D-Day
By Chris Charland
Associate Air Force Historian
1 CAD
Chris Charland, Associate Air Force Historian
has pulled together in on place the entirety of the Canadian effort on
D-Day. In one place we can see the full battle order for the Canadian
Army's 1st Canadian paras, the 3rd Division, the RCN and
the RCAF. On June 6th 70 years ago, Canucks were punching way above our
weight. Here's to all the Canadian men we lost that day and the weeks
after before break out. And here's to all the men there that day, that
are still with us today... witness to greatness.
The Coming Storm
In February of 1943, A high-level conference took place at
Casablanca, Morocco
between the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and their respective advisors. They were there to discuss the future conduct
of the war. It was decided that plans
for the re-entry in to Europe must be given top priority. The concentration of forces and materials
needed for the forthcoming invasion commenced.
In March 1943, U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower selected the
British Army's Acting Lieutenant General Frederick Edgworth Morgan as Chief of
Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander of the allied force that would invade
northern Europe. Morgan is credited as
being the original planner for the invasion of Europe. Lingering concerns and differences of opinion
on Operation Neptune, the assault
phase of Operation Overlord, were
addressed at the Quebec Conference in
August 1943. It was agreed that the
invasion of France take place in May 1944.
On the 28th of November 1943, General Dwight D.
Eisenhower affectionately known as ‘Ike’
was appointed the Supreme Allied Commander.
His duty was no less than to enter the continent of Europe in
conjunction with all other allied nations, undertake operations aimed at the
heart of Germany and destroy its forces.
The proposed execution date of the 1st of June 1944, set the
time for an invasion on a scale never attempted before. Due to unforeseen problems including
extremely inclement weather, the date was set back to the 6th of
June.
The entire daring escapade was a monumental logistics
nightmare. In all, over 7,000 vessels
carrying more than 150,000 troops would have to cross the English Channel to
France undetected and arrive exactly on time to forge a beachhead. Once the details of invasion were
coordinated, the land forces under Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. ‘Monty’ Montgomery put forth the
logistical requirements. All allied air operations would be under the command
of Royal Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory
The build-up had to
provide for the debarkation of reinforcements without interruption for five to
six weeks after the landing…any delay would carry heavy consequences.
The initial landing was delayed due to menacing weather,
which also indirectly caused the sinking of the minesweeper U.S.S. Osprey. Additionally, an American tank landing craft
US LCT2498 broke down and subsequently capsized and sank in the vicious
swell. Mother Nature, not the Germans
had dealt the first blows against Operation Overlord. Nevertheless, D-day arrived at the beaches of
Normandy with full force on the morning of the 6th of June.
Pegasus Up
The crack 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1 Can
Para) led by Lt. Col. G.F.P. Bradbrooke was part of the tough and tumble 3rd
Brigade of the British 6th Airborne Division.
The Canadian ‘Red Devils’ were
to land one hour prior to the arrival of the rest of the brigade with the aim
of securing the DZ (Drop Zone); capturing the enemy H.Q. (Headquarters) located
at the site and destroy the local radio station at Varaville. After that, the Canadians were to destroy
vehicle bridges over the Dives River and its tributaries at Varaville. Having
done that, they were to proceed with neutralizing various fortified positions
at the crossroads. Additional
responsibilities included protecting the left (southern) flank of the 9th
Battalion as the battalion assaulted the Merival gun battery. Upon completing that,
the Canadians were to hold the position at the Le Mesnil crossroads which was
deemed a strategic position located at the centre of the bridge. Remarkably, the Canadians had accomplished
all they set out to do by mid-day of June the 6th.
The 3rd Div’s Norman Adventure
The Canadian Army’s 3rd Canadian Division led
Major General R. F. ‘Rod’ Keller
along with the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade under the command of
Brigadier R.A. Wyman formed part of General Miles Dempsey’s 2nd
British Army. The Canadians, numbering just over 14,000 came ashore at Juno
Beach. The five-mile wide Juno Beach was
divided into two primary sectors, Mike
and Nan. In turn, each of these was sub-divided into
smaller sections denoted by the sector name followed by a colour. Many heroic deeds were performed on the first
day at Juno Beach. The allies had come
to expect nothing less. The relentless pursuit of the Canadian Army’s
objectives was measured in human currency.
It was a costly toll. Of the 14,000 Canadians that stormed Juno Beach,
340 killed, 574 wounded and 49 captured by the defending Germans. This was
small comfort considering planners had predicted a much higher casualty rate.
