D-Day (Operation Overlord) started on June 6, 1944. The Allies needed a French harbour from which to supply and sustain a successful invasion force. The Canadian landings on Juno Beach were one of the most successful operations carried out on D-Day. Juno Beach was one of the sectors of the Normandy coast. Juno was the randomly chosen code-name for a five-mile stretch of the Normandy coastline. This includes the villages of St. Aubin and Bernières and the small port town of Courseulles-sur-Mer.
The Nazi’s ignored Normandy partly because the British purposely leaked false information to deceive the Axis into thinking they planned an attack much later then actually planned. “Garbo” (Juan Pujol Garcíaa) was a reliable source of information on Allied intentions to Hitler and his intelligence agencies. Garbo was actually a double agent working for the British. The Nazi’s continued to believe his reports about a second invasion front long after D-Day.
Strategies
Operation Overlord was supposed to commence on June 5th, but do to bad weather it was delayed by one day. As soldiers waited in their camps, they studied maps, photographs and three-dimensional models of the invasion beaches, constructed from information collected over the previous months. The models and pictures showed the layout of the Normandy coastline and important landmarks so that every officer and soldier would know their objectives and what awaited them.
How it Transpired
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When the order "down ramp" came, there was nothing to do but race for the sea wall, suffering through the mortar and heavy machine gun fire. The armoured vehicles were only able to offer fire support during the final stages of the fight to overcome the Bernières' resistance nest.
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The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and the Regina Rifles found the enemy defenses untouched by the bombardment. The bombardment having failed to kill a single German soldier or destroy one weapon, they had to storm their positions and did so without hesitation. The cost of 61 killed and 76 wounded was the highest price paid by any Canadian battalion of D-Day.
Weapons Used
Bombardment was used to lower the german defences. The Lee-Enfield rifle and the Bren light machine-gun were the basic Canadian infantry weapons used during the assault. Grenades, the Sten gun, mortars, Vickers medium machine-guns, the PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank), and light anti-aircraft guns were used as the fire power. Tanks, and artillery worked in close cooperation with infantry to provide additional fire support on the battlefield.