Area Five
HISTORICAL SECTION
The troops allocated to the landings on JUNO Beach were men of the 3rd Canadian Division commanded by Major General R.F.L. Keller. Keller had joined the Canadian Army in the latter stages of the First World War, although he saw no active service, and became a regular officer after the war. On the outbreak of war in 1939 he was a Brigade Major and within three years was commanding the 3rd Division; quite a leap in rank and his promotion was largely due to his patronage by Harry Crerar, commander of the 1st Canadian Army. Keller’s division had been based along the south coast in Sussex, and like the 3rd British Division which landed on its left flank on SWORD Beach, it had undertaken extensive assault and battle training; in fact, it had been working on such training for a full year in the lead up to D-Day. Keller was a popular commander with his men, although he drove them hard, and the training they received in the numerous live-fire exercises and in the battle schools would pay dividends in Normandy.
Harry Crerar, commander of 1st Canadian Army.
The defences on Nan Sector, JUNO Beach.
The men of the 3rd Canadian Division were different to some of the Allied troops who landed on D-Day in that they were entirely volunteers. There was no conscription or National Service in Canada as there was in the UK and the men in the divisions’ infantry battalions and support units had all willingly volunteered to fight for Canada and the mother country – the United Kingdom. Unlike a generation before in the First World War, a much higher percentage of them were Canadian born; in 1914 some 70 per cent of Canada’s army had been born outside of Canada, but in 1939 the majority of men who enlisted were Canadian born.
On D-Day Keller’s division was charged with landing on two flanks of the seaside town of Courseulles-sur-Mer. Nan Beach, the left flank of the Canadian landings, was itself sub-divided into three beaches: Nan Red on the left, Nan White in the centre and Nan Green on the right. These three beaches skirted the villages of St Aubin-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer and Courseulles-sur-Mer. The assault units landing here were the North Shore Regiment on Red Beach, Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada on White and Regina Rifle Regiment on Green. They would be supported by swimming DD Sherman tanks from the 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) and 10th Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse). The sea wall along Nan Beach was quite high compared to other areas, and there were a number of strongpoints and bunker complexes. Compared to other beaches there were also many more buildings here that directly bordered the beach area, several of which were concreted and contained defences. To assist the Canadians in their ability to overcome these defences if the pre-D-Day bombardment had not knocked them out, and to help get off the beach, British troops from the 79th Armoured Division were allocated to Keller. These included a large variety of so-called ‘Funnies’ ranging from Sherman mine-clearance tanks to Churchill AVRE tanks capable of dropping bridges onto the sea wall to allow access off the beach, and using their specialist Petard mortars could take on concrete emplacements.
The overall divisional plan on D-Day was to land at JUNO and then push inland towards the Bayeux – Caen road, capture the Authie Heights and reach the Carpiquet airfield west of Caen itself. There was a gap between the Canadians and the British 3rd Division, but both formations were to meet near Caen as the British took the city. The landings at Nan Beach were tasked with securing the bridgehead from Courseulles to St Aubin, then moving inland to capture a German strongpoint in the hamlet of Tailleville. Other troops were then to pass through and continue with the advance southwards to the Bayeux road.
The German troops facing the Canadians on Nan Red were from the 736. Grenadier-Regiment, part of the Infantrie-Division 716. A substantial proportion of men in this unit were in Ost Battalion – former Soviet Army troops taken prisoner on the Eastern Front and offered the chance to escape the awful conditions of a prisoner-of-war camp and fight for Hitler. As such they were hardly willing combatants, and the pre-D-Day Canadian briefings had them down as low-quality troops with poor morale. Having said that, they had formidable defences to fall back on. Aside from the usual bunker, trench and minefield complexes, there was a substantial command centre inland at Tailleville, and close to that a Wutzburg radar station. There were 88mm gun positions inland on the high ground west of Tailleville and well-sited artillery batteries. The only available armour, however, was the 21. Panzer Division beyond Caen.
The North Shore Regiment landing further up the beach on D-Day.
As D-Day dawned the armada of taking the 3rd Division into Nan Red assembled off the coast. The weather had already delayed operations, and in this area there was a high wind and heavy swell. An immediate decision was made not to launch the DD tanks at sea due to the conditions; they would have to land direct from the LCTs onto the beach. This meant that the initial infantry landing would be made with no tank support. At 0705, just 25 minutes before H Hour at Nan Red, a signal was received that the landing craft bringing in the AVREs from 79th Armoured Division were late, which meant the whole operation was now put back 30 minutes. The plan was already beginning to go wrong. One factor that was in accordance with the plan was the final bombardment. Cannon fire from the Landing Ship Guns was opening up on Nan Beach, along with fire from the rocket ships and also, as was common on all the British beaches on D-Day, there was a ‘run-in shoot’ from the 105mm M7 Priest self-propelled guns of Lieutenant Colonel F.P.T. Clifford’s 13th Canadian Field Regiment. Despite poor visibility, they did well in dropping shells onto some key targets in the immediate beach area.
