7
THE FIRST WAVES OF THE CANADIAN 3RD INFANTRY DIVISION coming ashore on Juno Beach landed on top of, and among, the mined steel beach defenses. The naval commanders had feared an offshore reef might present as great a hazard to the landing craft as did the German defenses, so they delayed the landing by fifteen minutes to 0745. Strong winds and rough seas pushed their assault formations out of position causing many to land even later and, with the tide quickly coming in, they drifted onto the mined obstacles.
The initial landings were on the beaches either side of the Norman coastal port of Courseulles-sur-Mer. Over 300 vessels made their way through the rough seas toward these beaches. Of the twenty-five vessels in the first wave, twenty were destroyed or damaged; by the end of the day another sixty-six had been added to the total. In order to get anywhere near the beach, the landing craft personnel were forced to run their craft, sometimes blind, over rows of underwater mines and steel spiked barriers. Adding to the nightmare was the continuous artillery and mortar fire that sent plumes of sand, shrapnel, and water both skyward and sideward, across the beaches, into the advancing troops. The DD tanks failed to reach shore before the infantry so men had to run over the sand and shingle without any protection.
Courseulles-sur-Mer was one of the most heavily defended positions attacked by the Anglo-Canadian forces that day. There was an 88mm, two 75mm, and two 50mm guns covering the beach area, in addition to twelve concrete machine gun posts and several mortar pits, which were able to direct their fire onto any point along the beach. The Regina Rifle Regiment and 6th Armored Regiment landed on the beach east of the River Seulles. One company landed right in front of a German strongpoint, near the mouth of the river, and was immediately pinned down. The remaining companies landed further east and managed to get off the beach and attack Courseulles-sur-Mer from the east. To the west of the river mouth at Courseulles-sur-Mer, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles also landed in front of a German strongpoint but managed to overpower the defenders when the tanks of the Royal Canadian Engineers arrived. Here the Canadian Scottish also landed and moved inland.
EYEWITNESS
The first thing we saw were bodies, and parts of bodies, our own people [sic] and this country that was strange to us, and all these pillboxes everywhere . . . . I can always remember seeing the steeple of this church, and there were snipers up there zapping us with lead flying all around.
Rifleman G. Suche, The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
Further to the east, at St Aubin-sur-Mer, The North Shore Regiment, supported by the 10th Armored Regiment and Royal Canadian Engineers, landed and managed to capture the local German strongpoints just before noon. They were also assisted by No. 48 (RM) Commando, which landed an hour after the Canadians and fought their way toward Sword Beach. Other British troops in the Canadian sector included the men from the 8th Battalion of the King’s Liverpool Regiment who made up the beach group.
The incoming tide was presenting a problem for the troops coming ashore, for the beach area was narrowing even as the number of vehicles and armor increased. While the fighting continued in
Standartenführer Kurt Meyer.
and around the coastal villages, the follow-up units pressed on inland, as quickly as possible, toward the Canadian Division’s objectives. These were a group of villages that sat astride the main Caen-Bayeux highway. Among these villages was their main prize – Carpiquet airfield. With an airfield captured and secured the Allies would be able to increase their supplies and reinforcements into the Normandy bridgehead. The Canadians managed to advance more than eleven kilometers, further than any of the other divisions on D-Day, and had cut off the Caen-Bayeux highway by mid- afternoon. They had also been able to link up with the British 50th Northumbrian Division on their right flank, making a front line that ran for twenty-four kilometers. By nightfall the Canadians had secured a sizable bridgehead, with a loss of about 1,000 men.
Throughout the night, while the front line soldiers fought to maintain their bridgehead, others worked around the clock to insure that the beaches were kept clear and that the build-up of supplies could continue.
Despite the Canadians’ swift advance, no contact had yet been established with the British 3rd Infantry Division to their left. As the Canadians and British advanced inland, Hitler’s Panzer Divisions launched the first of many counterattacks in an attempt to exploit the gap in the Allies’ front. With only a limited number of infantry and armored vehicles to challenge the well-prepared Allied troops, the attack failed but, in the days to come, as the German panzer divisions raced toward the area north and east of Caen, the fighting became much harder and more costly for both sides.
