Holding Juno Read online

  Holding Juno

  HOLDING JUNO

  CANADA’S HEROIC DEFENCE OF THE D-DAY BEACHES: JUNE 7–12, 1944

  MARK ZUEHLKE

  Copyright © 2005 by Mark Zuehlke

  05 06 07 08 09 5 4 3 2 1

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,

  stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any

  form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or

  a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access

  Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca

  or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

  Douglas & McIntyre

  2323 Quebec Street, Suite 201

  Vancouver, British Columbia

  Canada V5T 4S7

  www.douglas-mcintyre.com

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Zuehlke, Mark

  Holding Juno : Canada’s heroic defence of the D-Day beaches,

  June 7–12, 1944 / Mark Zuehlke.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN–13: 978-1-55365-102-4

  ISBN–10: 1-55365-102-2

  1. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—France—Normandy.

  2. Canada. Canadian Army—History—World War, 1939–1945. I. Title.

  D756.5.N6Z825 2005 940.54′21422 C2005-901195-5

  Library of Congress information is available upon request

  Editing by Elizabeth McLean

  Jacket and text design by Peter Cocking

  Jacket photograph Private Hole, LAC PA-177100

  Typesetting by Rhonda Ganz

  Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens

  Printed on acid-free paper

  Distributed in the U.S. by Publishers Group West

  We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the

  Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council,

  and the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry

  Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing activities.

  OTHER MILITARY HISTORY BY MARK ZUEHLKE

  Juno Beach: Canada’s D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944 *

  The Gothic Line: Canada’s Month of Hell in World War II Italy *

  The Liri Valley: Canada’s World War II Breakthrough to Rome *

  Ortona: Canada’s Epic World War II Battle *

  The Canadian Military Atlas: The Nation’s Battlefields from the

  French and Indian Wars to Kosovo (with C. Stuart Daniel)

  The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939

  * Available from Douglas & McIntyre

  When will the earth grow weary of the shock

  Of this chaos? When, with impatient hands,

  Will it obliterate the shame and mock

  Of desolation glutton war demands?

  BOMBARDIER W.S. BEIRNES,

  3RD CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION

  Valour is of no service, chance rules all,

  And the bravest often fall by the hands of cowards.

  TACITUS, THE HISTORIES

  If I get out of this, I’m not going to take shit from anyone.

  LIEUTENANT BILL MCCORMICK,

  1ST HUSSARS

  [ CONTENTS ]

  Preface

  Acknowledgements

  Maps

  INTRODUCTION Worse Than the Beach

  PART ONE MEETING ENGAGEMENTS: D+1

  1 Like Lions

  2 Throw Them into the Sea

  3 Going into the Attack

  4 A Picnic

  5 Performance Most Creditable

  6 Baptism at Authie

  7 Don’t Do Anything Crazy

  8 The Devil Danced

  PART TWO COUNTERSTRIKES: D+2 TO D+3

  9 Green As Grass

  10 Now You Die

  11 One Hell of a Good Scrap

  12 Fight to the Death

  13 Potential Menace Removed

  14 With Rage and Sorrow

  15 Too Great a Risk

  16 Fix Bayonets

  PART THREE SLUGGING MATCHES: D+4 TO D+6

  17 Getting Nowhere

  18 Attack at Once

  19 We’ve Been Sucked In

  20 Guess We Go

  21 Vive le Canada!

  EPILOGUE In the Shadow of D-Day

  APPENDIX A Canadians in Normandy: June 7–12, 1944

  APPENDIX B Canadian Infantry Battalion

  APPENDIX C Canadian Army, German Army, Waffen-ss Order of Ranks

  APPENDIX D The Decorations

  Notes

  Bibliography

  General Index

  Index of Formations, Units, and Corps

  EXTRA About the Book: Interview with Mark Zuehlke

  Read On: An Excerpt from Juno Beach

  PREFACE

  IN THE SPRING OF 2004, on the sixtieth anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, my book Juno Beach: Canada’s D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944 was released. Detailing the Canadian experience in that momentous event, it spanned a single day. My original plan had been to carry the story beyond June 6 and include the bitter fighting that raged between June 7 and June 12 as the Germans attempted to cast the invasion forces back into the icy English Channel. But it had been with good reason that Cornelius Ryan entitled his book on the invasion The Longest Day. So much transpired to so many Canadians during the landings, their fierce battle to win the sand, and then the deadly advance inland towards final objectives that the book threatened to grow to Tolstoy-like thickness. Phone calls were made, e-mails exchanged, and on a chilly December day my publisher Scott McIntyre and I agreed to divide the story. We opted to focus the spotlight of the second book on a period of history normally compressed, as I had originally planned, onto the back end of books about D-Day, or barely mentioned in broader works that cover the Normandy campaign or the entire war. Holding Juno is the result—the second in a planned series of works covering the Normandy campaign.

