June 1944

Western Front - Battle For Caen

On July 17, the front line becomes quieter, but the 44th Brigade is exposed by the success of the German defenders on the flanks and subjected to artillery bombardment. The 6th KOSB repulse two attacks, and the Germans defeat the British attacks towards Évrecy. Two officers of the 8th RSF lead patrols towards Évrecy and find that German positions are still occupied.

The operation begins late on July 17. To attack Évrecy a long advance is required down a forward slope to the village. The attack is poorly prepared and the infantry battalion has already been depleted by casualties, a composite company being formed from one officer and fifty men and a second company consisting of only a composite platoon. The infantry are too tired to keep up with the tanks, which have to move quickly when brought under 88mm fire from the village. About 150 prisoners are taken, but mortar fire forces the infantry back to their start line. The 53rd (Welsh) Division captures Cahier and defeats several big counterattacks. More attacks by XII Corps gain no ground and during the evening of July 17, the British force on Point 113 withdraws, ending the operation.

In the center of XXX Corps, the 49th (West Riding) Division attacks with the 146th Brigade at la Barbée Farm with the 1/4th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI), which advance at 6:45am and reach the farm quickly from the east. At 5:00pm the Germans counterattack the farm and surround it on three sides. The Hallamshire Battalion, York and Lancs attack Vendes frontally, despite representations that an attack by night or from the east would be less costly. The attack begins at 6:45am and is stopped quickly by machine-gun crossfire. An attempt at a flank attack is stopped at la Bijude Farm and an attack from the west through la Barbée Farm after it had been captured also fails. A box-barrage around the Hallamshires and KOYLI is fired for twenty minutes after which the battalions withdraw at 5:00pm.

In the 59th (Staffordshire) Division area, phase I of the attack begins at 5:30am with the 197th Brigade on the right attacking with the 5th East Lancashires and 177th Brigade on the left with 5th and 1/6th South Staffords. The 5th East Lancashires fight their way to the first objective east of Vendes and capture part of the village by 8:00am but at 2:30pm are counterattacked by infantry and tanks, which overrun one company and force the rest of the battalion back to the start line. The 1/6th South Staffords capture Brettevillette in a costly attack by 6:45am in which many troops lose direction in the thick dawn mist and the British find that the area had been sown thickly with mines. The battalion presses on and reaches Queudeville by 8:45am, despite most of the tanks in support of the battalion having already been knocked out in a British minefield.

The 5th South Staffords take the orchards west of Grainville sur Odon and capture Les Nouillons by noon, which leaves the 177th Brigade on the first phase objectives. At 1:30pm flail tanks begin to work through a German minefield at Queudeville. Phase II is delayed by the casualties incurred in Phase I but at 5:30pm the 2/6th South Staffords attack Noyers and at 6:15pm the 6th North Staffords attack Haut des Forges. The 2/6th South Staffords capture part of Noyers but are forced back to Point 126, north of the railway station. The 6th North Staffords take Haut des Forges against less determined opposition. The 59th Division has captured 369 prisoners. On the 197th Infantry Brigade front, the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers attack the phase I objective at 10:30pm but massed German mortar fire, prevent the battalion from leaving the start line.[33]