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Article by Richard Foot. The Battle of Normandy — from the D-Day landings on 6 June through to the encirclement of the German army at Falaise on 21 August — was one of the pivotal events of the Second World War and the scene of some of Canada's greatest feats of arms. Canadian sailors, soldiers and airmen played a critical role in the Allied invasion of Normandy, also called Operation Overlord, beginning the bloody campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation.
Nearly , Allied troops landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, including 14, Canadians at Juno Beach. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed ships and 10, sailors and the RCAF contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the assault. Total Allied casualties on D-Day reached more than 10,, including 1, Canadians, of whom were killed.
By the end of the Battle of Normandy, the Allies had suffered , casualties, including more than 18, Canadians. Over 5, Canadian soldiers died. Canadian Infantry going ashore during the Normandy invasion. A view of a town in Normandy during the invasion.
La Maison des Canadiens. The Germans had turned the coast of Europe from the Spanish border to Scandinavia into a daunting series of defensive positions. An Allied defeat on the beaches of Normandy would have been disastrous as there was no way to safely evacuate troops in large numbers, so huge casualties would be inevitable. If the landings were successful, however, our forces would finally gain that all-important foothold in Western Europe and could begin the liberation campaign after years of harsh German occupation.
Allied warplanes helped pave the way for the Normandy landings. They undertook countless missions attacking coastal defences and lines of transport in occupied Europe in the months leading up to Operation Overlord. Some 7, naval vessels of all types, including major combat ships, took part in Operation Neptune as the sea-borne assault phase of the D-Day offensive was codenamed.
Destroyers and supporting craft of the Royal Canadian Navy shelled German positions onshore and cleared sea mines in the approaches to the French beaches. Canadian soldiers and tanks landing at Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, on June 6, More than members of the 1 st Canadian Parachute Battalion jumped inland before dawn on June 6 and were the first of our soldiers to engage the enemy on D-Day. A few hours later, some 14, Canadian troops from the 3 rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2 nd Canadian Armoured Brigade—composed of military units from coast to coast—would begin to come ashore at Juno Beach.
Our soldiers would then push inland towards the city of Caen, an important communications and transport centre. Canadian commanders gained much experience on the ground in Sicily and mainland Italy that they brought back to Northwest Europe for the Normandy campaign. That said, the Dieppe raid did reinforce certain notions that were alive in the minds of the Overlord planners. Probably chief among these was that surprise was key.
But in Overlord you see some really, really complex operations going on to try and deceive the enemy and maintain that element of surprise. For example, you have the enormous diversion campaign taking place on the Kent coast, called Operation Fortitude which included fake army camps, dummy airfields and other deceptions designed to make the Germans believe an invasion force would land further north and east and not in Normandy. The other factor Dieppe reinforced in the minds of planners was the need for overwhelming fire support from the air and from the sea.
JM: The development of the role for Canada in the D-Day invasion has a history going back a few years, especially following the Dunkirk evacuation, in that when Canadians began to come over to Great Britain, they took on the role of defending the British Isles, so they built up around the south coast of England and operated in a defensive and anti-invasion role from May to July , when the 1st Canadian Division was detached and sent to Italy.
But the bulk of Canadian forces remained in Britain for all those years. There was a political feeling in London and Ottawa, and a rising popular feeling, that Canadian soldiers needed action. Because it was there in such large force, the Overlord planners, almost from the beginning, determined that a large Canadian force would be part of any cross channel invasion.
CH: On the eve of the operation, the leaders privately expressed fears that the landing would fail and there would be massive casualties. Why, after all the planning and preparation, were they still so fearful of the outcome? JM: I think you see more of that on the British side than the American side.
This concern is quite natural when you are planning an invasion on this scale. They certainly were not filled with any sense of hubris. I think they were properly concerned about the negative outcomes. Churchill was worried about another First World War type casualty situation. Tactically, it was a very complex operation that required the co-ordination of airborne paratroopers, naval forces, air forces, amphibious forces, armour, artillery, some of which fired from landing craft offshore, which is all very difficult to co-ordinate.
In short, there was much that could go wrong. Also, politicians were still answerable to their electorates. It was politically somewhat easier for the governments of Germany and Soviet Union to send soldiers to the field than it was for western nations because the latter were answerable to their electorates. And, an amphibious invasion of this size had never been tried and certainly the Germans had put out much propaganda that this was an impregnable Fortress Europa, as they called it.
So I think these fears were realistic and prudent. JM: The invasion met with its fair share of good luck and bad luck. But I think planning was the key to success here. In terms of good luck, though, the weather was barely sufficient to allow a good landing, the choppiness of the sea made an invasion seem less likely to the German defenders, who were relatively slow to counterattack, and the German Commander Rommel had conveniently left Normandy for personal reasons the day before, among other examples.
In terms of planning, the assault had in one sense been going on since April , when Allied strategic and tactical air forces began attacking transportation, and other targets inside and outside the invasion area. The detailed timing, the deception operation, the different types of equipment used — certainly planning was key to success, much more than luck. JM: They were well-prepared.
They were chomping at the bit by this time to get into the action. This year's anniversary of D-Day seems to carry special resonance. The number of veterans still living is dwindling.
Those who remember those first uncertain moments that day on Juno Beach are most likely in their mids. MacMillan also sees differences among the D-Day anniversaries over the years. Depending on the country, the significance of D-Day varies, she said. For the French, it's the beginning of the liberation of the country. For the Americans, it was a proving ground for their troops. And for Britain, it's something that has a unique echo today.
For Canada, she said, it not necessarily seen as a "deep part" of who we are, but "it's a very important memory," probably up there with Vimy Ridge from the First World War. It's an important part, I think, of our story.
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