* The 3rd Canadian
Infantry Division was comprised of the following units:
7th Canadian Infantry Brigade
Royal Winnipeg Rifles
Regina Rifle Regiment
Canadian Scottish Regiment
8th Canadian Infantry Brigade
Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
Le Régiment de la Chaudière
North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment
9th
Infantry Brigade
Light Infantry of Canada
Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Highlanders
Nova Scotia Highlanders
Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.)
7th Reconnaissance
Regiment
(17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars)
Divisional Royal Canadian Artillery
12th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
13th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
14th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
19th Army Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Canadian
Artillery
Divisional Royal Canadian Engineers
5th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
6th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
16th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
18th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
3rd Canadian Field Park Company, Royal Canadian Engineers
3rd Canadian Divisional Bridge Platoon, Royal Canadian
Engineers
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
3rd Infantry Divisional Signals
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
3rd Infantry Divisional Troops Company
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
No.14 Field Ambulance
No.22 Field Ambulance
No.23 Field Ambulance
2nd Canadian
Armoured Brigade
6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)
10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse)
27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers)
* Also providing vital support during the landings were
units of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and the Royal
Canadian Ordnance Corps.
British units that
support the Canadian landing on Juno Beach were:
No. 48 Royal Marine Commando
4th Special Service Brigade
26th Assault Squadron
80th Assault Squadron
5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers
6th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers (equipped with the
Churchill AVRE tank)
Detachments x 2 of the 22nd Dragoons, 79th Armoured
Division. (equipped with the Crab flail tanks)
3rd Battery 2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support
Regiment (Centaurs)
4th Battery, 2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment
(Centaurs)
‘C’ Squadron, Inns
of Court Regiment (Armoured Reconnaissance vehicles)
‘Ready Aye Ready’
The Royal Canadian Navy was very active prior to and on the
first day of Operation Overlord. A force of 19 corvettes was assigned to
provide escort service to the many ships and floating docks heading for
assembly points on the south coast of England Eleven frigates, nine destroyers
and five corvettes were seconded to the Royal Navy to provide an asdic (Anti-Submarine Detection
Investigation Committee) screen around the western approaches to the English
Channel one week prior to the invasion date.
This was to guard against the constant German U-Boat threat.
Only hours before the
invasion, Canadian ‘Bangor’ Class
minesweepers cleared shipping lanes of mines and then ensured that the
anchorage swept clear. The last part of their assignment was to sweep the lanes
for the assault boats, right to the limit of the deep water. While under a moon lit sky, they crept within
a mile and a half of shore, pretty well under the noses of the unsuspecting
Germans. Thankfully they were not
spotted.
The German coastal artillery guns would have made mincemeat
of them.
The R.C.N.’s two landing ships, H.M.C.S. Prince Henry and
H.M.C.S. Prince David carried fourteen landing craft (L.C.I. or Landing Craft
Infantry) to a point where they could be launched for the run into the
beachhead. In the British sector, Thirty
‘Fleet’ Class destroyers including H.M.C.S. Algonquin and H.M.C.S. Sioux,
provided direct fire support for the landing craft carrying part of the 3rd
Canadian Infantry Division after they were launched from the landing
ships. Mines and other underwater
obstructions were a constant threat to the landing craft. Not very many escaped without some sort of damage. Leading the second wave were 26 landing craft
of the R.C.N.’s 260th, 262nd
and 264th Flotillas. These
flotillas were carrying a combined force of 4,617 soldiers, primarily from the
3rd Canadian Infantry Division.
Six speedy and deadly MTB’s (Motor Torpedo Boat) were assigned to patrol
the Seine estuary. Corvettes of the R.C.N.
would go on to escort additional convoys into Baie de la Seine. during the rest
of the day. Naval losses were described
as “incredibly light”, especially
when you consider how many long range naval-guns and other weapons the Germans
still had operational at the time of the landings.
