Juno Beach

Unit Force

Opposing Forces

• 716. Grenadier-Regiment
• 21. Panzer-Division

Operation

Juno is the codename for the beach assigned to the Canadian 3^rd Infantry Division. Situated in the middle of the British sector, between Gold to the west and Sword to the east, this beach stretches 7 kilometres between the villages of Graye-sur-Mer and St-Aubin-sur-Mer.

The coast in this area is defended by elements of the 726. Regiment and 736. Regiment and is dotted with numerous concrete bunkers forming a thin defensive line. Along the beach, the gaps between the pillboxes are filled with rows of wooden posts, wooden or concrete tetrahedrons, and metal gates (also called Belgian gates) driven into the sand facing the sea.

Juno Beach is divided into two sectors: Mike (Green and Red) west of Courseulles and Nan (Green, White, and Red) between Courseulles and St-Aubin-sur-Mer.

According to plans, the assault will be conducted by two brigades attacking side by side, with the 7th Brigade to the west on Mike Green, Mike Red, and Nan Green, and the 8th Brigade to the east on Nan White and Nan Red.

For D-Day, the objectives of the 3^rd Infantry Division are to reach the Caen-Bayeux road, capture the Carpiquet airfield west of Caen, and link up with the British forces coming from Gold and Sword.

The Attack

On the Canadian beaches, H-Hour is set for 10 minutes later than on the other British beaches to allow the landing ships to pass over the Bernières reefs. However, the rough sea delays the crafts by another 10 minutes, resulting in the 7^th Brigade landing at 07:45 hours and the 8^th Brigade at 07:55. By the time they land, the rising tide has already covered many of the beach obstacles.

In some areas, demolition teams have managed to clear lanes, but not across the entire beach. Consequently, 25% of the landing craft are destroyed by submerged obstacles. Initially, German defensive fire is light, but it becomes very heavy once the first men hit the beach, as most of the concrete works are designed to enfilade the beach rather than fire directly towards the sea.

Once they secure the beach defences, the Canadian troops begin clearing various resistance nests before pushing inland. The villages of Graye-sur-Mer, Courseulles, and Bernières are captured in the morning, but the strong point at St. Aubin resists until late afternoon.

The advance inland encounters little resistance. French civilians are hidden away in their cellars, and German forces are scarce. Understrength units and the concentration of all their men on the first line of defence leave the rear areas behind the coast completely undefended.

By the end of D-Day, the Canadians can be pleased with the success of their landing. Their troops are firmly dug in along a line running between Creully, Pierrepont, and Colomby-sur-Thaon, 8 kilometres inland. The 7th Brigade links up with the British from Gold Beach at Creully, and a Sherman troop of the 1st Hussars advances to Secqueville on RN 13 before turning back. To the east, the junction with troops coming from Sword Beach cannot be made due to a counter-attack by the 192nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment, which reaches the sea between Lion-sur-Mer and Luc-sur-Mer, but without further effect.

The Caen-Carpiquet airfield, one of the day’s objectives, will not be captured until early July.

On the Canadian beaches, 3,200 vehicles and 2,500 tons of material are landed. The Canadian casualties are 1,074 men, including 359 killed

Multimedia

Photographs