Armoured Division, under Major-General Stanislaw

Maczek marched on Chambois and entered Neauphe-sur-Dives,

immediately east of Trun.

On August 18th, II Canadian Corps set out to make its junction with

the US forces and block the retreating enemy's desperate attempt

to escape. But this was not a simple task. In spite of severe losses

from aerial bombings, the Germans were formed into long convoys

that used every means to flee. Burning vehicles, dead soldiers and

horses lying by the roadside dotted their escape routes. But despite

the confusion of their retreat, they remained fierce fighters and the

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junction was not made before August 19th in the evening, as the

Poles and the Americans made contact in Chambois.

My tank was in 2nd Troop under command of Lt Thornton (now

wounded) and we were on the left flank of the Squadron at the

Start Line for the attack. The manoeuvres were to be of the highest

speed possible to our objective, some high ground overlooking

Falaise.

Account written bY. Sergeant Gariep'{., 6 Canadian Armoured

Regiment, on capturing Germans North of Falaise

7th Medium Regiment, 12th Battery, "A" Troop, fire on Germans

with 5.5 inch guns, Bretteville-Le-Rabet, Normandy, 16 August

1944.



The Falaise Gap was closed but violent and hectic fighting went on

during the following day as encircled German soldiers tried

desperately to break through Allied lines. At the same, enemy

troops outside the Gap tried to crush Canadian and Polish lines that

blocked possible escape routes. Some of the Polish troops of II

Canadian Corps' vanguard found themselves isolated on Hill 262, a

position they called "Maczuga" ("Mace") near Chambois. They had

been holding for three whole days without supplies when they were

finally relieved by the Canadian Grenadiers Guards.

No 1 squadron's co-axial machine-guns fired almost continually

from leaving 239 until arriving at 262 and the results were

devastating. All the Germans in the area were either killed or ran

away .. . The picture at 262 was the grimmest the regiment has so

far come up against ...

- 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier

Guards), WarDia(Y-, 17-2 1 August 1944

The closing of the Gap was to be the last episode of the campaign

of Normandy. The number of Germans from the Fifth and Seventh

armies that were trapped is estimated at 100,000. Less than half

managed to escape. 40,000 men were made prisoners, some

10,000 were killed. Canadian soldiers demonstrated outstanding

courage and tenacity but the cost of victory was high: between

August 8th and August 21st, there were 5,500 battle field

casualties, including 1,470 killed .

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Falaise was a crushing defeat for the German army but the enemy

proved its extraordinary capacity to recover. It withdrew from

France and rapidly stabilized its position in the Netherlands and

along Germany's western border. Despite the harsh blow dealt to

morale, Nazi troops kept resisting with determination. For the

Canadians and their Allies, the fight had to go on ...

Suggested Reading:

• George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Normandy: A Soldier's Eye

View, France 1944, 1995

• Terry Copp, Fields of Fire: the Canadians in Normandy, 2003

• Terry Copp and Mike Bechthold, The Canadian Battlefields in

Normandy: A Visitor's Guide, 2004

• Terry Copp and Robert Vogel, Maple Leaf Route: Caen, 1983

• J.L. Granatstein, Normandie 1944, 1999

• J.L. Granatstein and Desmond Morton, Bloody Victory: Canadians

and the O-Day Campaign 1944, 1994

• Dan Hartigan, A Rising of Courage: Canada's Paratroopers in the

Liberation of Normandy, 2000

• Howard Margolian, Conduct Unbecoming: The Story of the Murder

of Canadian Prisoners, 1998

• Bill McAndrew, Donald E. Graves, Michael Whitby, Normandie

1944, 1994

• Reginald H. Roy, 1944: The Canadians in Normandy, 1984

• Ken Tout, the Bloody Battle for Tilly: Normandy, 1944, 2000

• Denis Whitaker, Shelagh Whitaker et Terry Copp, Victory at Falaise:

The Soldiers' Story, 2000

• Mark Zuehlke, Juno Beach: Canada's O-Day Victory, June 6 1944,

2004

• Mark Zuehlke, Holding Juno: Canada's Heroic Defence of the

O-Oay Beaches: June 7-12, 1944, 2005

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