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Juno Beach

Coordinates: 49°20′07″N 0°24′55″W / 49.33528°N 0.41528°W / 49.33528; -0.41528
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This article is about the beach codenamed in World War II. For other uses, see Juno Beach (disambiguation).

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Juno Beach Mattay is Awesome
Part of Normandy Landings and the Battle for Caen

Canadian soldiers landing at Juno Beach on the outskirts of Bernières-sur-Mer.
Date6 June 1944
Location
Courseulles-sur-Mer, Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer and Bernières-sur-Mer, France
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
 Canada
 United Kingdom[1]		  Germany
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom John Crocker
Canada R.F.L. Keller		 Germany Wilhelm Richter
Strength
21,400[2] 7,771
Casualties and losses
340 dead,
739 other casualties		 Unknown

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Juno Beach was the code name of one of the five main landing sites of the Allied invasion of the coast of Normandy on D-Day during World War II. It was situated between Sword Beach and Gold Beach. It is also known as the Canadian beach, as it was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Juno Beach stretched from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer on the east to Courseulles-sur-Mer on the west. The 3rd Canadian Division was placed under the command of British I Corps for the initial phase of the invasion, and did not come under Canadian command again until July 1944 and the establishment of II Canadian Corps headquarters in Normandy. Although Juno Beach was assigned to the Canadians, a number of British units (commandos, specialised armour and assault engineers) were present supporting the Canadian assault. The naval component of the invasion force was known as Force J.

Objectives

German

Juno was the second most heavily defended of the five landing sites chosen.[3] General Wilhelm Richter was in charge of the 716th Division guarding the beach, with 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns at his disposal. Additionally, pillboxes and other fortifications were present all along the beach, most heavily concentrated in the Courseulles-sur-Mer region. The seawall was twice the height of Omaha Beach's, and the sea was heavily mined.[4] The Division was a "static" division, however, with little or no transport, no combat experience, and augmented by "East Battalions" made up of Soviet 'volunteer' troops.[5] One Canadian historian felt that despite having no aerial or naval support, the 716th Division nonetheless fought well.[6] In all, the division numbered under 8,000 soldiers, including non-combat tradesmen, on 6 June 1944, and was one of the weakest divisions in Normandy.[7]

The 716th's divisional commander advised his soldiers that they were expected to fight in place, and if necessary, die defending the landing zones. Artillery was to be used to smash Allied landings on the beaches.[8]

Allied

The 3rd Canadian Division demarcated three phase lines; the initial phase line "YEW" extended just behind the beaches. Phase line "OAK" was the Bayeux-Caen road. An intermediate phase line, "ELM", ran parallel to the beaches and to the road at a point roughly equidistant from both.

Allied assault plans and preparation

Map of the Normandy region and the north-western coast of France.

Aerial bombardment of Juno Beach in the days leading up to D-Day caused no significant damage to German fortifications. Naval bombardment, running from 06:00 to 07:30 and including everything from battleship barrages to fire from tanks and artillery sitting on transport ship decks only managed to destroy 14 percent of the bunkers guarding the beach, and owing to weather delays the Germans had half an hour to regroup between cessation of bombardment and landing of Canadian troops. Canadian troops were scheduled to land on the beaches at 07:30, following the bombardment, but were forced to postpone the landing by fifteen minutes owing to the weather.[9][page needed]

The 3rd Canadian Division (with the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade in support and aided by specialized engineering tanks from the 79th Armoured Division) was to assault the coast between Graye-sur-Mer to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer where Juno Beach was divided into two sectors, "Mike" to the west, and "Nan" to the east. The 7th Brigade, supported by the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars), was to land and control Mike Sector. The 8th brigade, supported by the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse), landed on Nan sector with No. 48 (Royal Marine) Commando. The 9th Brigade remained afloat in reserve. Once ashore, the division was to link up with the British on Sword Beach and drive forward to the intermediate and final objectives. A third sector, "Love", to the west of "Mike", was for administrative purposes and no troops were scheduled to land there.

  1. Mike Sector. In the west, two assault companies of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, one from the Canadian Scottish and two from the Regina Rifles, supported by tanks from the 1st Hussars, were assigned objectives at Courseulles astride the mouth of the Seulles River.
  2. Nan Sector. Two assault companies of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada were to land and take Bernières, a small beachfront resort town. Two companies of The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment was assigned to capture St-Aubin, another resort town. DD tanks of the Fort Garry Horse was to support both groups, with Le Régiment de la Chaudière from Quebec in reserve.
The reserve brigade, including The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, The North Nova Scotia, The Highland Light Infantry of Canada, and armour of The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment was held as floating reserve, with orders to land when the situation in Nan Sector was clear. Artillery, machine gun and mortar units, signals and medical corps personnel and other units accompanied the troops in all sectors as support units.