Finally, at around 0800 the assault troops began to land. On the left Lieutenant Colonel Donald Bowie Buell’s1 North Shore Regiment’s leading companies touched down at 0810. Once again, despite the fire from several cruisers and destroyers, along with aerial bombardments, it was found that the German defences were pretty much intact. On Nan Red this left a 50mm emplacement on the right and a twin 50mm/75mm emplacement on the left still able to fire, and this was already beginning to cause problems. And without the initial tank support there was no easy way to solve it. One officer recalled the landings, ‘Things weren’t going as planned and unless we captured those heavy guns Jerry was potting landing craft with, things were going to get worse. And worse they got, for there we were with nothing heavier than Brens with which to attack heavily fortified enemy posts.’2 Lieutenant C.F. Richardson was facing the same problems,
Tracer bullets from German anti-aircraft seemed to fill the air as we came in . . . Once we were out of the boat everyone acted mechanically, heading for the beach and the cover of the beach wall .
. . we used our Bangalore torpedoes with good effect and were at close quarters with the enemy after traversing through what we later discovered was a minefield. The Germans were [behind] concrete and we were without armoured support. Soon the sniping became the most demoralising aspect of the day as we began to lose one man after another.3
Buell’s company commanders began to prove their worth. Major Robert Borden Forbes, commanding ‘B’ Company, personally led his men against the strongpoints and using what weapons they had, they gradually began to neutralise the German defences; for this he was later awarded a Military Cross. Then, finally, tank support began to arrive. The Sherman DD tanks from C Squadron 10th Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse) had left the LCTs and got ashore to support the North Shores. They soon found the infantry pinned down, so the Shermans began to direct fire onto the defences. But it was a tricky task; several tank commanders were sniped and the gun positions soon accounted for four Shermans knocked out. Supporting armour from the ‘Funnies’ were also present. No. 4 Team of the 80th Assault Squadron Royal Engineers landed here and lost their Churchill Bridgelayer when it collided with a landing craft. The crew immediately dismounted and came under sniper and grenade attack, which killed or wounded most of them. Sherman Flail tanks from the 22nd Dragoons began to sweep a lane through the minefields, but for most tanks in the Fort Garry Horse this was taking too long. Major William Roy Bray had had enough; stuck on the beach under sniper and direct anti-tank fire was no place for a tank commander, so he made the decision to brave the uncleared minefields and push on. In doing so, three tanks were lost, but the area was soon bypassed and now the tanks were beyond the beach. The fighting for St Aubin itself was now on.
On Nan White Beach the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada were detailed to assault the beach at Bernières-sur-Mer. There was a 50mm anti-tank gun in a bunker here on the battalion’s frontage, and a very distinct gabled house to the left defined their flank there. As at Nan Red, the landings were delayed by 30 minutes, and one company found itself bobbing up and down off the beach in a heavy swell; as they had approached on time they had not encountered any opposition. They floated there like sitting ducks for half an hour. Finally, the assault went in just after 0800 and two companies touched down. The unit’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel W.T. Barnard, later reported,
Coming ashore at Nan Beach.
‘A’ Company on the right and ‘B’ Company on the left touched down at 0812 hours. The line between the companies was the railway station. Several LCA [Landing Craft Assault] hit mines on the run in but casualties were light . . . The rising tide had now left about two hundred yards or so of the beach between the water’s edge and the sea-wall. The strip was swept by enemy enfilade fire but, with a rush ‘A’ Company, under Major H.E. Dalton, was over, clambered up the sea-wall, and reached the railway line.4
Company Sergeant Major Charles Martin was in a LCA on the left flank of the battalion’s landing area, close to the gabled house.
Charlie Martin DCM MM.