EYEWITNESS
I spent the first night on the beach with my truck. You know what that means? There were dead bodies to be moved, so that they didn’t affect the morale of the troops landing the next day.
Sapper G. Wilson, 72nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
The 716th Coastal Defense Division, under the command of General Richter, had been decimated by the Allied invasion on D-Day. This allowed the Canadians to reinforce their positions and continue their advance on June 7th, without too much enemy interference. The front line ran from Norray-en-Bessin, across the main Caen-Bayeux railway track and highway, to Bretteville-l’Orgueilleuse and back to Le Fresne-Camilly. Farther east, part of the 9th Brigade advanced toward Carpiquet, taking Les Buissons and Buron by noon. But as they advanced toward Franqueville, the 12th SS Panzer Division launched a counterattack.
Led by Standartenführer Kurt “Panzermeyer” Meyer, commander of the 25th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment, two battalions, with tanks in support, were launched against the Canadians on June 7th. Meyer had watched the Canadians approach from his observation post in the Abbaye Ardenne and knew just where to strike for maximum effect. The Canadians were forced back and the Germans recaptured Buron. Just as they did so, however, HMS Belfast laid down a barrage and the Canadians immediately countered the German attack. After the panzer attack was successfully broken up, Buron was once again taken by the Canadians – but it had cost them over 400 casualties and twenty-one tanks. The Canadians’ swift advance from the beaches had finally been checked. And to the east, just north of Caen, the British advance from Sword Beach was also grinding to a halt.
German anti-aircraft defenses in the area around Caen.
During the German offensive, a company from the 12th SS Panzer Division managed to cross the railroad and take part of Putot-en-Bessin. Following a rolling artillery barrage, the Canadians were able to push the Germans back with an armored counterattack, but in their retreat the Germans took with them sixty-four prisoners from the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. The Canadian prisoners were taken, under guard, into the grounds of the Château d’Audrieu. The wounded were placed in the center of the group and all were made to wait. At some point in the next few hours an SS staff officer ordered a halftrack and machine gun to the scene. The prisoners, including the wounded, were then slaughtered in cold blood. It was the start of a series of incidents by the fanatical SS troops; later the same day, forty-eight Canadians from the Queen’s Own Rifles were also murdered by the SS in the grounds of Meyer’s HQ at the Abbaye Ardenne.
Over the next few days, the battle raged over the same ground with few gains on either side. A week after D-Day the British, Canadian, and German troops were dug-in and waiting for sufficient supplies and reinforcements to launch a major attack. As the Americans raced for Cherbourg, Montgomery had to decide how best to re-launch his attack on Caen. His Anglo-Canadian troops now faced some of Germany’s best trained and most battle-hardened troops who were quite determined in the execution of their tasks. Montgomery’s troops also faced the superior armor of the panzer divisions, led by strong and resolute commanders who had learned the lessons of war, the hard way, during their fight against the Russians on the Eastern Front.
Operation Perch (see Chapter 6) had shown how difficult it was to break out from the Bocage, and with Monty trying to build up his supplies (which had suffered a serious set-back during the storms of June 19th to 21st), the next major offensive wasn’t launched until Operation Epsom on June 26th (see Chapter 5). When Operation Epsom failed, General Crocker, commander of British I Corps, ordered the Canadians to launch Operation Windsor on July 4th. The objective of Operation Windsor was to take the airfield and village at Carpiquet. Over 400 guns laid down a artillery barrage prior to the attack and, in addition, the 16-inch guns of HMS Rodney and 15-inch guns of HMS Roberts along with two squadrons of rocket firing Typhoons were used to soften up the German defenses. The village was taken but the defenses around the hangers on the airfield proved too strong to penetrate. Despite several German counterattacks to retake the village, the Canadians managed to hold their positions until July 8th when Operation Charnwood, the main offensive against Caen, was launched.