  To my knowledge, this is the first book purely dedicated to Canada’s role in the six days dubbed the bridgehead battle by Colonel C.P. Stacey, the Department of National Defence official historian of the World War II Northwest Europe campaign. I embarked on this idea with some trepidation. Did enough happen to the Canadians during those days to warrant lengthy treatment? Would there be enough historical documentation to unravel the ebb and flow of battle? Were these days a period that war veterans remembered with any clarity?

  I soon determined the answer to all these questions was an unqualified yes. Many veterans described this fight as the toughest they ever lived through, worse than D-Day itself. Delving into the unit war diaries, after-action reports, and regimental histories unearthed a vast amount of material. As had been the case with my other books on Canada’s experiences in World War II, the problem was not finding too little compelling material but rather discerning what must be set aside. It is especially difficult to decide that various accounts by veterans have to be excluded for simple want of space.

  As in earlier books, I have sifted veteran accounts here through the filter of official records generated by the military at the time, in order to create a narrative that honours their remembrance while remaining historically accurate. This is not a purely oral history where the story is confined to the memory of participants without interpretation or expansion. Such works have their place and merit, but often lack context that would enable readers unfamiliar with the period to align the experiences into an understandable whole. As is often the case, particularly as veteran memory fades with the passage of years, few can recall in full detail what they and comrades endured. Like creating a patchwork quilt, it is necessary to stitch one recollected detail in
front of, alongside, or behind incidents provided by other veterans, anchored together by historical record to create a fully realized account.

  I leave it to the men who lived through those days when none knew if they would be able to hold Juno Beach and ensure the invasion’s success to decide whether I came close to getting it right. They buried friends and brothers in the Norman soil and carried home with them countless images and emotions experienced during those terrible days of battle.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  WITHOUT THE WILLINGNESS of veterans to delve into the past and relate often painful, long-buried memories, a book such as this would not be possible. My thanks to all who did, and they are listed in the bibliography. Once again, I am greatly indebted to John Gregory Thompson of Ingersoll, Ontario for his interviews of veterans scattered throughout the southern part of that province. Ken MacLeod of Langley, B.C. shared his large collection of video and audio interviews conducted over many years. John Bardsley of Victoria took on the task of interviewing other veterans. At Royal Military College, Major Michael Boire provided interviews with lieutenant colonels Don Mingay and Ernest Côté—key officers in 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Michael also dug into the RMC records on my behalf and unearthed much material on the division’s three infantry brigadiers.

  David O’Keefe at the Black Watch Regimental Museum in Montreal provided essential information on Brigadier Ken Blackader that I would not otherwise have found. Staff and volunteers at other regimental museums and archives also generously assisted where they could. The Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto kindly opened their excellent library to my study. In Ottawa, staff at the Department of National Defence’s Directorate of Heritage and History, the Canadian War Museum library and archives, and Library and Archives Canada were as essential in helping me track down key documents. Carol Reid at the war museum’s archives deserves special mention. As does Roger Sarty, for helping me lay hands on vital documents covering the Royal Canadian Navy’s role in the bridgehead battles. In Victoria, staff of the University of Victoria’s Special Collections were once again a pleasure to work with and Doctor Reginald Roy’s collection is a treasure. A World War II veteran, the former Military History Chair at UVic used this position wisely, creating a notable library collection and vast oral and documentary archive.

  My friend Alex McQuarrie helped out yet another time by translating various documents written in French. Before he passed away, Colonel Tony Poulin did likewise. Blessed with a keen memory and soldier’s knowledge of strategy and tactics, he provided counsel in understanding how men acted and felt during World War II combat. Also generously contributing in this way was another friend, the late Colonel Strome Galloway. Readers will find some of the war experiences of these two brave soldiers in my three books detailing Canada’s role in the Italian Campaign.

  Professor Jack Granatstein permitted consultation of his files on Major General Rod Keller at York University.

  Rosalie A. Hartigan permitted me to quote passages from her late husband Dan Hartigan’s book, A Rising of Courage. Also used with permission from Battle Diary: From D-Day and Normandy to the Zuider Zee, by Charles Martin, are several passages by this former Queen’s Own Rifles Company Sergeant Major. Jean Portugal’s monumental seven-volume oral history We Were There was an incredible resource and it was a pleasure to meet this fine journalist and oral historian at the Royal Canadian Military Institute. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles Association (British Columbia Association) generously donated a copy of their compiled collection of veteran accounts entitled Perspectives. Similarly, the Regina Rifles provided The Recollections of the Regina Rifles.

  K.O. Moore and his wife went to great effort to track down the negative of the photograph taken of Moore and his bomber crew in order to provide a print for use in this book.