Battle

Canadian operations on D-Day

In the first day of the invasion, Canadian casualties numbered about 1,000 killed and wounded; no accurate record-keeping was possible to indicate how many were killed on the beach, nor how many became casualties inland. Once the Canadians cleared the seawall (about an hour after leaving the transports) they were able to advance towards their objectives in the hinterland.

German response to the landings was slow; mobile troops were not authorized to counter-attack the Canadian beaches until the next day.[10]

By noon, the bulk of the 3rd Canadian Division was ashore, with leading elements having pushed several kilometres to seize bridges over the Seulles River. By 6:00 p.m. they had captured the town of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. A single troop of four tanks of the 1st Hussars reached the division's final objective line before nightfall (the Caen–Bayeux highway), but was forced to pull back because they had passed the supporting infantry.

By the end of D-Day the 3rd Canadian Division had penetrated farther into France than any other Allied force, advancing roughly 10 km at the cost of almost 1,000 casualties, including 335 killed. The 7th Infantry Brigade dug in at Banville and Reviers, while the 8th Brigade with the 10th Armoured Regiment reached Colomby-sur-Thaon. Part of the 9th Brigade, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, together with the 27th Armoured Regiment, was at Villons-les-Buissons.

By the end of the next day, the Canadian forces had linked up with the British forces that had landed at Sword Beach. Although there was a gap where the British 3rd Infantry Division should have been, they were redirected to Lion-sur-Mer.

The Canadian advance resumed in the very early hours of the 7th, aiming to take the original D-Day objectives. Around noon Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse, Norrey and Putot were occupied by the 7th Brigade with little resistance. The 8th Brigade was occupied subduing small pockets of enemy troops around Anguerny and Colomby-sur-Thaon, and in a fruitless attempt to take two radar stations to the west of Douvres. The 9th Infantry advanced towards Carpiquet Airport and was the first to encounter what would become an exhausting series of counter-attacks from two divisions of the I SS Panzer Corps, the 12th and the 21st.

The Juno Beach Centre is a memorial spearheaded by veteran Garth Webb and his companion Lise Cooper at Courseulles-sur-Mer, commemorating the Canadian liberation force's efforts and is a memorial to the lives lost. Canadians who were killed during the battle for Juno Beach are interred at the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.

Juno Beach order of battle on D-Day

Canadian soldiers approaching Juno Beach

German

Six main resistance nests were located in the Juno Beach sector:

  • WN26 - Langrune-sur-Mer
  • WN27 - St. Aubin-sur-Mer
  • WN28 - Bernières-sur-Mer
  • WN28a - Beny-sur-Mer
  • WN29 - Courseulles
  • WN30 - Courseulles
  • WN31 - Courseulles

The strongpoints were manned by soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of Grenadier Regiment 736 of the 716th Infantry Division. East Battalion 441 was also deployed in the vicinity of Courseulles. Artillery support was provided by Artillery Regiment 1716.

Allied

Top: Wounded Canadian soldiers lying on Juno beach awaiting transfer to casualty clearing station, Normandy, France, 6 June 1944. Middle: The same bunker in 2006 Bottom: The view down the beach from the bunker, showing enfilading fire position.

Force J was commanded by the British, and the flagship vessel came from the Royal Navy. Among the chief vessels in the force were

The force also included 109 Royal Canadian Navy vessels, among them:

  • Two of the 11 destroyers were Canadian:
  • Two of the Landing Ships Infantry (Medium) were Canadian:
  • Craft of 4th, 14th, and 16th Canadian Minesweeping Flotillas were attached

Landing craft from both the RN and RCN were employed in Force J, the total number were:

