Battle of the Bridgehead

On D-Day +1 the Canadians still sought to achieve their D-Day objectives and push through to the airfields at Carpiquet. Elements of the 9th Brigade, consisting of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and armour provided by the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, advanced …

1944-06-09

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On D-Day +1 the Canadians still sought to achieve their D-Day objectives and push through to the airfields at Carpiquet. Elements of the 9th Brigade, consisting of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and armour provided by the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, advanced on Buron along the Buron-Authie axis toward Carpiquet. At Authie the Canadians ran into the first major German counter-attack against the allied bridgeheads. The 12th SS Panzer Division consisted of Hitler-Jugend. While young and fanatical, they were inexperienced soldiers. They were however commanded by hardened veterans of the Eastern campaigns. Among the lead elements were Standartenführer (Colonel) Kurt Meyer and his 25th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment. Meyer's orders were to strike at the beaches; his first task was to recapture Buron and Authie. The Germans moved quickly on the unwary Canadians. Casualties on both sides mounted as the North Novas proved to be a match for the Hitler-Jugend. The same cannot be said of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers whose out-gunned Shermans and green crewmembers were not equal to Meyer's skilled command. Although the 9th Brigade was pulled back to entrench, the 25th SS was largely eliminated as an effective force. The next day, elements of the 26th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment moved in on the under-strength 7th Brigade to the right of the 9th and forced the Winnipeg Rifles into a difficult retreat. The Regina Rifles also found the enemy in strength. Were it not for the timely appearance of tanks from the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, disaster would have surely ensued. In the end, Carpiquet, literally in sight of the lead Canadian elements, would not be reached for another month.

Carpiquet, France

Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold, to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, and just west of the British beach Sword. Taking Juno was the responsibility of the Canadian Army, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the Royal Canadian Navy and the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Free French, Norwegian, and other Allied navies. The objectives of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day were to cut the Caen-Bayeux road, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the two British beaches on either flank.

Wikipedia: Juno Beach

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