EYEWITNESS
We fired at the village with 50 kilogram mortar bombs which were part explosive and part incendiary. They had been part of the airfield defense long before the landings, and when our Werfer Regiment got them ready for action, they obviously caused considerable casualties. The enemy kept very quiet here for the next few days; even during the great attack on Caen, they stayed on the defenses. However our own attempt to retake Carpiquet from Franqueville failed.
Obersturmbannführer H. Meyer, staff officer, 12th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment
Caen in 1944 and today.
After the vicious fighting the Canadians had endured, Montgomery decided to carpet bomb Caen to disrupt the German defenses before he sent in the ground troops. On the night of July 7th nearly 500 Lancaster and Halifax bombers dropped over 2,500 tons of bombs onto northern Caen. The following morning Operation Charnwood was launched: the British 3rd Infantry Division on the left, the British 59th Division in the center, and the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division on the right attacked along an eight-mile front.
Bomber Command insisted that a 5,500-meter safety margin should be kept between the front line Allied troops and the bombing zone. Subsequently, the villages to the north of Caen, which the Germans had spent the past month fortifying, remained untouched by the bombardment. Though the German support units undoubtedly suffered greatly in the bombings, the explosions had little affect on the forward troops other than the psychological effect of seeing the Allies’ undoubted air superiority.
After a full day’s fighting the British managed to break their way through the villages and enter the city by the evening. The previous night’s bombing proved to be counter-productive: the streets were so full of rubble and stone that it was impossible for the armor to advance until the area was cleared. This gave the Germans the opportunity to make the best of their retreat. The Canadians, attacking along the Caen-Bayeux highway, reached the River Orne only to find all the bridges blown and the Germans well-entrenched in the rubble of the southern suburbs. Caen may have fallen, but the Germans still blocked Montgomery’s breakout.
By mid-July the Allies were stretched to their limits. The Americans were becoming bogged down and the British and Canadians appeared to be at a stalemate around Caen. With no guarantee of winning a war of attrition and the need to keep the German Panzer divisions in the west, *Montgomery decided to make a bold thrust through the British Airborne sector in order to re-establish the threat of a breakout and keep the Germans on the defensive. Thus Operation Goodwood was born, and, under the diversion of this operation, the Americans would launch Operation Cobra – an attempt at breakout in the west.
The Canadian part in Operation Goodwood was codenamed Operation Atlantic. While the British launched their three armored brigades toward Bourguébus and Falaise, the British 51st and Canadian 3rd Infantry Divisions would protect their left flank. Canadian II Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General G. Simonds would, at the same time, protect their right flank by clearing the southern suburbs of Caen.
At 0500 on July 18th, 1000 Lancasters carpet-bombed the ground on either side of the armored thrust with payloads of 500 and 1000 pound bombs. Fragmentation bombs were used in an attempt to reduce the amount of cratering and inflict maximum casualties to the troops on the ground.
EYEWITNESS
Then began the most terrifying hours of our lives . . . . Among the thunder of the explosions, we could hear the wounded screams and the insane howling of men who had been driven mad . . . . The stunning effect temporarily incapacitated everyone. Nerves, emotions were drained; it was a wild moon landscape of brown craters, wreathed in the acrid smell of high-explosives. Tanks caught fire; tanks were buried; men were buried; a 60 ton Tiger was blown upside down. And still the RAF poured overhead, the great black painted night bombers roaring low to make certain of their aim.
W. Kortenhaus, wireless operator, 21st Panzer Division
Despite the mass bombing, the armored thrust of Operation Goodwood soon ground to a halt when it came up against the Germans’ well-positioned artillery. The Canadians, however, had more success and managed to reach their objectives. By the end of the day, they had crossed the River Orne and cleared the southern and eastern parts of Caen including the villages of Colembelles and Mondeville, The following day the villages of Louvigny and Fleury-sur-Orne also fell to the Canadians.
