Juno
Beach 6th June 1944
Canadians
Landing on Juno Beach (NAC a137012)
Juno
Beach was the sector allocated to Major
General R.F.L.Keller's 3rd (Canadian) Division
on D Day. The right flank was the 7th Canadian
Infantry Brigade and 6th Canadian Armoured
Regiment from la Rivičre to Courseulles sur
Mer, in the middle was 9th Canadian Infantry
Brigade with 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment
(in reserve) from Courseulles to Berničres
sur Mer, and on the left 8th Canadian Infantry
Brigade with 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment
in front of St Aubin sur Mer. They were to be
assisted with specialist tanks from the
British 79th (Armoured) Division to clear
mines, and knock out pillboxes.
The
objective on D Day was firstly to land on the
beaches and secure all the villages on the
Divisional front. Then push inland to a line
ending on the Bayeux-Caen road.
Despite
some localised opposition, the landings went
generally very well with minimal casualties
and fewer than 400 dead in the entire
division. Although some D Day objectives were
not reached, in several places Canadian units
managed to push further inland than had been
planned.
THE
BATTLEFIELD TODAY
Being
now located in a popular sea-side resort, there has been a lot
of building along the Juno sector, however,
many bunkers still remain and the whole beach
area is littered with memorials to the
Canadian units that landed here on D Day. The
casualties from the action are buried at Beny
sur Mer Canadian War Cemetery.
At
Graye sur Mer is a good example of a Churchill
AVRE belonging to 26th Assault Squadron RE,
part of 79th (Armoured) Division attached to
the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade. The plaque
on the memorial reads:
"This
tank landed on Graye sur Mer at H Hour on D
Day and was stopped on its way inland 100 m
south of this spot. The members of its crew
were killed or wounded.
It
remains as a memorial to all those who gave
their lives here."
In
June 2003 a new Juno Beach Centre was
opened by the Canadian government. This
excellent museum is highly recommended and
will enhance any visit to this important part
of the Normandy coastline.
Email:
info@ddayancestors.com
