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Sandwiched
between the British beaches of Gold and Sword, the Juno Beach sector
corresponded to the portion of coastline allocated to the Canadians. It
was occupied by large coastal villages which had become pretty seaside
resorts at the end of the XIXth century. Although there were no heavy
batteries here, a number of smaller defensive structures housing
antitank guns or machine guns were located at regular intervals along
the shore, often on the sea walls, so as to be able to rake the beaches
with fire.
The task of
capturing Juno Beach fell to Major-General Keller’s 3rd
Canadian Infantry Division, supported by the tanks of the 2nd
Canadian Armoured Brigade and backed up on the left by No. 48 Commando
of the Royal Marines.
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Final
explanations before the assault |
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Poor sailing
conditions made the Canadians’ task particularly arduous. The barges
carrying the first assault wave were delayed by both the strong swell
and the presence of hazardous coastal reefs. When the landings did
begin, at around 8 am, the beach obstacles had mostly been covered up by
the rising tide and created havoc. During their comings and goings, many
craft were blown up by mines attached to posts stuck in the sand. |
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Landing at high tide
opposite Bernières |
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On the beach
itself, there were heavy losses. As the tanks were late in arriving,
many of the infantry troops had to face heavy enemy fire unaided. But
the Canadians are tough fighters, and by dint of perseverance, they
eventually smashed through the Germans’ first defensive wall. It was to
take a long time to clear the villages, however. The narrow streets
slowed their progress and caused worrying congestion on the beach, which
gradually shrank as the tide rose and was soon cluttered with a mass of
heavy equipment. |
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The
overcrowded beach at Courseulles |
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Despite this, the vanguard immediately headed inland, taking
Sainte-Croix, Reviers, Tailleville, Bény, Basly, Pierrepont and
Fontaine-Henry.
By
the end of the day, more than 21,000 men had been landed and the
Canadians held a solid beachhead roughly twelve kilometres deep.
Although they did not manage to reach the N13 and Carpiquet Aerodrome,
west of Caen, they were at least within sight of these objectives. On
their right flank, they had joined up with the British troops who had
landed on Gold Beach. East of Langrune, however, where the fighting
continued as night fell, they remained separated from Sword by a
corridor that was still in German hands.
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These
bicycles were supposed to ensure that the infantry reached Caen without
delay |
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