By July 20th, the Allies had managed to form a solid front line that now encircled Caen. The Canadians were given one final task as part of Operation Atlantic – to take the ridge at Verrières. A delay in moving the British 7th Armored Brigade out and moving the Canadian troops in, gave the Germans time to reinforce their position and the attack failed at a cost of over 500 men.
On the same day, Nazi Germany found itself in a state of turmoil and confusion. Oberst Count Klaus von Stauffenberg, an influential officer of the Wehrmacht, had chosen this day to plant a bomb in a conference room at Hitler’s HQ as part of a well-detailed plot to assassinate the dictator and take power away from the Nazis. It was hoped that, with the evil dictator gone, a moderate government could negotiate a peace deal with the Allies and save Germany from complete and utter destruction.
Hitler, however, survived the blast and quickly launched an inquiry into the conspiracy. The consequences of this inquiry had repercussions that would be felt all over the Nazi-dominated continent. After the execution and disgrace of those who had dared to conspire against the Führer, surviving military personnel decided it would be wiser to follow orders, for fear of being linked with the “Plot of July 20th.” The resolution of Germany’s troops was now set in stone. It would be total victory or total defeat with no room for compromise. The war would now be fought to the bitter end.
With the Americans about to launch their breakthrough in the west, Montgomery was not prepared to let the British and Canadian troops become bogged down in another stalemate. The attempt to break out would continue and the next phase of operations was passed onto Lieutenant General Crerar, commander of the Canadian First Army. To begin, the Canadian Corps would launch Operation Spring on July 24th in an attempt to take the objectives originally scheduled for Operation Goodwood. This would then be followed by an attack down the Caen-Falaise road. Operation Spring was a night offensive, so to aid visibility for the Allied troops, hundreds of searchlights were focused on low-lying clouds, a revolutionary illumination technique known as “Monty’s Moonlight.” The overall effect was to create an artificial moonlight over the battlefield.
From the right: Feldmarschall von Rundstedt; Sturmbannführer Hubert Meyer; Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich; Oberführer Fritz Witt; Standartenführer Kurt Meyer.
The Canadians pushed southward toward May-sur-Orne, Verrières, and Tilly-la-Campagne and the battle raged for several days. Though Operation Spring was meant to be the start of the British-Canadian breakout toward Falaise, at the same time the attack kept the German armor engaged while the Americans made their breakout in the west. Montgomery also moved the British Second Army further west and launched Operation Bluecoat (see Chapter 6) in an attempt to further protect the American advance.
The Allies realized in early August that the disposition of the German forces at that time presented an opportunity to push forward, and possibly, with a series of well-planned and timed offensives, encircle the enemy. With such a plan in mind, Patton’s Third Army was ordered to push northward toward Argentan, rather than eastward, while the Canadians pushed south toward Falaise.
The lessons learned in previous operations were taken into account when the II Canadian Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Simonds, planned the next offensive, Operation Totalize. On the night of August 7th, Bomber Command laid down a massive aerial bombardment of over 3,000 tons of bombs, prior to an armored attack. As the troops and tanks moved toward their objective, they were guided by the tracer fire from Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns into a battlefield illuminated by Monty’s moonlight. Within the first hour of the advance 60,000 artillery shells had been fired into the German positions.
The attack advanced down either side of the Caen-Falaise road (N-158). To the west a Canadian armored brigade, infantry brigade, and reconnaissance regiment pushed through the village of Rocquancourt and captured the high ground at Bretteville-sur-Orne. In the meantime, another brigade followed up on foot and cleared the villages of May-sur-Orne, Fontenay, and Rocquancourt. To the east, brigades of the 51st Highland Division mopped up the villages of Tilly-la-Campagne, La Hogue, and Sequeville. With these objectives secured, the Germans’ main defensive line was broken and the first phase of the operation was complete. This was achieved by noon on August 8th, a feat no doubt helped by the transfer of a great deal of German armor from the Anglo-Canadian front in order to counterattack the Americans at Mortain.
