The plight of another European front left most soldiers feeling weak
in the knees. The First World War had been a shocking awakening of Canada’s
citizens to the horrors of war. Canadian soldiers, often ill-equipped
and untrained showed a spirit of perseverance in light of the trench
warfare of World War I. Within the WWI Canada had gained such a good
reputation that the German army feared being put up against the Canadian
troops.
World War II was not much different in terms of Canadians making a strong
contribution to the War effort. With their reputation in tact, Canadians
were looked to for missions that were often seen as ‘lost causes’.
Canadians did their utmost to secure and hold the fronts where they
were asked to be a part of the offensives against the Nazi forces.
One of the most important battles that Canadians would face was the
invasion of Normandy. The Allied forces would attack the German stronghold,
resulting in massive numbers of German soldiers being killed in the
midst of the battle. Over 300,000 German soldiers were lost or injured
in the battle of Normandy compared to losses and injuries totalling
18,444 Canadians, of these 5,021 would never return to Canada.
The attack on Normandy would have to be extremely well executed. The
first concern was to make sure that nobody would be able to intercept
the plans for the attack on Normandy. The Allied forces could not risk
the Germans gaining knowledge into the surprise attack. The Allies even
went so far as to create a ‘fake’ army that would serve
to act as a decoy for the German forces.
The strategic nature of this offensive was of extreme importance to
striking a crippling blow against Hitler and his troops. The Allied
Forces, comprised of Great Britain, Canada and the United States would
comprise the waves of soldiers for this initiative. Canadians had long
since proved their worth as soldiers, often untrained with substandard
supplies the Canadians continued to stand up to some of the toughest
German forces.
“The invasion plan called for five infantry divisions to wade
ashore on a fifty-mile (eighty kilometre) stretch of the French coast.”
The battle would involve airmen, seamen, and the first Canadian parachute
battalion as well as infantry divisions.
The offensive would only
work if the Allies could divert attention away from the Canadian troops
that would be landing on the beach. Aerial and naval attacks would be
launched in an attempt to divert attention, allowing the Canadian soldiers
to land. D-Day was fast approaching and many of the Canadian soldiers
had yet to face Hitler’s army in the battlefield. June 5, 1944
would see the beginning of the D-Day offensives and the war taking a
positive turn for the Allies.
Poor weather, resulting in choppy waters, made it impossible for the
Allied Forces to implement their plan on June 5, 1944. The forces would
await a break in the weather to slip in, undetected, and drive the German
forces back.
The Allied forces saw success on June 6, 1944 as the plan was put into
action. Out of all the Canadian divisions that were a part of this offensive,
only one of these units actually made it to their target. By nightfall,
the Canadian forces had pushed through enemy lines and had taken a position
inside the enemy lines. In fact, the Canadians were the only group out
of the Allied Forces that succeeded in pushing so far inland.
This would not be the end of the German forces, however, they would
launce a counterattack hoping to regain that which was lost. The troops
would encounter one of their bloodiest encounters when they advanced
into an area where the “…German 12th SS Panzer Division
which consisted of fanatical Hitler Jugend. These inexperienced 18 year
olds proved willing to die for their Fuehrer.”
The Canadians had never encountered a division like the Panthers and
their lack of experience against these highly trained troops would prove
to be very costly in terms of Canadian lives and injuries. The anti-tank
battalions would see massive losses as the Germans tanks destroyed the
Allied tanks. Without the protection from the tanks, Canadian soldiers
had to engage in hand-to-hand battle with the German soldiers. This
type of combat was even more difficult to tolerate as you could actually
look into the enemy’s eyes and see a person instead of a philosophy
such as Nazism.
The following day saw the Canadian forces return to battle with SS forces,
the outcome would not be any less costly than the day before had been.
Canadians suffered large number of wounded but still went on to fight
even though they had been wounded by artillery fire.
The regiment's war
diary recorded, "The whole sky was lit up by blazing roofs and burning
tanks....” Only some inspired work with PIATs (the infantry's
anti-tank weapon) and the propitious arrival of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers'
Shermans salvaged a desperate situation. "Everyone fought magnificently
and although the picture looked black, there was no sign of wavering
anywhere."
The Canadian troops were provided a lesson in the strength of their
foes, but still the Canadian forces held their ground, preventing the
German forces from breaking through the front. It was a baptism by fire
for the Canadian troops and it was reflected in almost 600 causalities
in a two-day period. The German soldiers learned something of the Canadian
forces, it was a costly lesson for the Germans and they would have to
reconsider the way they would approach battle with Canadian troops.
The war was far from over, the troops would have to maintain ground
and advance further into the German territory to make a difference.
“Just over 1,000 Canadians had died, nearly 2,000 had been wounded,
and more suffered from battle exhaustion. But the Canadians had secured
their portion of the Allied bridgehead.”
The source of the quotes within this article is the
Canadian Veteran Affiars site
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