June 1944

Western Front - Battle For Caen

German counterattacks begin around midnight and get into Éterville several times; on the hill, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (5th DCLI) is forced back to the Caen–Évrecy road, after all its anti-tanks guns are destroyed and it suffers 240 casualties. During the battle, General Heinrich Eberbach, the commander of Panzer Group West has made the defense of Hill 112 the priority (Schwerpunkt) of the II SS Panzer Corps but the British advance has taken the north slope and has moved half-way across the hilltop. The German defenders have been subject to naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire but hold much of their ground, with the support of Tiger tanks of Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 102, which had arrived in Normandy two days previous.

The pressure on the British, however, is such that the only choice they have is withdrawal if they want to keep men and equipment to restart the action later. Supported by the Scot Greys Sherman tanks, the men of the 43rd Wessex Infantry Division retreat to their point of departure throughout the afternoon of July 11, 1944.