#7
Post
by Benoit Douville » 01 Dec 2002, 18:58
Bruce,
The final attack to take Caen was scheduled on july 7 1944 by Anglo-Canadian troops. The spectacular sight of hundred of Bombers dropping thousands of tons of explosives on the enemy raised the spirits of the Canadians assault troops. The Germans had been shaken by the weight of the onslaught but hardly erased as an effective fighting force. Most of them were well dug-in on the outskirts of Caen in areas wich ahd not been targeted.
The Canadians ran headlong into their old nemesis, the 12 SS Hitler Jujend division. The fighting rage all day and it was one of the fierciest battles in World War II. Finally the 9 brigade captured an SS headquarters after a harsh struggle that continued well after dark, the flames and explosions illuminating the night sky. The following day, july 9, the Canadians carefully cleared Caen of its snipers, mines, and booby traps. Altogether, more Canadians were killed and wonded liberating the city than on D-Day itself. It had taken a month longer than planned but, thanks in large part of the efforts of the 3rd Canadian division, Caen was at last in Allied hands. Most of the Germans, however, had escaped to safety over the Orne River.
Regards