The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between German forces occupying Western Europe and invading Allied forces seeking to land on, and liberate, the European mainland as part of the larger conflict of World War II. The Normandy invasion, codenamed Operation Overlord, still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the English Channel from England to Normandy in then German-occupied France.
The Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach faced 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns, as well as machine-gun nests, pillboxes, other concrete fortifications, and a seawall twice the height of the one at Omaha Beach. The first wave suffered 50 percent casualties, the second highest of the five D-Day beachheads.
Despite the obstacles, within hours the Canadians were off the beach and beginning their advance inland. The 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) was the only Allied unit to meet its June 6 objectives, when it crossed the Caen–Bayeux highway over nine miles (15 km) inland.
By the end of D-Day, 15,000 Canadians had been successfully landed, and the 3rd Canadian Division had penetrated further into France than any other Allied force, despite having faced such strong resistance at the beachhead. The 21st Panzer division launched the first D-Day counterattack between Sword and Juno beaches, and the Canadians held against several stiff counterattacks by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend on June 7 and 8.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Battle of Normandy”.
06 Jun 06
12:06 pm
Thanks to you for putting this together and to all those in the images who have been all but forgotten by some today.
07 Jun 06
12:43 am
You need only thank the hero’s who were part of the war effort.
08 Aug 06
10:39 pm
TY for the video; it made me cry…My Dad was there with the 1st Hussars out of London , Ontario, Canada (Tank Regiment)
08 Sep 06
9:07 pm
Thanks for using my video in your blog, glad you liked it.
26 Sep 06
9:33 pm
On your video…you can see a German throwing their version of a grenade,,,I remember my Dad referring to them as ‘Gerries’ or ‘Jerries’ and they were throwing ‘tomato mashers’
27 Sep 06
7:15 am
They are called potatoe mashers, mainly because it resembled the shape of a potatoe masher.
07 Nov 06
4:46 pm
Dear sir/miss,
my name is Zubin Mathew. I am from T.H. Rogers Middle School. My partner and I need an interview for History Fair. May we please, with your permission, interview you.
Sincerely,
Zubin Mathewa
PS: We need someone wich was at the actual battle/s
16 Nov 06
11:29 pm
My Father Company Sergeant Major Howard S.Webb landed on
Juno with the 48 HIGHLANDS and went through France,
Belgium,Holland into Germany and in Italy in 1943
Born in TORONTO and died in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1962
26 Jan 07
1:19 am
Thank you for this video my grandmother (dad’s side) was a citizen in Normandy and my grandfather (mom’s side) was a soldier (NOT FOR THE NAZIS!) an he’s dead now. I hope you don’t mind but we played his at his funeral. Just in case you waanted to know, he didn’t die in battle but of a desease in his brain aused by the impat on his head from being so lose to the tanks’ cannons
26 Jan 07
3:02 am
I’m glad you liked my movie, I am also honoured that you used my movie at his funeral. My prayers are with you and your family in this time of lose. RIP
Kenney
06 Jun 07
9:49 am
What a great piece you’ve done here. approach the subject, the mediums you used helps viewers, along with folks interested in the subject, get a real clear message. Thanks for the time and effort you put into it. “Lest We Forget”.
13 Jun 07
10:55 am
Hi nice web page found it interesting ,have visited a lot of the battle fields over the past years ,nor being a soldier of the era found it very disturbing at times by the eary silence . almost hear .
16 Sep 07
8:50 am
I am from the Philippines, as a college student, we were asked to document the battle in Normandy, and much to my expectation of odd dates and time lines, I discovered the true value of bravery and freedom.
To all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the war, hats off and we salute all of them.
Thank you for giving that part of the world the freedom.
May you are all happy now in heaven.
15 Jan 08
8:22 am
If anyone can help me I would appreciate it a lot. I am a senior in high school and doing my history fair project on D-day if anyone has information I would really appreciate it. Thanks
06 May 09
10:01 am
he;lo