Juno Beach
Encyclopedia : J : JU : JUN : Juno Beach
- This article is about the beach codenamed in WWII. For other uses, see Juno Beach (disambiguation)
Objective
After Omaha Beach, Juno was the second most heavily defended of the five landing sites chosen. General 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 ocean was heavily mined.
Juno beach was divided up into two sectors, the one to the west called Mike and the one to the east called Nan. The 7th Brigade, supported by the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars), were to land and control Mike Sector. The 8th brigade, supported by the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse), landed on Nan sector. The 9th Brigade was to be left in reserve.
Battle
The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-Sur-Mer, commemorates the Canadian liberation forces efforts and is a memorial to the lives lost.
Regiments
- 7th Brigade consisting of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Regina Rifles, and Canadian Scottish regiments
- 8th Brigade consisting of the North Shore Regiment, Queen's Own Rifles, and Le Régiment de la Chaudière
- The 9th Brigade consisting of the Highland Light Infantry, Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, and North Nova Scotia Highlanders regiments landed later in the morning and advanced through the lead brigades. The Sherbrooke Fusiliers tanks (27th Armoured Regiment) provided tank support.
Although a total of 14,000 Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day, there were not more than three thousand young Canadians in the first wave - all ranks. The initial assault was the responsibility of four regiments with two additional companies supporting the flanks:
- North Shore Regiment on the left at St. Aubin (Nan Red beach)
- Queen's Own Rifles in the centre at Bernières (Nan White beach)
- Regina Rifles at Courseulles (Nan Green beach)
- Royal Winnipeg Rifles on the western edge of Courseulles (Mike Red and Mike Green beaches)
- a company of the Canadian Scottish secured the right flank
- a company of British, Royal Marine Commandos secured the left flank
Canadian Units on D-Day
Army
3rd Canadian Division - Juno Beach
Mike Sector
- Royal Winnipeg Rifles
- Regina Rifles
- Canadian Scottish (Victoria)
- 1st Hussars (London, Ont.)
- Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
- Queen's Own Rifles (Toronto)
- North Shore Regiment (New Brunswick)
- Régiment de la Chaudière (Quebec)
- Fort Garry Horse (Winnipeg)
- Highland Light Infantry (Galt, Ont.)
- Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
- North Nova Scotia Highlanders
- Sherbrooke Fusliers
- Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
- 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal)
- 12th, 13th, 14th Field Regiments, Royal Canadian Artillery
- 19th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
- 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment
- Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
- Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
- Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
- Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
- First Canadian Parachute Battalion
- 591 Parachute Squadron Engineers
109 vessels including:
Juno Beach
- HMCS Algonquin
- HMCS Sioux
- HMCS Prince Henry
- HMCS Prince David
- 4th, 14th and 16th Canadian Minesweeping Flotillas
- RCN landing craft
- 31st Canadian Minesweeping Flotilla (escorted U.S. forces to Omaha Beach)
- No. 6 Bomber Group
- 126, 127, 441, 442 and 443 Squadrons RCAF fighter wing
- 400 Squadron Air Reconnaissance Wing
Juno Beach Timeline
Thousands of soldiers move toward ports across the south of England and embark on ships, but the weather worsens and soon the seas in the channel are too rough for the crossing. The generals decide to postpone the invasion by 24 hours.
June 5, 1944
After a night of watching the weather, the generals are told there may be a break in the storm.
1200 hours
Eisenhower orders the invasion. Minesweepers go first to clear the channel of German mines.
Troopships and the naval escorts begin carefully planned departures from ports so that all the ships will arrive off the Normandy coast at the same time.
1800 hours
Part of the Canadian contingent, including the armed merchant cruisers HMCS Prince Henry and HMCS Prince David, escorted by the destroyers HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Sioux leave Portsmouth bound for Juno Beach. On the Canadian ships, officers go over the plan.
The Canadians will attack Juno Beach in two groups:
Mike Sector
In the west, infantry from the Royal Winnipeg, the Canadian Scottish and the Regina Rifles, supported by tanks from the 1st Hussars from London, Ont., are told their objective is a small fishing town named Courseulles at the mouth of the Seulles River. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles are to land in the sand dunes west of the river, while the rest were to land east of the river where the buildings from the town lined the seafront.