  • 1 Landing Ship Headquarters
  • 2 Assault Group Headquarters Ship
  • 3 Landing Ships Infantry (Large)
  • 3 Landing Ships Infantry (Medium)
  • 12 Landing Ships Infantry (Hand Hoisting)
  • 20 Landing Craft Infantry (Large)
  • 8 Landing Craft Infantry (Small)
  • 142 Landing Craft Assault
  • 4 Landing Craft Assault (Obstacle Clearance)
  • 18 Landing Craft Assault (Hedgerow)
  • 8 Landing Craft Support (Medium)
  • 4 Landing Craft Headquarters
  • 22 Landing Ship Tank Mark II
  • 2 Landing Craft Tank Mark III (Flotilla of 10 craft each)
  • 7 Landing Craft Tank Mark IV (Flotilla of 10 craft each)
  • 2 Landing Craft Tank Mark V/VI (Flotilla of 10 craft each)
  • 7 Landing Craft Flak
  • 7 Landing Craft Gun (Large)
  • 7 Landing Craft Tank (Armoured)
  • 8 Landing Craft Tank (High Explosive)
  • 9 Landing Craft Tank (Rocket)
  • 36 Landing Craft Personnel (Large) Smoke Layer
  • 4 Landing Barge Flak
  • 4 Landing Craft Support (Large) Mark I
  • 3 Landing Craft Support (Large) Mark II
  • 1 Landing Ship Dock
  • 15 Rhino Ferry

Canadian Army

3rd Canadian Infantry Division

British

Juno Beach timeline

6 June 1944

03:30
Canadian soldiers on the transport ships are served breakfast.
04:00
Canadians on the invasion ships watch flashes in the east from Le Havre where the RAF is bombing heavy German guns. To the west, they see flares where the Germans have spotted the American convoy heading for Utah and Omaha beaches. Overhead, the transport aircraft are heard returning from their mission.
04:30
All soldiers are ordered on deck of the transports and muster at embarkation stations.
05:00
Dawn. All ships go to action stations.
06:00
The men on the ships can make out the dark grey line of the French coast ahead. The allied battleships and cruisers begin the bombardment of the beaches.
06:10
Destroyers and other warships closer in begin firing. At Juno Beach there is no return fire from the Germans.
06:30
The convoy breaks radio silence.
07:00
At Juno Beach, after an hour of tank, artillery, and battleship fire, the Germans begin returning fire on the Allied ships.
07:30
Most heavy support firing ends. Germans continue to attack the invasion force. Landing craft head for the beaches.
07:45
Landing crafts reach the beach; first men and tanks land.
Sergeant Cosy of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles
08:00
The first Canadian beachhead is established in Courseulles in Nan Green Sector by the Regina Rifles, covered by the tanks of the 1st Hussars. Naval gunfire had taken out the German guns in their area but nearby the Royal Winnipeg Rifles on Mike Sector come under heavy fire – there the navy had missed the German guns and many of the soldiers die in the water, never reaching the beaches. In Nan Red Sector, the North Shore Regiment lands under heavy German fire.
08:30
The Queen's Own Rifles land at Nan Sector, held up by high seas. The soldiers have to run 200 yards from the shore to a seawall under fire from hidden German artillery. Only a few men of the first company survive.
Sergeant Cosy's Story
10:00
Canadian soldiers are on the beach in all sectors. Reserve troops begin to reach the beach on the rising tide. While the Canadian Scottish suffers only light casualties, the landing craft bearing Le Régiment de la Chaudière hit hidden mines, killing many men. Others drown trying to reach the shore.
10:30
Major General Rod Keller, the Canadian commander at Juno Beach, reports to General Crerar in England: "Beach-head gained. Well on our way to our immediate objectives."
Cosy's Pillbox named after the valiant efforts of Sergeant Cosy and his men from the Royal Winnipeg Rifles
12:00
All remaining units of the Third Canadian Division are on shore at Juno Beach.
18:00
The North Shore Regiment captures St-Aubin. In the next few hours, the Canadians capture Courseulles and Bernières. Later the Highland Regiment captures Colombiers-sur-Seulles and the 1st Hussar reaches its objective 15.7 kilometres from the beach at the Caen-Bayeux Highway intersection. A troop of the 1st Hussars 'C' Squadron was the only Allied unit to reach its planned final objective on D-Day, although they had to pull back because they were too few in numbers to hold the ground.

Equipment

German

German defences included the judicious use of mines and obstacles (such as "Element-C") in the water designed to hinder landing craft. While the coast was heavily mined, German engineers discovered in 1943 that the mines they were using were not holding up to prolonged exposure to seawater and were suffering a failure rate of up to 50%.[12]

Allied

The Duplex Drive explained at Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, France

Specialized equipment either introduced specially for the D-Day landings or else used in combat for the first time on D-Day included:

  • Duplex Drive amphibious tanks
  • the "Battle Jerkin" used to carry individual equipment
  • the High-Top Combat Boot
  • the Mark III steel helmet

A variety of armoured vehicles were utilized by units such as the 22nd Dragoons of the British Army on D-Day as well. These vehicles were used to clear minefields and help tanks and vehicles negotiate anti-tank obstacles or soft sand.

