June 1944

Western Front - Battle For Caen

At 0930 Dempsey visits VIII Corps headquarters and issues orders for a limited advance, and these are further scaled down all the way along the British chain of command.

The rest of the 7th Armored Division, led by the 131st (Queen's) Infantry Brigade, finally crosses the Orne bridges, but will take most of the morning getting through the congested bridgehead. The 11th Armored Division also uses the morning to reorganize. At 1035 hours Lt-Gen O'Connor meets with his three division commanders, and together they plan a series of set-piece attacks starting at 1600 hours in the afternoon, aimed solely at capturing the villages not captured the previous day.

Field Marshal von Kluge takes over Army Group B as well as OB West, issuing orders fot the Leibstandarte Division to continue its encirclement of the expected British drive southeast toward Paris. The 21st Panzer Division will join from the east and the Hitlerjugend from the southeast. These counter-attacks, which make little progress against British firepower, plays into Montgomery's hands by tying down and using up the German armored reserves. Since Operation COBRA is being delayed until July 24, hard fighting by the Canadian 2nd Division and the British 3rd Infantry Division on the flanks will keep the German armor from moving. It will be a week bfore the battle for Caen is truly over.

The first small counter-attacks by the Leibstandarte Division down the slope of Bourguébus ridge starts at 0700 hours. Most are stopped, but one company of the 2nd SS Panzergrenadiers manages to recapture le Poirier. The Leibstandarte next concentrates on strengthening the positions it already holds, drawing back from the most vulnerable villages. Moving at first light, the 22nd Armored Brigade finds Soliers weakly defended, and by midday has it cleared. Battlegroup Waldmüller of the Hitlerjugend Division arrives from near Falaise to take over at Vimont and Frénouville at 0530 hours, and by midday Battlegroup Wünsche from Lisieux joins the Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyers of the I/12th SS Panzerjäger Battalion, with the III/26th SS Panzergrenadiers taking over the defense of Émiéville.

To the west, the 272nd Infantry Division gives up each village east of the Orne as the Canadians advance. Mortar and artillery fire are brought down on their former positions. Starting at 0400 hours, the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division secures Colombelles an Giberville and resumes clearing Vaucelles of the remaining snipers, machine guns and minefields of the II/980th Grenadiers which takes the rest of the day. The Canadian 4th Infantry Brigade also renews its attack on Louvigny capturing it about 1100 hours. During the night that brigade is relieved by the 129th Infantry Brigade of the 43rd (Wessex) Division as part of a general shift of the Canadian II Corps eastward across the Orne to take over ground gained by VIII Corps.

On the east side of the river, by 1130 hours the bridges at Vaucelles are completed, and at 1600 hours the HLI of Canada captures Cormelles. The Canadian 5th Infantry Brigade supported by armor attacks southward along the east bank of the Orne to Fleury-sur-Orne and has it captured by 1430 hours. Ifs, the next village to the east, is attacked at last light by the Black Watch of Canada, but is not fully captured until the following morning.

At 0700 hours, the British 3rd Infantry Division resumes it attack toward Troarn through the dense orchards, using only the 9th Infantry Brigade with the British thinking it a secondary operation as the battle was winding down. Panzer Group West, however, perceives it as the northnern arm of the main British offensive to be thrown back at all costs. The result is similar to that of Operation WINDSOR against Carpiquet three weeks earlier, with the 9th Infantry Brigade being raked by German crossfire. By evening all three battalions had taken heavy losses, the 2nd Lincolns fighting in an orchard and the brigade still short of its objective, the Troarn railway station. A little further south, the 185th Infantry Brigade captures the undefended Manneville stud farm. At 1930 hours, armor and infantry of the Hitlerjugend Division counter-attack aganst Manneville, but are driven off.

The main VIII Corps attack begins late in the afternoon as planned. Around 1600 hours, the 11th Armored Division artillery opens fire at Bras, now held by the III/1st SS Panzergrenadiers with some assault guns, including elements of the 200th Assault Gun Battalion separated from the rest of the 21st Panzer Division. After ten minutes the 29th Armored Brigade attacks the village with the 2nd Norhthamptonshire Yeomanry, followed by the 3rd RTR, the dismounted infantry of the 8th Rifle Brigade, and the 3rd Monmouths from the 159th Infantry Brigade. It is captured by about 1740 hours with 250 prisoners. Shortly after 1800 hours, the 3rd Monmouths take over the village and the 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry make a quick attempt to continue from Bras southeast up the ridge through the high crops to Huber-Folie. The are forced back by troops of the I/1st SS Panzergrenadiers and their supporting armor. 37 tanks are lost here out of the total of 65 that the 11th Armored Division lost during this day. At 2000 hours the British attack is renewed with heavy support fire from all nearby tanks. At 2045 hours the battlefield is strafed by 18 Bf-109s which slow the British progress, but only half an hour later the I/1st SS Panzergrenadier have been driven out of the village which is recaptured with 10 prisoners. By nightfall the 159th Infantry Brigade is dug in at Hubert-Folie, while 29th Armored Brigade is north of Grentheville.

The 7th Armored Division's main attack begins at 1700 hours toward Four and Bourguébus, also with strong artillery support. Four is captured about 2045 hours by the 1st RTR and the 1st Rifle Brigade, with the aid of petard mortar fire from an Armored Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) of the 26th Assault Squadron, RE. At 1840 hours, the 5th RTR reports the defense of Bourguébus as including two Panthers and three Tigers, while other troops of the 2nd SS Panzergrenadiers provide crossfire from la Hogue. The attack continues, and by 2045 hours, the 5th RTR has Bourguébus surrounded. while a bombing attack by Typhoons on La Hogue at 2155 hours at least enable its tanks to get asride the road between the two villages, but the Germans continue to hold them both.

The Guards Armored Division's main effort this day goes into reorganizing and linking up withe the British 3rd Infantry Division to the north. At 1700 hours the 1st Welsh Guards recapture le Poirier without much difficulty as the SS Panzergrenadiers fall back to Four, but no plans are made to take Frénouvile until the next day.