At one point during the night, Meyer, the commander of the 12th SS Panzer Division, had personally challenged some of the German infantrymen who had begun retreating from their positions around Cintheaux. The foot soldiers were forced back to their positions and Meyer reinforced them with armor and anti-tank guns. In the afternoon of August 8th the second phase of Operation Totalize commenced.
A German SS trooper with a lethal MG 42.
The US 8th Air Force
A German magazine cover promises that “German
counter-measures are being prepared” for the
Invasion.
dropped 1,500 tons of bombs on the German defenses. Some of the supplies were dropped short of their target and caused over 300 hundred casualties among the Ist Polish Armored Division and 3rd Canadian Division. Despite this, the attack continued.
By August 12th, Generalfeldmarschall von Kluge, commander in chief, in the West, decided to withdraw his troops from Mortain. To the north and east the Allied advance had ground to a halt as the Canadian and British troops became exhausted and battle-weary. The front line had been extended to Vimont in the east, to Quesnay on the Caen- Falaise road in the west, and the British and Canadian troops had linked up. As the men rested General Simonds had already prepared his plans for a follow-up operation codenamed Tractable.
To the south, the Americans had reached the town of Argentan on August 13th and were preparing to advance toward Falaise. At that moment an order came down from General Bradley that the Americans must halt and not cross the boundary between the 12th and 21st Army Groups for fear that the two armies might, accidentally, end up fighting each other. Thus the American advance northward was stopped.
With the British Second Army fighting their way through some of the most difficult terrain in Normandy, progress had been very slow. The task of sealing off the Falaise Gap was left to the troops of 1st Canadian Army.
On August 14th, Operation Tractable was launched but initially made slow progress. Once again, during the aerial bombardment that preceded the assault, the infantry suffered over 300 casualties as a result of the bombs falling onto Allied positions. The bombings also destroyed some of the bridges over the River Laison and so, by the evening, the Canadians were still 1.8 kilometers short of Falaise.
The next day the Canadians crossed the River Dives at Jort and headed south toward Trun. They also crossed the Falaise to St Pierre-sur-Dives road (D-511).
On August 16th, there were only twenty-four kilometers between the Canadian and American armies. In an area some fifty-six kilometers deep, the remnants of the German 7th Army and 5th Panzer Army were being squeezed into an ever decreasing pocket. Some 100,000 German soldiers were now retreating toward the Seine under the protection of the SS Panzer units who provided a rearguard. Montgomery issued an order for the Americans to advance toward Chambois, and the neck of the pocket was reduced to no more than eleven kilometers when the Canadians entered the bombed out ruins of Falaise, where small groups of the 12th SS Panzer were holding out.
In the meantime Generalfeldmarschall von Kluge was missing and Hitler had appointed Generalfeldmarschall Model, “Savior of the Eastern Front,” as his successor. On his return to duty von Kluge was issued orders to return to Germany and, a few days later, on his journey back, he committed suicide.
The Germans counterattacked the US 90th Division at Le-Bourg-St-Léonard, on August 16th, forcing them out of the village. The following day the Americans countered with probing attacks in the direction of Chambois and decided to launch a main assault the next day. During this time the Canadian and Polish divisions pushed on toward Trun, St Lambert-sur-Dives, and Chambois, while the British closed in from the west.
Two days later, the RAF flew over 1,400 sorties against the retreating Germans. Rocket-firing Typhoons flew in and knocked out the leading and rear vehicles of a column and then returned to destroy the vehicles trapped in between. After the Typhoons had done their work, Spitfires would strafe the area with cannon and machine gun fire. By the end of the day the Falaise pocket was reduced to less than eleven kilometers deep and twelve kilometers wide; over 1,000 vehicles and nearly 100 tanks had been destroyed within the area.
German prisoners from the 12th SS (Hitler Jugend) Division.
