Canadians in D-Day Action at Juno Beach
Allied Troops Landed on the Coast of Normandy to Take Back France
Jun 7, 2009
The German invaders spread across Europe in World War Two, wresting control of European territories away, country by country. By 1944, France was firmly in the grip of the Third Reich. The French were suffering with shortages of food and fuel, curfews and censorship, and with forced labour of French citizens sent to German work camps. But the French were not deserted by their Allies of Britain, United States and Canada. Operation Overlord was in the final preparation stages, the plan to free France and halt the enemy's advance was about to begin. Canadian troops were in place and ready for D-Day.
Covertly, the Allies had been amassing supplies and equipment for months, training for the battles and practicing for perfection. Food, ammunition, vehicles, bicycles, armoured bulldozers and tanks, everything needed for the mission was prepared. It would not be an easy job. The German defences were interlocked up and down the coastline on the Atlantic with bomb-proof cement bunkers, pillbox installations and hidden trenches. In the early hours of June 6, 1944, the D-Day plan went into action with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battallion, the 1st Hussars, the Royal Regina Rifles, reserve units of the Canadian Scottish Regiment and Le Regiment de la Chaudiers, and many more. In all, 14,500 Canadian soldiers were in the battle under the command of Major General Rod Keller.
Canadians Land in Normandy, France
In the dark skies over Normandy, France, aircraft began the assault. The landng mission was dubbed Operation Neptune, with the Royal Canadian Airforce participating in bombing the German installations near the beaches and Canadian fighter squadrons attacking in-land stations. Boats and ships rushed to the coastline by the thousands, putting soldiers ashore by landing craft on the Nan White Beach while others used naval guns to attack the enemy's defences. The Royal Canadian Navy ships included the Bangor-class mine-sweepers used to clear away many of the thousands of mines set in place by the occupying forces. Paratroopers floated from their aircraft into the darkness, including 450 Canadian sky-divers. Juno was the code name for the five-mile section of beach the Canadians were to reclaim, between the towns of Courseulles and St-Aubin-Sur-Mer.
Canadian Guns Malfunctioning on Landing
While some Allied troops landed with fewer casualties, the assault did not go smoothly for all. The waters were rough, and not all men were able to swim and avoid the gunfire aimed at them. Some of the tanks coming off ships floundered and sank, the floating devices failing. Landing boats were under fire and with waves crashing all around. Rifles became wet and useless. “That was the biggest problem,” said soldier Francis Godon in Lance Goddard's book, D-Day, Juno Beach: Canada's 24 Hours of Destiny. “How can you fight with no rifle and all these machine guns and these pillboxes? We had to use grenades.”
Canadians Killed by Germans in Pillboxes
Some of the pillbox installations were not destroyed in the initial bombings, leaving German soldiers to open fire on men who had no cover. Two-thirds of one platoon of the Queen's Own Regiment were slaughtered in a bloodbath of bullets before reaching the sandy shore. “A second Queen's Own company landed directly in front of an untouched enemy strongpoint and very quickly lost half of its men, until three riflemen eliminated it with hand grenades and small arms fire,” noted Veterans Affairs Canada.
Normandy Beachhead Taken by Allies
With sheer determination and effort, the Allies achieved success on that June day. The beachhead was taken, surpassing the violent resistance given by the German occupiers. “By evening, Canadian troops had progressed further inland than any of their Allies,” commented Veterans Affairs Canada. “The British and Americans had also come ashore and pushed inland; the Allied beachheads soon formed a continuous front.” The German were given notice: France was not theirs to keep.
Operation Neptune a Success
At the end of the long June day, Operaton Neptune had claimed the lives of 340 Canadian soldiers and injured 574. Forty-seven were captured by the Germans. Though great progress was made on the first day of Operation Overlord, the enemy was not willing to release its grasp on France.
The next day, “the first heavy counter-attacks fell upon the Canadians,” said J.L. Granatstein in the June/July 2009 issue of Legion Magazine, turning into “a brutal battle of attacks and counterattacks for the prizes of tiny villages and mere metres of ground.” The grisly battles raged on in Normandy until late August, wounding 18,444 and killing 5,021 Canadians.
Sixty-five years ago on June 6, 1944, over 155,000 Allied soldiers landed on the Normandy beach, bringing 6,000 vehicles, using vessels numbering over 7,000. It must have been a colossal task to organize and set in motion. Of the Germans, over 400,000 were casualties between June and late August; Allied casualties numbered 206,000.
Hard-fought and bloody, D-Day was the beginning of the end of German occupation in Europe.
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