Lest we forget - D-Day and the Battle of Normandy

**** Canada.ca Release

D-Day and the Battle of Normandy

Canadians landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and helped begin the liberation of Western Europe.

Introduction

A half century is a long time in a world that moves quickly from one fad to the next. Living in their greatly favoured land, Canadians often seem all too ready to forget the great events that let them develop and prosper in freedom. Many even fail to remember that young Canadian men and women played a major role in the greatest seaborne invasion of all time, the Allied assault on Normandy on June 6, 1944, and in the long, wearying struggle that followed in the Norman countryside. Over a brutal ten-week period in the stifling heat of that terrible summer, the inexperienced soldiers of the First Canadian Army fought against a powerful enemy, suffering and inflicting heavy casualties. By the third week in August, when the campaign in Normandy at last came to its end, the armies of the Nazi regime had suffered a resounding defeat, one in which Canadian regiments played a major role. In the process, Canada's troops had been forged into a highly effective army. This is their story.

PlayMute

Current position:00:00:00

Total time:00:11:27

The long wait begins

The Canadian Government decided to wage a war of "limited liability" befitting its status as a junior partner on the Allied side. The Dominion intended to provide economic assistance in the form of foodstuffs, raw materials, and industrial production. In addition, Canada would act as the aerodrome of democracy by putting the country's vast open spaces to use as a training ground for pilots under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In this way Ottawa hoped to avert a repetition of the horrible casualties inflicted during the Great War and another crisis over conscription like that in 1917 which had torn the country apart. With their sizable armed forces, Britain and France would furnish the bulk of the soldiers for the impending land battles, although Canada did send the 1^st Canadian Infantry Division to Britain in December 1939. If nothing else, Canada needed time to rebuild its fighting forces.   As a result, the best equipped force facing Hitler's triumphant legions was the 1^st Canadian Infantry Division then training in Britain. In fact, following the surrender of France in June 1940, Canada, its forces composed entirely of volunteers, was Britain's ranking ally. This situation would not change until the Soviet Union entered the conflict a full year later following Hitler's attack on the USSR. The great Allied coalition was complete after the surprise Japanese raid on Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, and Germany's declaration of war against the United States a few days later. Allied operations on the sea and in the air were making major contributions to winning the war. However, once the Allied leaders had made the decision to concentrate on defeating Hitler's forces before turning their full attention to those of Japan, it was clear that ultimate victory could only be achieved on land by driving the Nazi forces from the countries they occupied and finally invading Germany itself. That meant an invasion of Western Europe, but it would take time to amass the necessary manpower and material. Moreover, the plans and equipment for amphibious operations had to be tested and German defences probed, to determine the chances of success. The need to relieve the pressure on the beleaguered Soviet Union demanded action as well. Finally, Canadian generals, politicians, and public were insisting that their bored and frustrated troops see action. For all these reasons, Combined Operations Headquarters decided to launch a raid-in-force on the French port of Dieppe on August 19, 1942, with the 2^nd Canadian Infantry Division providing most of the assaulting troops. It turned out to be a massacre. Surprise was only partly achieved and only a minimal preliminary bombardment preceded the attack. German positions remained intact, the defenders uninjured and ready.

Virtual annihilation

What followed were "ten hours of unadulterated hell." Entire battalions suffered virtual annihilation. Those Canadians who managed to escape their landing craft and scramble to shore were swept by incessant fire from unassailable enemy positions on the adjacent cliffs. If their tanks did not sink in the water, they found it almost impossible to manoeuvre on the baseball-sized pebbles that littered the beaches. Poor communications led to additional troops being dispatched unnecessarily. It was a tribute to the spirit and fortitude of the Canadian soldiers that some of them managed to get off the beaches and into the town. After the debacle at Dieppe, the tide of the war slowly began to turn in the Allies' favour. The Battle of Stalingrad saw the defeat of the entire German Sixth Army. In November 1942, the British routed General Rommel's Afrika Korps at the battle of El Alamein; an Anglo-American force landed in Algeria and Morocco; and by May 1943 the Germans had been expelled from North Africa. This was another crushing defeat for Hitler. The Allies then decided to strike at the supposed "soft underbelly" of the Axis powers in southern Europe. Canadian soldiers took an active and important part in the Italian Campaign. Following Dieppe, the now quarter-million strong First Canadian Army had resumed its training in England. The British accepted the Canadian Government's request that the 1^st Canadian Infantry Division and a tank brigade participate in the invasion of Sicily.

Invasion preparations

Planning for the Second Front had been ongoing since 1942. By the spring of 1944, everything was finally in place for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France, and its assault phase, Operation Neptune. The Supreme Allied Commander, American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his staff had decided that the attack should fall on the Cotentin Caen area of the Normandy coast. It would be a longer and more hazardous journey for the invasion fleet and its air umbrella than taking the shorter route from Dover to the Pas de Calais where the Germans anticipated an Allied landing. The Normandy beaches were suitable, the enemy defences lighter, and the possibility of surprise greater. As the experience of Dieppe had confirmed, and subsequent German improvements to their defences emphasized, a landing at a fortified port was likely to fail. Therefore, until a port fell to the Allies, essential supplies would be transferred ashore through artificial "Mulberry" harbours, put together from sunken ships and huge concrete caissons. Since complete air and naval superiority had to be attained, a massive sea and air bombardment would precede the invasion. An effective ship-to-shore communications network was put in place. Moreover, large numbers of landing craft of various kinds had been produced to ferry infantry and tanks to the beaches. The utmost secrecy and security were maintained, to the point of establishing a fake army in that part of England considered ideal as a launching point for the Pas de Calais. Finally, earlier amphibious operations in North Africa and Sicily had helped perfect new tactics, weapons and equipment, notably ingenious devices like the DUKW (a supply and personnel carrier that could travel directly from sea to shore), and DD (duplex drive) Sherman tank which could "swim" in the water and then travel on land.