Everyone seemed calm and ready. The boat commander was in charge of this part. He would give our landing order. We waited for it. In just a few inches of water the prow grated onto the beach. The order rang out: ‘Down ramp.’ The moment the ramp came down, heavy machine-gun fire broke out from somewhere back of the seawall. Mortars were dropping all over the beach ... The men rose, starboard line turning right, port turning left. I said . . . ‘Go!Go!Go!’ we raced down the ramp ... the men closely following. We fanned out as fast as we could, heading for that sea wall.5
Martin and his men got to the sea wall, got over it and across the railway line close to Bernières station and pushed into the town where the real fighting began, although it had cost his company dear in just getting there. Martin noted that the leaders, platoon and section commanders, were often the first to get hit, targeted by the Germans,
To both sides of us we had mine fields. The machine-gun fire and mortars never let up, a barrage of shelling that seemed to come from everywhere. Once over the railway we had some grass cover, but we ran into heavy barbed wire . . . We decided to cut the wire and . . . go straight ahead.6
The next obstacle was the minefield beyond, and while seeing his men across Martin stood on an S Mine, which jumped out the ground and exploded ball bearings at chest or head height. He stood firmly on the men until everyone was across, and was just about to flop when a bullet hit his helmet and he dived badly. Luckily, he had ducked enough to avoid the mine exploding; only minutes into D-Day Martin was leading a charmed life that would take him into Germany the following year.
Elsewhere on Nan White beach the 80th Assault Squadron of the Royal Engineers were coming into to assist.
Door dropped ... 4 – 5 feet of water at door and all AVRE with one exception got out and on to beach. The main items to ensure the reduction of most of the opposition did not take place . . . The AVREs were the first in this sector . . . The tide was rising fast and it was obvious from the outset that beach obstacles could not be cleared ... Shelling was not bad but mortars did get some vehicles. Sniping was increasing.7
Mine clearance, as on Nan Red, was by the Sherman Flails of 22nd Dragoons. The AVREs were in action here, too. One tank from No. 2 Team took out the 50mm gun position with a ‘flying dustbin’ charge from the tank’s Petard mortar. The same weapons were used to clear a beach ramp blocked only by ‘Element C’ obstacles, like big iron gates. A few shots from the Petards and the ramp was clear. Mines along the beach were swept by the Dragoons and an AVRE carrying a fascine dropped it into the ditch beyond creating the first main exit off Nan White Beach.
The battle-damaged railway station at Bernières-sur-Mer.
Prisoners taken when the German defences were overrun by the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. One of the bunkers is visible on the sea wall.
By 0900, an hour into the landings, the infantry battle had the Queen’s Own well into Bernières. Battalion Headquarters caught up with them, coming in one of the final wave of LCAs, and as they entered the town discovered a café still open and selling wine! An hour later Bernières was secure, beach exits had been made and the next battalion – the Regiment de la Chaudière, French Canadians – had landed and would now take up the advance inland.
On the right at Nan Green on the edge of Courseulles-sur-Mer, the Regina Rifle Regiment hit the beach at 0805. ‘A’ Company landed first on the extreme right, close to the jetty where the mouth of the Seulles River was located, followed by the other companies in 20-minute gaps. The assault was supported by Sherman DD tanks from the 1st Hussars. This unit had successfully launched its floating tanks at 2,000yd with fourteen out of nineteen of them making it to the beach. Royal Engineer support was given by the 26th Assault Regiment and another squadron of the 22nd Dragoons with their Sherman Flail tanks to clear the mines.
Ted Hindmarch was in ‘A’ Company and one of the first to land.
We were going into the beaches in landing craft and the Germans didn’t fire on us till we were close in. As number 2 section was in the centre of the landing craft they had to jump out first. Their last man of that section was their Bren Gunner. I followed him out. We had to jump into waist deep water. He was hit and started to sink so I grabbed him by his webbing and pulled him to shore, but he was dead when I got them there. He still hung on to his Bren Gun. His name was Cutler, from Moosemin, Sask.
I took off across the beach, bullets flying all around, men being shot down. I could see where the Germans had been driving over the barbed wire so that’s the place I ran for. I thought of mines being laid there, so I took the longest steps I could to get across the wire. I got to the bank and went down on my belly, two of my men dropped down beside me . . . It was hard to see where all the firing was coming from. We were still a long way from the first building up ahead.8
Prisoners being guarded against the very distinctive sea wall here which was a major obstacle for vehicles
The fire grew with intensity as the other companies came in, and tragedy struck when one of the landing craft hit a mine, killing Major J.V. Love, commanding ‘D’ Company. However, the infantry were now getting off the beach and into Courseulles. The ‘Funnies’ from the Royal Engineers were busy on the beach itself, however. No. 3 and No. 4 Teams from the 26th Assault Regiment had a long section of ‘Element C’ to clear on the right flank near the mouth of the Seulles River. From here the Flails cleared the minefield and the exit ramp near where Ted Hindmarch had crossed the wire was opened up by an armoured bulldozer. By 0900 the first exit ramp was open and the Sherman DD tanks that had landed in support of the infantry were now joining them in the battle for Courseulles town; within the space of another hour the beachhead battle was almost over and the Regina Rifles were pushing inland to the village of Reviers.