The following 109
ships and vessels of His Majesty’s Canadian Navy took part in the invasion of
Normandy:
‘Tribal’ Class Destroyer
H.M.C.S. Haida
H.M.C.S. Huron
‘V’ Class Destroyer
H.M.C.S. Algonquin
H.M.C.S. Sioux
‘River’ Class Destroyer (British)
H.M.C.S. Gatineau
H.M.C.S. Kootenay
H.M.C.S. Qu’Appelle
H.M.C.S. Ottawa (II)
H.M.C.S. Chaudiere
H.M.C.S. Restigouche
H.M.C.S. Skeena
H.M.C.S. St. Laurent
‘Mackenzie’ Class Destroyer Escort
H.M.C.S. Saskatchewan
‘River’ Class Frigate
H.M.C.S. Meon
H.M.C.S. Teme
‘River’ Class Frigate (1942-1943 Program)
H.M.C.S. Matane
H.M.C.S. Outremont
H.M.C.S. Port Colberne
H.M.C.S. Saint John
H.M.C.S. Swansea
‘Flower’ Class Corvette (1939-1940)
H.M.C.S. Alberni
H.M.C.S. Baddeck
H.M.C.S. Camrose
H.M.C.S. Drumheller
H.M.C.S. Louisburg (II)
H.M.C.S. Lunenburg
H.M.C.S. Mayflower
H.M.C.S. Moose Jaw
H.M.C.S. Summerside
H.M.C.S. Prescott
Troop Landing Ship
H.M.C.S. Prince David
H.M.C.S. Prince Henry
Revised ‘Flower’ Class Corvette (1940-1941 Program)
H.M.C.S. Kitchener
H.M.C.S. Port Arthur
H.M.C.S. Woodstock
Revised ‘Flower’ Class Corvette
H.M.C.S. Mimico
‘River’ Class Frigate (1942 –1943 Program)
H.M.C.S. Cape Breton
H.M.C.S. Grou
H.M.C.S. Waskesiu
‘Bangor’ Class Minesweeper
H.M.C.S. Bayfield
H.M.C.S. Guysborough
‘Bangor’ Class Minesweeper (1941-1942 Program)
H.M.C.S. Kenora
H.M.C.S. Mulgrave
‘Bangor’ Class Minesweeper (1940-1941 Regular Program)
H.M.C.S. Vegreville
Revised ‘Flower’ Class Corvette (1942-1943 Program)
H.M.C.S. Lindsay
Revised ‘Flower’ Class Corvette (1940-1941 Program)
H.M.C.S. Calgary
H.M.C.S. Regina
29th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla
MTB’s 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465 and 466
65th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla
MTB’s 726, 727,
735, 736, 743, 744, 745, 747, 748
260th L.C.I. L. Flotilla
L.C.I. L’s 117,
121, 166, 177, 249, 266, 271, 277, 285, 298 and 301
262nd L.C.I.L. Flotilla
L.C.I.L’s 115,
118, 125, 135, 250, 252, 262, 263, 270, 276, 299 and 306
264th L.C.I.L. Flotilla
L.C.I.L.’s 255,
288, 295, 302, 305, 310 and 311
528th Assault Flotilla
L.C.A.’s 736, 850,
856, 925, 1021, 1033, 1371 and 1372
529th Assault Flotilla
L.C.A.’s 1957,
1059, 1137, 1138, 1150, 1151, 1374 and 1375
Per Ardua Ad Astra
It was a maximum effort for the crews of Bomber Command’s
No. 6 (RCAF) Group on the night of the 5th/6th of June,
1944. A force of 190 aircraft comprised
of Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax four-engine heavy bombers flew
230 sorties in support of pre-invasion operations. A large number of targets
were struck with particular attention to the German coastal artillery
emplacements on the beachhead. In all
over 870 tons of high explosives were dropped for the loss of one Canadian Halifax.
R.C.A.F. fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons went into
action providing support to the Canadian ground forces as the invasion kicked
into high gear. The deafening sounds of
the aerial activity over Normandy resembled clouds of locust. The planes just kept coming and coming with
no end in sight. An estimated 1,000
aircraft from 39 of the 42 Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons stationed in
England would take part in the aerial support of the invasion with roles
ranging bombing, air superiority, ground attack and photo reconnaissance. The
R.C.A.F. lost a Vickers Wellington G.R.
Mk. XIV (L/L), a Supermarine Spitfire
Mk. IX, a Hawker Typhoon Mk. Ib and a
North American Mustang Mk. I for
total of 14 dead. A further 23 R.C.A.F.
members serving with Royal Air Force squadrons were also killed in action as a
result of D-Day operations
* The following
Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons were involved in pre-invasion activities and
in support of the actual invasion.