Nan Sector
Nan Sector is divided in two.
In the centre, the Queen's Own Rifles were to land and take Bernières, a small beachfront resort town. The North Shore New Brunswick regiment was assigned to capture St-Aubin, another resort town. The armour from the Fort Garry Horse was to support both groups, with Le Régiment de la Chaudière from Québec held in reserve.
A reserve brigade from the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, the North Nova Scotia, the Highland Light Infantry from Galt, and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers from Sherbrooke was designated as the second wave, with orders to land when the situation in Nan Sector was clear. Artillery, machinegun and mortar units, signals and medical corps personnel and other units accompanied the troops in all sectors as support units.
June 6, 1944
0100
The briefing is over. The Canadian ships reach mid-channel. Heavy clouds make the night black; the ships plow through high winds, heavy seas and driving rain. Back in England, aircraft are preparing to take off, bombers to pound the German defences, aircraft with paratroopers or towing gliders with soldiers who have to seize key bridges, roads and strong points to prevent a German counter-attack.
RCAF Lancaster bombers from 6 Bomber Group are among them. RCAF Spitfires escort the bombers. About 450 Canadians drop behind enemy lines by parachute or from gliders.
0330
Canadian soldiers on the transport ships are served breakfast. On one ship they get scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee, bread and jam.
0400
The sky lights up. 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.
0430
All soldiers are ordered on deck of the transports and muster at embarkation statons.
0500
Dawn. All ships go to action stations.
0600
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.
0610
Destroyers and other warships, closer in, begin firing. At Juno Beach there is no return fire from the Germans.
0630
The convoy breaks radio silence.
0700
Artillery and tanks on the transports also begin firing at the beaches. At Juno Beach, the Germans begin returning fire on the Allied ships.
0730
Most heavy support firing ends. Germans continue to attack the invasion force. Landing craft head for the beaches.
0745
Landing craft reach the beach; men and tanks get in the water.
0800
The first Canadian beachhead is established in Courseulles in Mike 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 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 Sector, the North Shore Regiment lands under heavy German fire.
0830
The Queen's Own Rifles land at Nan Sector, held up by high seas. The soldiers have to run 183 metres from the shore to a seawall under fire from hidden German artillery. Only a few men of the first company survive.
1000
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 drowned trying to reach the shore.
1030
Major General R. F. Keller, the Canadian commander at Juno Beach sends a message to his superior, General H. D. Crerar, commanding the First Canadian Army. "Beach-head gained. Well on our way to our immediate objectives."
1200
All units of the Third Canadian Division are on shore at Juno Beach.
1800
The North Shore Regiment capture St-Aubin. In the next few hours, the Canadians capture Courseulles and Bernieres. Later the Highland Regiment captures Colombiers-sur-seulles and the 1st Hussar reaches its objective 15 kilometres from the beach at the Caen-Bayeux Highway intersection. The Hussars was the only Allied unit to capture its planned final objective on D-Day.
Numbers
- The Royal Canadian Navy supplied ships and about 10,000 sailors.- 14,000 Canadian soldiers were to land on the beaches.
- 516 Canadian Paratroopers were to drop behind enemy lines by parachute or glider.
- Lancaster bombers and Spitfire fighters from the Royal Canadian Air Force supported the invasion.
See also
| Main articles on Battle of Normandy, Western Front, World War II | |||
| Operations | Key locations | See also | |
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Landing Points:
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More information on Battle of Normandy:
from Wiktionary from Wikibooks from Wikiquote from Wikisource [media] from Commons from Wikinews | |
External links
- [Juno Beach Centre]
- [Juno Beach - The Canadians On D-Day]
- http://www.stormpages.com/junobeach/
- [Canadians take Juno!] Complete battle overview, photos, video, audio and lots of info.
- [Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War - D-Day and the Normandy Campaign]
- [A Canadian Commando's D-Day Plus 2 Story At St. Aubin-sur-Mer: Pat McLaughlin]
- [D-Day : Etat des Lieux : Juno Beach]
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