With the beachhead secure, the next stage of the advance was to move inland and take the villages and objectives towards the Bayeux road. One of these, south of St Aubin, was the small hamlet of Tailleville. Here the 736. Grenadier Regiment had made their headquarters in the chateau, re-enforcing parts of the location with concrete shelters, tunnels and bunkers. The walls of the chateau park had been loop-holed for machine guns and parts of it dropped so that self-propelled guns could fire over it from a hull-down position. One part of the wall had been concreted with a firing aperture for a field gun, and Tobruk pits had been built into the wall giving further potential covering fire. It was certainly a formidable defensive position.
The approach to Tailleville in 1944, as it is today, is marked by wide open fields with little cover, save the occasional depression of ground. From the edge of the buildings that marked St Aubin to the chateau walls was potentially a death trap for any unit advancing in daylight. But this was only part of the next phase of the North Shore Regiment’s D-Day objectives. Having taken Tailleville, they were to push onto the woods around the radar station at Douvres and end the day at the village of Anguerny, some 6 miles inland. An ambitious plan.
Canadian troops moving inland from JUNO Beach.
Lieutenant Colonel Buell, commanding the North Shore, had fought his way off the beach with his men to St Aubin, where they waited for support. No attack on Tailleville would be able to succeed without tanks, and machine guns and mortars from the divisional support battalion. These were still landing, but by midday all were in place and Buell was able to send C Company forward in a probing attack towards the chateau. Their company commander, Major Daughney, had reconnoitred the area on a bicycle before his men moved off, a brave stunt in broad daylight. His recce had not noted anything like the sort of indications he would have expected to see if a German battlegroup had been in position, so he led his men in with some degree of optimism. With tanks from the Fort Garry Horse and a Forward Observer from the self-propelled guns of 19th Field Regiment, his plan was to send two platoons forward and use the carrier platoon to swing round the west of the chateau in their Bren carriers and cut off any retreating enemy.
The first sign of Germans came when mortar rounds began to drop on C Company. The advance sped on and reached a position a few hundred yards from the chateau. Here intense machine-gun fire brought the men to a halt, but then the Shermans fired High Explosive (HE), and the field guns and heavy mortars dropped rounds into the chateau grounds. With the German defenders suppressed by the fire, the platoons rushed the chateau and began the task of clearing Tailleville. Colonel Buell was hot on their heels and after a short while Daughney optimistically reported that the village was clear. Buell ordered a more comprehensive sweep and sent another company round the flank of Tailleville. The commander of that company, Major McNaughton, walked straight into an ambush just beyond the main chateau buildings and was killed along with his radioman and several others. The fight continued and it soon became clear that the Germans were using a system of tunnels beneath the village to go to ground and come up behind the Canadians just when they thought the area was clear. It finally took six attempts before Tailleville was completely clear and it wasn’t until 2100 on 6 June that the message to say the objective was secure was given. It had cost the North Shores a score of men, and the German garrison had been reduced to just fifty men.
While it was late in the day, Buell considered pushing on to his other objectives. Getting to Anguerny was unlikely, but he might be able to clear the woods near the radar station. However, orders came down from Brigade Headquarters to stop and hold Tailleville. Unbeknown to Buell, the British on their flanks had run into opposition and were held up before Caen, and some of the Canadian units that had penetrated further south had run into units thought to be in reserve or away from Normandy. Indeed, one of them had even captured men from the Reconnaissance Battalion of 12th SS Panzer Division. For Buell his long D-Day was drawing to a close and while it had been tough and cost him casualties, his men would soon be encountering more than recce units from the 12th in some of the toughest battles of the Normandy campaign.
Walk 5: From Nan Red to Tailleville
STARTING POINT: Car park close to Bernières railway station, just off D514
GPS: 49°20′05.7″N, 0°25′22.4″W
DURATION: 10.4km/6.5 miles
Park your vehicle in the car park just west of the old Bernières railway station off the D514, here part of Rue Victor Tesniere. Start with a visit to the station.
Bernières railway station is now de-commissioned and is the local tourist office. Tourist information, postcards and some useful local guides can be obtained inside. It is the original building that was here in 1944 and appears in many period photographs. There is a series of images around the town at places where key events took place on D-Day, and outside the station is a colour image.