Earlier that day Major D. V. Currie was given the order to take the village of St Lambert-sur-Dives with a company from the Sutherland Highlanders of Canada and a squadron of tanks from the 19th Canadian Recce Regiment. Their attack started in the evening of Friday, August 18th at 1800. The following day, while Major Currie’s men battled on in the village, an historic event occurred. In the early evening, about three kilometers down the road at Chambois, men of the Polish 10th Mounted Rifle Regiment and the American 359th Infantry Division made the first link-up across the Falaise Gap. The Canadians arrived on the scene a short time later.
Inside the pocket the blood-letting continued. Argentan had fallen to the Americans, but, despite the link-up at Chambois the Germans still had an escape route about three kilometers wide between St. Lambert-sur-Dives and Chambois. This escape route, however, was blocked by the River Dives. The river was not wide, but its banks were too steep to allow vehicles to cross. Only three crossing points existed – two small bridges west of St Lambert-sur-Dives and a ford at Moissy. Since all the roads leading to the bridge passed through the village of Tournai-sur-Dives, the retreating German forces were forced into a bottleneck that was only a few hundred meters wide. This was known to the Allies and they concentrated their firepower into the killing zone. The area soon became known to the Germans as “Das Korridor des Todes” [The Corridor of Death].
EYEWITNESS
The sweat ran into my smarting eyes and my old head wound opened. There was a continual bombardment registering bull’s-eyes every time. The Canadian and Polish guns found our range and could not miss. The whole country was saturated with dead or wounded German soldiers.
Standartenführer Kurt Meyer, commander, 12th SS Panzer Division
Germans that survived the corridor had to fight their way past Mont Ormel – a 240-meter-high mace-shaped ridge, which the Poles had taken – in order to reach the 2nd SS Panzer Corps who now held the German front line. The Poles had a commanding view of the retreating German army and fired onto the streams of German soldiers, tanks, and vehicles that passed either side of the ridge they held. But by August 20th, the Poles had become isolated and they were under constant counterattack by SS troops desperate to protect the remnants of their battered army. The fighting continued all day, but the Poles held their ground and finally repulsed the last German counterattack in the evening. Around them, the cost of the battle was all too evident, as 300 of their Polish comrades lay dead or wounded.
Nevertheless, the Germans would not abandon their efforts. The next morning they launched another series of attacks up the southwestern slopes of the ridge. As the Falaise Gap continued to close around them, the German attacks became more desperate; their bold infantry attacks, however, proved fruitless and German soldiers were massacred by the overwhelming Polish defenses.
A few hours later the Canadians established firm contact with the Poles on the ridge and, to the west, the Americans joined forces with the British at Villedieu-lès-Bailleul. At Trun, the British and Canadians were also consolidated. And, in St Lambert-sur-Dives, Major Currie’s men had finally beaten the fanatical SS troops who had fought to keep the corridor open for their comrades. With his force of only fifteen tanks and fifty-five infantrymen Major Currie had been able to outmaneuver and overpower the mighty German Tiger tanks that defended the village. For this action Currie was later awarded the Victoria Cross. By August 21st the Falaise Gap had been well and truly sealed.
EYEWITNESS
When we came to St Lambert it was a neat small quiet French village, and when we left, it was a fantastic mess. The clutter of equipment, dead horses, wounded, dying and dead Germans, had turned it into a hell hole. It seems incredible that such devastation could be wrought in such a short space of time.
Major D. V. Currie, 29th (Canadian) Armored Reconnaissance Regiment
Though no accurate figures were ever recorded of how many Germans passed through the Gap and escaped to fight again, most military historians put the figure at around 50,000 soldiers. Similarly, it is estimated that another 50,000 were taken prisoner and that more than 10,000 German corpses littered the battlefield. Operational research teams assessed the number of enemy transport and weapons destroyed or abandoned in the area. The totals were: in the American sector – 220 tanks, 160 SP guns, 700+ pieces of artillery, and 5,000 vehicles; in the British, Canadian, and Polish sector – 187 armored fighting vehicles and SP guns, 157 armored cars or personnel carriers, 1,778 lorries, 669 cars, and 252 pieces of ordnance. A few days after the fighting had stopped General Eisenhower went to see the carnage for himself.
