JUNO BEACH SECTOR, FRANCE, 6 June 1944: The plan for Juno Beach on D-Day called for two brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division to land in beach sectors hung with the monikers “Mike” and “Nan”. These beaches led to the coastal villages of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer, and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer.As was the case for most of the D-Day beaches, the preliminary naval and air bombardments did little to effectively soften up the Germans on the shore. Tank support on the beaches was to be provided by Duplex Drive (DD) AFVs of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, followed by beach-landed Centaurs and Fireflies.
With the lodgement in hand the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was to move inland. The Royal Marine commandos were tasked with establishing a link with the British 3rd Infantry Division on Sword Beach. The 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade was to link up with the British 50th Infantry Division on Gold Beach. The 3rd Canadian Division’s D-Day objectives also included the capture of Carpiquet Airfield and penetrate to the Caen–Bayeux railway line. All by nightfall on D-Day.
Heavy resistance from the German 716th Division met the invaders. Roiling seas pushed the first wave back until 0735 hours. Men of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, the first wave, were hit hard with heavy casualties in the opening minutes of the landing. It would take two hours to get a hand on the German positions along Juno beach.
The next phase of the operation, the attack inland towards Carpiquet and the Caen–Bayeux railway, did not go as planned on paper. Traffic jams gettting off the beach, an achilles heel on D-Day, created delays. The Canadian 7th Brigade encountered heavy initial resistance before attacking southwards, although it succeeded in making contact with the British 50th Division at Creully. The Canadian 8th Brigade also encountered heavy resistance from a battalion of the 716th at Tailleville, while the 9th Brigade deployed towards Carpiquet early in the evening. Resistance in Saint-Aubin prevented the Royal Marines from establishing contact with the British 3rd Division on Sword. By the time all operations on the Anglo-Canadian front were ordered to halt at 2100 hours, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada had reached its D-Day objective and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had succeeded in push
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