  Portions of this book were researched and developed in the fall of 2003 while I was writer-in-residence at Berton House in Dawson, Yukon. Thanks to Berton House Writer’s Society, the late Pierre Berton, and the Canada Council for the Arts for this opportunity.

  The dedication of my publisher Scott McIntyre at Douglas & McIntyre to supporting the production of books about Canada’s role in World War II has been vitally important. Many thanks to everyone on the D&M team for making the books look so good.

  Once again, Elizabeth McLean, my editor, agreed to tackle another book on battle. You’re a gem. C. Stuart Daniel made the battlefield and movements of troops easier to visualize with his, as always, fine map work. Carolyn Swayze, agent extraordinaire, continues to deftly manage financial and contractual complexities, enabling me to concentrate on writing.

  Last, but most importantly, I am blessed with the companionship of Frances Backhouse and look forward to having her by my side while we explore many more battlefields.

  [ INTRODUCTION ]

  Worse Than the Beach

  THE STORM THAT LASHED Juno Beach during the early morning assault landings, churning the grey sea into an icy cauldron, gradually eased during the long afternoon of D-Day. By dusk, the thin line of infantrymen and tankers strung along the cloven-hoofed Canadian front line was digging in under a clear sky. A close to full moon washed the terrain in a gentle light, and a warm breeze helped dry saltwater-soaked wool and canvas uniforms. Here, some six miles from the beach, the number of soldiers was painfully few and they were scattered into battalion-sized strongpoints largely isolated one from the other. Of the nine infantry battalions forming 3rd Canadian Infantry Division’s fighting teeth, six were on the immediate front line, while the remaining three provided a tenuous link along the main line of advance back to the supporting units busily building up the Canadian presence on the beach itself. All but one of the front-line battalions had taken part in the amphibious assault that had won the five-mile-long stretch of sand codenamed Juno Beach.

  Landing against a prepared German defence force deeply dug into heavily fortified positions, the battle for the beach had cost these battalions dearly. Piling off their landing craft into chest-deep water, the infantry had been whipped by bullets and exploding shells as they entered a maze of offshore steel and wood obstacles strung with mines. Behind them, many of the amphibious tanks that were to have led the way and suppress the Germans with point-blank fire from main guns and machine guns had foundered in six- to eight-foot waves.

  Amazingly, most of the soldiers, accompanied by a handful of Sherman tanks, had managed to struggle out of the icy water to cut a bloody path through the enemy pillboxes, gun pits, and firing positions, quickly winning toeholds inside the three towns forming the backbone of the German defensive line. Courseulles-sur-Mer on the western flank, Bernières-sur-Mer in the centre, and St. Aubin-sur-Mer to the east each fell in turn. By noon, the assault battalions were pressing inland—behind schedule, but on the move to reach the objectives the division had been assigned to win on this first day of the Allied invasion of Fortress Europe. Nine miles from Juno stood Carpiquet airport, a vital objective. Just to the north of the airport and fronting the Canadian line of advance was the Caen-Bayeux highway, which must be cut to deny its use by the enemy.

  With grim determination, the Canadians had marched out from the coastal towns towards these objectives and had been met by a foe equally determined to block or at least delay their advance. Tankers slugged it out with well-camouflaged antitank guns, while the infantry were brought under fire by snipers and one machine-gun position after another. The fields of Normandy were generally fenced by hedgerows the farmers called bocage, which provided excellent concealment until the advancing soldiers moved into the Germans’ pre-plotted kill zones. Almost as many men died or were wounded during the gruelling push inland as had fallen during the beach assault.

  By day’s end, despite having been the last of the five Allied divisions to land on D-Day, the Canadians were farther inland than any other. But they were still about three miles short of the assigned objectives. And the price paid by the assaulting battalions for the ground won on June 6 was stagger
ing. Of the 914 total Canadian casualties on D-Day, 696 were men of these six battalions. They were the Queen’s Own Rifles, North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, and Le Régiment de la Chaudière of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade and the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Regina Rifles, and Canadian Scottish Regiment of the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade. In support had been two tank regiments of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade—the 1st Hussars and the Fort Garry Horse. Landing on the heels of the leading brigades had been 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade’s North Nova Scotia Highlanders, Highland Light Infantry, and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders supported by 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade’s Sherbrooke Fusiliers. Also coming ashore in the wake of the assault brigades were the gunners of the division’s artillery field regiments—the 12th, 13th, 14th, and the seconded 19th Army Field Regiment. Late in the afternoon, the 3rd Anti-Tank Regiment and the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment arrived, the latter setting up its flak guns to help protect the beach from air attack.

  The Canadians had not landed on Juno Beach entirely alone. To enhance the fighting strength of the division, two squadrons of the 2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment crewed powerful 95-millimetre fort-buster Centaur tanks, while other British soldiers from the 5th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers brought their specialized assault tanks and armoured bulldozers into action.