No. 39 (Reconnaissance) Wing - RCAF
No. 400 ‘City of
Toronto’ (FR) Squadron – North American Mustang
Mk. I
No. 414 ‘Sarnia Imperials’
(FR) Squadron - North American Mustang Mk.
I
No. 430 ‘City of
Sudbury’ (FR) Squadron - North American Mustang
Mk. I
No. 126 (Fighter) Wing - RCAF
No. 401 ‘Ram’ (F)
Squadron - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.
IXb
N. 411 ’Grizzly Bear’
(F) Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXb
No. 412 ‘Falcon’
(F) Squadron - Supermarine Spitfire
Mk. IXb
No. 127 (Fighter) Wing - RCAF
No. 403 ‘Wolf’ (F)
Squadron – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.
IXb
No. 416 ‘Lynx’ (F)
Squadron – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.
IXb
No. 421 ‘Red Indian’
(F) Squadron – Supermarine Spitfire
Mk. IXb
No. 143 (Fighter) Wing - RCAF
No. 438 ‘Wild Cat’
(FB) Squadron - Hawker Typhoon Mk. Ib
No. 439 ‘Westmount’
(FB) Squadron - Hawker Typhoon Mk. Ib
No. 440 ‘City of
Ottawa’ (FB) Squadron – Hawker Typhoon
Mk. Ib
No. 144 (Fighter) Wing - RCAF
No. 441 ‘Silver Fox’ (F)
Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXb
No. 442 ‘Caribou’ (F)
Squadron – Supermarine Spitfire Mk.
IXb
No. 443 ‘Hornet’
(F) Squadron – Supermarine Spitfire
Mk. IXb
No. 148 (Night
Fighter) Wing
No. 409 ‘Nighthawk’
(NF) Squadron – de Havilland Mosquito
N.F. Mk. XIII
No. 149 (Long Range Fighter ) Wing
No. 410 ‘Cougar’
(NF) Squadron - de Havilland Mosquito
N.F. Mk. XIII
Air Defence of Great Britain
No. 406 ‘Lynx’
(NF) Squadron – Bristol Beaufighter
Mk. VIIF / de Havilland Mosquito N.F.
Mk. XII
No. 11 (Fighter) Group
No. 418 ‘City of
Edmonton’ (I) Squadron – de Havilland Mosquito
Mk. II
No. 402 ‘City of
Winnipeg’ (F) Squadron - Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc
No. 6 (RCAF) Group
No. 408 ‘Goose’
(B) Squadron – Avro Lancaster B. Mk.
II
No. 419 ‘Moose’
(B) Squadron – Avro Lancaster B. Mk.
X *
Canadian-built Lancaster
No. 420 ‘Snowy Owl’
(B) Squadron - – Handley Page Halifax B.
Mk. III
No. 424 ‘Tiger’
(B) Squadron - – Handley Page Halifax B.
Mk. III
No. 425 ‘Alouette’
(B) Squadron - – Handley Page Halifax
B. Mk. III
No. 426 ‘Thunderbird’
(B) Squadron - – Handley Page Halifax
B. Mk. III
No. 427 ‘Lion’ (B)
Squadron – Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. III
No. 428 ‘Ghost’
(B) Squadron – Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. II
No. 429 ‘Bison’
(B) Squadron – Handley Page Halifax B.
Mk. III
No. 431 ‘Iroquois’
(B) Squadron – Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. III
No. 433 ‘Porcupine’
(B) Squadron – Handley Page Halifax B.
Mk. III
No. 434 ‘Bluenose’
(B) Squadron – Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. III
No. 8 (PFF) Group
No. 405 ‘Vancouver’
(B) Squadron – Avro Lancaster Mk. I
and Mk. III
* They were a Pathfinder Force squadron
No. 15 (General Reconnaissance) Group
No. 422 ‘Flying
Yachtsman’ (GR) Squadron – Short Sunderland
Mk. III
No. 423 (GR) Squadron
– Short Sunderland Mk. III
No. 19 (General Reconnaissance) Group
No. 404 ‘Buffalo’ (CF)
Squadron – Bristol Beaufighter T.F.
Mk. XC
No. 407 ‘Demon’
(GR) Squadron – Vickers Wellington G.R.
Mk. XIV (L/L)
In Conclusion
All in all, Canadian combatants from all three services gave
an outstanding account of themselves on the first day of the battle. They would continue to distinguish themselves
by dogged determination and selfless acts of heroism, helping write the final
chapter and finally closing the book on the Third Reich’s supposed one thousand-year reign.