EYEWITNESS
I was conducted through it on foot, to encounter scenes that could be described only by Dante. It was literally possible to walk for hundreds of yards at a time, stepping on nothing but dead and decaying flesh.
General Dwight Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force
Of the fifty divisions Hitler had committed to the fighting in Normandy since June 6th, 1944, only ten could now still be considered fighting units. The German army had been almost decimated. On August 22nd, 1944 the battle for Normandy was finally over.
CIRCUIT SEVEN
Circuit seven. Juno Beach – Courseilles-sur-Mer – Falaise – Chambois
JUNO BEACH STARTS AT LANGRUNE-SUR-MER in the east and runs through to Ver-sur-Mer in the west. Driving east to west the sections are codenamed: Nan, Mike, and Love. This section of beach is along the D-514. As you pass through Langrune-sur-Mer, a memorial stone on your right is dedicated to No. 48 (RM) Commando who attacked a German strongpoint here on June 6th, 1944. Continue through Langrune-sur-Mer, into St Aubin-sur-Mer, and along the narrow high street. On the right, as the beach area comes into view, you will see a 50mm gun still in its concrete emplacement. Note how the seaward-facing side of the bunker is protected by a solid reinforced concrete wall, while the slit has been constructed so that the gun can still direct its fire along the beach. On the right side is a memorial to the Canadian North Shore Regiment and, nearby, there is a memorial to the Fort Garry Horse (10th Armored Regiment) and to No. 48 (RM) Commando.
Continue along the D-514, through Bernières-sur-Mer (look out for the large, half-timbered house, on your right, which has been featured many times in original photographs of the D-Day Juno Beach landings), to Courseulles-sur-Mer. Take the first right and then the fourth left turn and drive to the end of the road. As you approach the harbor, there is a Sherman tank on your left. Park nearby and return to look at the plaques on the side of the tank. This is a DD tank (one of the AVREs explained in Chapter 5) which had belonged to the 1st Hussars. It was salvaged from the sea, restored, and dedicated in 1971. Across the road there is a German 50mm gun standing by the edge of the harbor. It was on this side of the harbor (which is also the mouth of the River Seulles) that The Regina Rifles and 6th (Canadian) Armored Regiment (1st Hussars) landed on the morning of June 6th.
Drive over the swing bridge across the harbor (if the barrier is down at the bridge you can take the road to the left and drive around the harbor) and rejoin the D-514. Continue along the road and cross the bridge over the River Seulles. Turn right at the next crossroads and drive down to the beach. The beach from here back to Courseulles-sur-Mer was codenamed “Mike Red” and this is where The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the 6th (Canadian) Armored Regiment, and two troops of the 26th Assault Squadron, Royal Engineers, came ashore on D-Day.
Near the beach you will see another AVRE, a Petard tank that belonged to the 79th Armored Division. This particular Petard has a remarkable and well-documented history. Some of the Petard tanks, including this one, also used to carry a fascine, (a large bundle of wood used to fill in ditches or craters). After it landed on the beach this tank made its way to a flooded culvert in order to drop in its fascine, but then the tank slid and nose-dived into the culvert. Within seconds the tank sank beneath the water, but the crew managed to get out safely and find cover in the sand dunes.
The fascine was released from the tank by the troop commander and an ARC (Armored Ramp Carrier) was brought up and laid its bridging equipment on top of the tank. In the meantime, a mortar bomb fell in among the tank crew sheltering in the sand dunes, killing two of them and badly wounding the driver, William Dunn. The tank remained buried in the sand for over thirty years until 1976 when it was taken out and restored to its former glory. That same year William Dunn and another surviving veteran, Bill Hawkins, returned to Juno Beach to witness the dedication of the tank as a memorial to the D-Day landings.
