Military Power

Very rarely does a battle plan go according to the dictates of the Commanding General. According to the plan for Operation Overlord- the 1944 invasion of Normandy, the Medieval city of Caen should have been captured on the first day, but due to a fierce counter-attack by the German 21sr Panzer Division on the afternoon of D-Day, coupled with problems getting supplies ashore over the beaches in the unexpectedly rough channel seas, the schedule had fallen behind. By the 9th June the Germans had dug in two Panzer Divisions (the 21st Panzer and the 12th SS 'Hitler Jugend') around the city to be held as a bastion for the high ground stretching from the South East to the North West that overlooked the landing beaches.

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's plan, envisaged on the 9th was for a three pronged attack. On his left the 51st (Highland) Division with the 4th Armoured Brigade would strike out of the 6th Airborne Division's bridgehead in the Orne valley to attack the town of Cagny, six miles to the east of Caen. In the centre the 3rd (Canadian) Infantry Division would strike directly towards Caen from the North, whilst on his right the 7th Armoured 'Desert Rats' Division with the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division protecting its flanks, would right-hook through through the towns of Villiers-Bogage, Noyer and Evrecy to attack the city from the West. If sucessful the 1st Airborne Division would then be dropped in to complete the encirclement.

Despite Montgomery's careful planning the battle started to go awray almost from the start. Early on the 10th an armoured battle group of the 21st Panzer Division supported by an Infantry Division launched its own attack down the Orne valley. The Highland Division had to be hastily redeployed to strengthen threatened points. The fighting continued for three days and became particularly severe when the Scots discovered that the Germans were shooting prisoners. The Black Watch were heavily involved in the most savage of hand to hand fighting. Finally after a heroic stand by 160 Paratroopers at Breville in which an entire German Battalion was destroyed at the cost of 141 casualties the Scots launched a Brigade attack which collided head on with Battle Group Luck. The German attack was brought to a bloody halt.

On the right too the 7th Armoured with elements of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division on its flanks also ran into trouble. Facing them were one of German's best Divisions-The Panzer Lehr Division commanded by General Fritz Bayerlein (formerly Rommel's Chief of Staff in North Africa) this division was drawn from experienced Instructors from Wehrmacht's training units, and was equipped with the very latest Armoured Vehicles; 45 ton Panthers armed with the long barreled 75mm gun; 56 ton Tigers with the powerful 88mm gun, and the new 67 ton Tiger II with an even more powerful 88mm gun.

The 7th Armoured by comparison had, to counter these big Panzers, only 30 ton Sherman and Cromwell tanks designed for fast manouvre. The shells from the British tanks bounced harmlessly of the thick armour of the German Panthers and Tigers and only the few 17 pdr Firefly tanks, Challenger and Achilles Tank Destroyers could inflict any real danger to the German tanks. The German armour dug in among the dense bocage hedgerows together with Panzer-Grenadiers, armed with sticky bombs and anti-tank guns, effectively stopped the Desert Rats from making any appreciable headway. Naval shelling and the intervention of Allied Fighter Bombers however managed to stop all German counter attacks, but despite bitter fighting in particular by the Green Howards and the Dragoon Guards at point 103 the battle to the west of Caen was stalemated

The Canadian attack from the North also ended in disaster. The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division, many riding on the tanks of the Canadian 6th Armoured Regiment soon came under intense fire from SS Panzer-Grenadiers hidden in rippling cornfields. Whilst the Canadian Infantry dismounted from the tanks to engage the Germans, the tanks continued onwards towards their objective. Arriving at Le Mesnil Patry the unsupported tank regiment were engaged by Panzers and anti-tank guns from St. Mauvieu on the left and Christot on the right. Soon 37 of the Regiments tanks were left burning in the fields and those that remained had to beat a hasty retreat in order not to be surrounded. The battle in this area became even more savage when it was learned that the SS were shooting unarmed prisoners. Kurt Meyer himself being personnally accused of the murder of 25 Canadian and one British Officer at a chateau near Caen.

Despite the casualties from this three days of savage fighting, the battle had however given valuable time to the Allied armies. In the first week of the Invasion not one armoured attack could be mounted by the Germans against the American sector, and more importantly it had given the Allies time to construct the Mulberry harbours over which even more supplies and reinforcements could be unloaded.