Encyclopedia
Juno Beach was one of the landing sites for Allied invaders on the coast of
Normandy during D-Day, the
invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, a turning point of the
Second World War. It was situated between
Sword Beach and
Gold Beach. It is also known as the
Canadian beach, as it was assigned to the
3rd Canadian Infantry Division . Juno Beach stretched from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer on the east to
Courseulles-sur-Mer on the west. Both assault formations were placed under the command of I British Corps for the initial phase of the invasion, and did not come under Canadian command again until July 1944 and the establishment of II Canadian Corps headquarters in Normandy.
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.
Aerial bombardment of Juno Beach in the days leading up to D-Day caused no significant damage to German fortifications. Naval bombardment, running from 6:00 AM to 7:30 AM and including everything from battleship barrages to fire from tanks and artillery sitting on transport ship decks only managed to destroy 14 percent of the
bunkers guarding the beach, and owing to weather delays the Germans had half an hour to regroup between cessation of bombardment and landing of Canadian troops.
Juno beach was divided into two sectors, "Mike" to the west and "Nan" to the east. The 7th Brigade, supported by the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment , were to land and control Mike Sector. The 8th brigade, supported by the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment , landed on Nan sector. The 9th Brigade was in reserve.
Battle
In the first hour of the assault on Juno Beach, the Canadian forces suffered approximately 50 percent casualty rates, comparable to those suffered by the Americans at Omaha Beach. Once the Canadians cleared the seawall they started to advance quickly inland and had a much easier time subduing the German defences than the Americans at Omaha had. By noon, the entire 3rd Canadian Division was ashore and leading elements had pushed several kilometres inland to seize bridges over the Seulles River. By 6:00pm they had captured the town of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. A 1st Hussars armoured troop reached its objective along with men of the Queen's Own Rifles before nightfall, when both units moved 15 km inland and crossed the
Caen-
Bayeux highway. However, this troop was forced to pull back because they had passed the supporting infantry. By the end of D-Day the 3rd Canadian Division had penetrated farther into
France than any other Allied force, though counter-attacks by elements of two German armoured divisions would stop any further movement for several weeks.
- None of the assault divisions, including 3rd Canadian Division, had managed to secure their D-Day objectives, which lay inland, although the Canadians came closer than any other Allied formation.
By the end of the next day, the Canadian forces joined with the British forces that had landed at
Sword Beach.
The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-Sur-Mer, commemorates the Canadian liberation forces efforts and is a memorial to the lives lost.
Regiments
The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division reinforced by the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade landed in two brigade groups:
- 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 of Canada, 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 provided armoured support in form of.
Although a total of 14,000 Canadians landed at Juno Beach on D-Day, the first wave consisted of just 3,000. 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
- Queen's Own Rifles in the centre at Bernières
- Regina Rifles at Courseulles
- Royal Winnipeg Rifles on the western edge of Courseulles
- a company of the Canadian Scottish secured the right flank
- a company of British, Royal Marine Commandos secured the left flank
Canadian order of battle on D-Day
Army3rd Canadian Division- Juno Beach
- Nan Sector
- Queen's Own Rifles
- The North Shore Regiment
- Le Régiment de la Chaudière
- Fort Garry Horse
- Highland Light Infantry
- Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
- The North Nova Scotia Highlanders
- Sherbrooke Fusliers
- Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
- Support Units integrated with troops in Mike Sector and Nan Sector
- Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
- 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars
- 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment
- Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
- Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
- Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
- Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
- Airborne
- First Canadian Parachute Battalion
- 591 Parachute Squadron Engineers
Navy109 vessels including:
- Juno Beach
- HMCS Algonquin
- HMCS Sioux
- HMCS Prince Henry
- HMCS Prince David
- 4th, 14th and 16th Canadian Minesweeping Flotillas
- RCN landing craft
- Omaha Beach
- 31st Canadian Minesweeping Flotilla
- Destroyer escort flotilla
...
Air Force- No. 6 Bomber Group
- 126, 127, 441, 442 and 443 Squadrons RCAF fighter wing
- 400 Squadron Air Reconnaissance Wing
Juno Beach timeline
;June 4, 1944
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. General Eisenhower decides to postpone the invasion by 24 hours.
;June 5, 1944
After a night of watching the weather, General Eisenhower is told by Group Captain Stagg, chief meteorologist for SHAEF, that there may be a break in the storm.
1200 hours
General 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 brief their men.
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, the Regina Rifles were to land east of the river where the buildings from the town lined the seafront, and C-Company of the Canadian Scottish were to land by Vaux, to the west of the Winnipegs.
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.
The reserve brigade, including The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, The North Nova Scotia, The Highland Light Infantry of Canada, and armour of The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment 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 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.
0400
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; first men and tanks land.
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 200 yards 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 Rod Keller, the Canadian commander at Juno Beach, reports to General Crerar in the UK: "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. A troop of the 1st Hussars 'C' Squadron was the only Allied unit to reach its planned final objective on D-Day, although they had to pull back because they were too few in numbers to hold the ground.
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.
Equipment
Specialized equipment either introduced specially for the D-Day landings or else used in combat for the first time on D-Day included:
- Duplex Drive amphibious tanks
- the "Battle Jerkin" used to carry individual equipment
- the High-Top Combat Boot
- the Mark III steel helmet
A variety of Armoured Vehicles, Royal Engineers were utilized by units such as the 22nd Dragoons of the British Army on D-Day as well. These vehicles were used to clear minefields and help tanks and vehicles negotiate anti-tank obstacles or soft sand.
British support
British commandos as well as Armoured Vehicles, Royal Engineers crewed by British troops, also landed in support of the Juno Beach landings, and a large number of naval vessels in support of the landings were from the Royal Navy.
See also
External links
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- Complete battle overview, photos, video, audio and lots of info.
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References