From the station return to the car park and continue to the seafront. The wall of the building to your right displays further images from D-Day and the house itself is also a survivor from 1944. Known as the ‘Maison de Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada’, the building was part of the German defences at this point – WN-28 – and came under fire when the Germans inside refused to surrender. It overlooks the landing point that was on the left flank of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. The D-Day defences were intact here, and immediately came to life as the Queen’s Own hit the beach, but with the assistance of Churchill AVREs and tanks from the Fort Garry Horse the positions were overwhelmed and the battalion pushed inland. The house owners are proud of their association with D-Day but visitors should remember it is private property. In front is a memorial that reads,
This house was liberated at first light on D Day 6th June 1944, by the men of The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada who were the first Canadians to land on this beach. It may very well have been the first house on French soil liberated by seaborne Allied Forces. Within sight of this house over 100 men of The Queen’s Own Rifles were killed or wounded, in the first few minutes of the landings.
The railway station at Bernières.
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada House on JUNO Beach.
From the house walk along the promenade going east. Further up on the left is a Tobruk pit. Walk down onto the beach to the far side of it; there is a plaque here to the Queen’s Own. Returning to the promenade continue to the next bunker, a strongpoint that contained a 50mm gun that could fire right down the beach. A further memorial to the Queen’s Own was placed on the bunker, but earlier plaques commemorate other units including the 22nd Dragoons, the unit that operated Flail tanks here on D-Day, and the 5th Bn Royal Berkshire Regiment. This unit, a Territorial battalion from Hackney in London, defended the beach from D-Day until the end of the campaign. A Canadian Battlefield Foundation map can be seen further along the sea wall and just beyond that another Tobruk pit.
The distinctive sea wall at Nan Beach is still visible.
The field of fire from a German bunker looking down Nan Beach.
Staying on the promenade continue for about ⅔ mile until you reach Rue des Hirondelles on the right. Stop. This is the sector where the North Shore Regiment landed on D-Day. The regiment had a cinematographer from the Army Film and Photographic Unit attached to them who filmed men from either ‘A’ or ‘B’ Companies of the North Shore approaching this stretch of beach on an LCI (Landing Craft Infantry). This section of film has become an iconic image of D-Day, and two of the buildings visible on it are either side of Rue des Hirondelles. This area also marks the extreme left flank of JUNO Beach.
Today this former German bunker is covered with memorials to the units who fought here on D-Day.
Return along the promenade in the direction you just came from until you reach Rue de la Caline on the left. Turn left into this street and continue to the D514. Here go straight across onto Chemin Huet and continue into Passage de la Rive. At the end turn left onto Rue Moisant de Brieux and follow it onto the D7. Stay left and then take the first track on the right.
This track takes you across the fields towards Tailleville. It is as open as the ground was in June 1944, and the advance of the North Shore Regiment was to your left running parallel to the track. The first section of the track has a battle-damaged wall on the right, and at the second junction of tracks stop for a good view of the approach to the battlefield around the Tailleville chateau. Then continue to the north-west corner of the chateau wall. There is a Tobruk pit built into the corner of the wall here. Go along the wall to another Tobruk. The machine-gun position is open here and an appreciation of its potential field of fire is gained by looking back towards the beach. Further examples of how the chateau was fortified can be seen along the wall, included slits for machine guns, lower walls to place self-propelled guns behind and a concreted gun position.
Tobruk pit in the corner of the wall at Tailleville.
Inset: A similar position in use.
Artillery position built into the wall at Tailleville.
At the end of the chateau wall turn right and go into the chateau grounds. The chateau is owned by a charity that helps the homeless by selling reclamation goods, and normally they welcome visitors who want to look at the outside of the chateau, but the grounds are private. The chateau shows signs of battle damage, but modern buildings now cover some of the positions that were in the grounds.
Return to the road and turn right. Round the next bend on the right is a Tobruk pit. It was here Major J.A. MacNaughton and his party was ambushed. This part of the village has now been named in memory of one of the North Shore men who was wounded here that day. Continue through the village until you reach the D35. Here turn right and on the next bend walk across to the memorial on the left. This is the village war memorial but it also has another memorial to the North Shore Regiment on it. The Canadian flag is flown here for most of the year.
Machine-gun position at Tailleville.
Tailleville chateau.
On the D35 stay left and continue west, taking the second track on the right. Follow this track back into Bernières. On the outskirts of the village go straight across at a junction of tracks and roads onto Route de Tailleville. Take the first right onto the Rue de la Corderie. At the end turn left and then take first right onto Rue du Regiment de la Chaudière. At the end of this street on the right is the building used by Allied war correspondents, photographers and cinematographers from the late morning of D-Day onwards. From here go straight across on the D514 and return to the car park and your vehicle.