The three field regiments (12th, 13th and 14th) of the 3rd Canadian Division were re-equipped with M7 Priest self-propelled guns for the assault phase of the landings, as was the 19th Field Regiment which was put under their operational control. The Priests were "borrowed" from the U.S. Army; later in the Normandy fighting they were to be returned to the Americans and the field regiments re-equipped as standard "towed" regiments with 25-pounder artillery pieces. The M7s were later converted into armoured personnel carriers before Operation Totalize.

Follow up forces

The three infantry battalions of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division's[1] 153rd Infantry Brigade[13] landed on Mike Red beach during the evening of 6 June.[1]

Photographic record

Landing on Juno Beach with The Highland Light Infantry of Canada was Lieutenant Ken Bell, whose photographs, taken with a Rolleiflex Camera, documented the invasion. Sergeant D.W. Grant of the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit also took approximately two minutes of motion picture footage of soldiers of The North Shore Regiment landing at Bernières-sur-Mer which was quickly sent to England and cleared for distribution by news outlets.[14]

  • Canadian soldiers headed for Juno Beach on D-Day.
    Canadian soldiers headed for Juno Beach on D-Day.
  • Canadian reinforcements going ashore from a (LCA) Landing Craft Assault from HMCS Prince Henry off the Normandy bridgehead. The distinctive shape of the "Invasion Helmet" (Mk III Steel Helmet) is easily discerned. Juno Beach, 6 June 1944.
    Canadian reinforcements going ashore from a (LCA) Landing Craft Assault from HMCS Prince Henry off the Normandy bridgehead. The distinctive shape of the "Invasion Helmet" (Mk III Steel Helmet) is easily discerned. Juno Beach, 6 June 1944.
  • Bernières-sur-Mer: German prisoners captured by Canadian troops at Juno Beach on D-Day – 6 June 1944.
    Bernières-sur-Mer: German prisoners captured by Canadian troops at Juno Beach on D-Day – 6 June 1944.
  • Tanks and Régiment de la Chaudière moving along Bernières-sur-Mer road, Normandy Beach head, 6 June 1944.
    Tanks and Régiment de la Chaudière moving along Bernières-sur-Mer road, Normandy Beach head, 6 June 1944.
  • Juno Beach
    Juno Beach
  • Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Juno Beach, Mike sector of the Normandy beachhead. 6 June 1944.
    Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Juno Beach, Mike sector of the Normandy beachhead. 6 June 1944.

See also

Footnotes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juno Beach.
  1. ^ a b c Stacey, p. 118
  2. ^ "Focus on World War II: D-Day - Juno Beach on YourDiscovery.com". Discoverychannel.co.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  3. ^ Lance Goddard, "D-Day : Juno Beach, Canada's 24 Hours of Destiny", 2004 : 221.
  4. ^ A German engineering report, however, noted in 1943 that about 50% of all mines laid in the 716th Division's area failed due to sea-water damage. See CMHQ Report 34. The Teller Mine was not designed to be water proof or left submerged in salt water for long periods of time.
  5. ^ Stacey, C.P. "The Victory Campaign"
  6. ^ Captain A.G. Steiger, CMHQ Report No. 34
  7. ^ Zetterling, Niklas "Normandy, 1944"
  8. ^ Divisional instructions quoted in Canadian Military Headquarters Historical Section Report No. 41
  9. ^ Ambrose
  10. ^ Canadian Army Historical Section Report No. 50 "The Campaign in North-West Europe Information From German Sources Part II: Invasion and Battle of Normandy (6 Jun - 22 August 44)", p.M21
  11. ^ "Juno Beach - Regina Rifles". Members.shaw.ca. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Col von Bodecker recorded that corrosion of the detonator had rendered ineffective about 50% of the 13,400 mines laid in the zone of 716 Inf Div (G.M.D. - 36238/25, W.D. Seventh Army, Reports of the Chief Engineer Officer of the Army, June 1943) [This condition existed along the whole coast, and was causing much vexation, loss of time and extra labour]" - Captain A.G. Steiger, Canadian Army Historical Section Report No. 41 "The German Defences in the Courseulles-St. Aubin Area of the Normandy Coast" accessed online
  13. ^ "WW2 People's War - The Task of the 51st Highland Division". BBC. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  14. ^ Barris, Ted Juno

References

49°20′07″N 0°24′55″W / 49.33528°N 0.41528°W / 49.33528; -0.41528

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