On the morning of June 6, 1944, 20,000 Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen would launch their D-Day assault on the Normandy coast.
Elements of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had been in England since mid-1940, and began preparing for the cross-channel invasion of Europe in late 1943. Although the rifle regiments of the 3rd Division - along with three armoured tank battalions of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade - would figure most prominently in the attack, troops representing more than 50 units of the Division would ultimately take part.
The Canadians were assigned to take Juno Beach, an eight-kilometre stretch that included the fortified coastal towns of St. Aubin, Bernieres-sur Mer, Courselles-sur Mer and Graye-sur Mer (east to west). The Canadian 3rd Division, commanded by Major-General Rod Keller, would attack "two brigades up" with the 8th Brigade - comprised of the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, the Regiment de la Chaudriere and the duplex-drive, or "swimming" tanks of the Fort Garry Horse (10th Canadian Armoured Regiment) - landing on the left from St. Aubin to Bernieres. The 7th Brigade - comprised of the Regina Rifles, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the Canadian Scottish Regiment and DD tanks of the 1st Hussars (6th Canadian Armoured Regiment) - would land between Bernieres and Graye.
Along with the Canadians, elements of the British 76th Armoured Division, with tanks specially designed to tackle the beach defenses, would land in support. As well, combat teams from the British Royal Marine 48th and 46th Commandos would also land on the far eastern end of Juno to provide a link between the Canadians and the 3rd British Division landing further east on Sword Beach.
German Defenses at Juno Beach
Facing the attacking troops were regiments of the German 716th and 352nd Infantry Divisions. Although somewhat undermanned, Juno beach was arguably the most heavily-fortified of the five invasion beaches. Coming ashore, the Canadians would face five different Wiederstandneste - or strong points - that included several .88 and .75 mm guns, numerous .50 mm and .81 mm mortar positions, and dozens of machine gun nests, both along the beach and within the towns. Strong points and machine gun nests were encased in concrete bunkers and pillboxes, with connecting tunnels running back from the beach into the towns, enabling the defenders to bring up reinforcements unimpeded. Besides the mined beach obstacles, thousands of mines were buried in the beach itself. In most areas, the back of the beach was covered with a 10-metre wide, one-metre high carpet of barbed-wire, and in places the actual seawall was four metres high.
The Allied plan for the assault on the Normandy coast called for troops to land at the mid-point of high and low tides, giving landing craft the chance to get as close to shore as possible, but before the beach obstacles the Germans had planted for defense became fully submerged and invisible. Due to the fact the tide rose sooner on the west (American beaches) than in the east, the assault was not simultaneous across the 100-kilometre front. The Canadians were set to land at 7:45 am., following a one-hour naval barrage.
Canadian Attack on Juno Beach
Taking a lesson learned from the ill-fated raid on Dieppe in August 1942, the plan called for the tanks to land with, or even slightly before, the infantry. As it happened, this was rarely the case. Heavy seas caused the tank landings to be delayed, or, in the case of some of the swimming tanks, not reach shore at all, and in many places the rifle companies were forced to go into the attack without initial tank support.
In addition, debate still rages as to the effectiveness of the preceding naval barrage on the Juno coastal defenses. The War Diary of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles was to note: "0749 Hrs…The bombardment having failed to kill a single German or silence one weapon these companies [B and D Cos. RWR, and C Co. Canadian Scottish] had to storm their positions "cold" - and did so without hesitation."
Canadian Casualties at Juno Beach
By the end of the day, the Canadian 3rd Division would suffer nearly 1200 casualties, including 364 killed, after the Americans on Omaha Beach the second highest casualty rate of the five invasion beaches. Hardest hit were the handful of rifle companies landing in the first wave. B Company of the Winnipeg Rifles had more than 75 percent casualties, and at the end of the day had only one officer and 25 other ranks still on their feet. Nearly 100 troops of the Queen's Own Rifles became casualties before they reached the seawall.
Yet the Canadians broke the "outer crust" of the German defenses and in taking the Juno beachhead, tanks of the 1st Hussars would penetrate farther inland than any other Allied unit on D-Day. By nightfall the 3rd Division Headquarters was established in Bernieres, and the troops dug into the open fields behind the beach.
Prior to D-Day, virtually none of the Canadian 3rd Division troops - or their commanders - had faced enemy fire. Within hours they would face multiple German counter-attacks from elements of three different infantry and Panzer divisions, including the fanatical 12th SS Hitler Youth Division, whose Fuhrer had ordered them to drive the Canadians back into the sea.