Further along the beach is one of the monuments of the Comité du Débarquement and to the right, on top of the sand dune, a giant cross of Lorraine. It was at this beach exit that General Montgomery came ashore. Winston Churchill also landed here on June 12th followed by Charles de Gaulle on June 14th, and His Majesty King George VI two days later.
Return to Courseulles-sur-Mer and drive into the center. Take the D-170 for Reviers and at the crossroads, in the center of the village, turn left onto the D-35. One kilometer on the left is the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Reviers. Buried here are some 2,043 Canadians, mainly from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, 3 British soldiers, an airman, and 1 French soldier. 335 men of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division were killed on D-Day and many more were lost as they fought their way toward Carpiquet and Caen. This cemetery has two observation towers, which give a stunning bird’s-eye view of the cemetery and, on a clear day, the sea just off Juno Beach.
Warning!
Though the design of the two observation towers is aesthetically pleasing, the steps leading up to them are not very practical and great care should taken when climbing and descending.
From the cemetery continue to drive along the D-35 and turn right onto the D-79 toward Beny-sur-Mer. This village was captured in the afternoon of D-Day and there is a memorial to Lé Régiment de la Chaudière in the village. Continue along the D-79 through Basly, where there is another memorial to the Canadians. Past Colomby-sur-Thaon, turn right onto the D-220 and drive through the village of Villons-les-Buissons. At the next junction, leading to Les Buissons, is a monument to the 9th Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. This place was named “Hell’s Corner” and it was from here that the 9th Brigade launched their attack toward Carpiquet on June 7th. As they passed through Buron and Authie, Standartenführer Kurt Meyer launched his counterattack and stopped the Canadian advance.
Continue to drive along the D-220, the same route taken by the 9th Armored Brigade, onto the D-14 (passing under the N-13) and into Carpiquet. In each of the villages – Buron, Authie, and Carpiquet – you will find memorials to the Canadians.
Drive back along the D-14 and take the N-13 toward Caen. Turn right onto the Caen périphérique (counter-clockwise) and take the third exit toward Falaise on the D-158. About twelve kilometers south of Caen on the right hand side of the road is the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery. Follow the signs from the D-158 to the cemetery.
This second Canadian War Cemetery has 2,958 graves, of which 2,872 are Canadian, 80 British, 4 Australian, 1 New Zealander and 1 French. Those who are buried here were killed as they fought to close the Falaise Gap. There is someone from nearly every unit of Canadian II Corps buried in the cemetery.
Four kilometers further along the D-158, again on the right, is Urville Polish War Cemetery. This cemetery has 696 graves and is the only Polish National Cemetery in France.
Return to the D-158 and drive into Falaise. In Falaise visit the “Musée d’Aout 1944 de la Bataille de la Poche de Falaise.” This museum retraces the route taken by the Allied armies during August 1944 and explains how the Falaise Gap was sealed. There is also a selection of uniforms, weapons, vehicles, and photographs on display.
From Falaise take the D-63, which runs into the D-13 to Trun, and continue to the village of St Lambert-sur-Dives. On the right hand side as you enter the village a marker commemorates Major D. Currie who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his action in St Lambert -sur-Dives. Continue through the village to Chambois. As you pass through the small hamlet of Moissy (not marked on most maps) the road to the right leads to the ford over the River Dives. The road to the left was used by the Germans to bypass the Polish strongpoint at Mont Ormel. This is the route that the Germans called “The Corridor of Death.”
Finally, to end the tour, drive into Chambois and turn left onto the D-16. At the crossroads, a memorial marker explains the closing of the Falaise Gap. Continue along the D-16 to Mont Ormel and visit the Polish Memorial that stands on Hill 262. The hill offers a magnificent view of the Dives Valley and the corridor through which the Germans tried to escape.
*Intelligence at that time suggested that the German infantry divisions arriving in Normandy were being deployed against the British and Canadian sector so that the armored Panzer Divisions could be relocated and used against the Americans.