American sectors
Omaha Beach
Maisy's battery intake
While the 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry Regiment launched an assault on Grandcamp, another battalion of the same regiment advanced on Maisy. The Germans had installed two field batteries there: one at Maisy-la-Perruque (6 x 155 mm guns with a range of 20 km), the other at Maisy-la-Martinière (4 x 105 mm guns with a range of 8 km). Bombarded during the night of June 5-6, these batteries were quickly neutralized in the afternoon of June 6 by naval artillery fire. The only enemy resistance encountered by the American infantry and armored vehicles of the 743rd Battalion consisted of machine gun fire. To the west of the village, however, the passage was made more difficult by a fortified point consisting of 88 mm mortars. Running out of fuel and slowed down by the Germans, the American tanks and fighters paused during the night of the 8th to the 9th before resuming the action the following morning. The 116th Infantry Regiment and the 5th Rangers definitively captured the Maisy batteries in the evening after having taken the last resistance points around Grandcamp, Maisy, and Gefosse-Fontenay during the day.
The liberation of Etreham
A few kilometers south of Port-en-Bessin, Etreham awaits liberation by American troops who landed on Omaha Beach on June 6. Since June 8, the 1st Battalion of the 26th Regiment (1st U.S. Infantry Division) has been immobilized in front of the village. The infantrymen requested naval artillery support before launching the assault. The destroyer Baldwin was tasked with supporting the GIs before Etreham's liberation that morning. But the victory was mixed, as the German retreat was achieved through a narrow corridor between Sainte-Anne and Vaucelles. Despite this, 600 Germans were taken prisoner during the operation.
The liberation of Isigny
The village of Isigny represents a strategic point between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. It should have been taken on the very day of the D-Day landings, but the fierce fighting on the Omaha sands prevented the 29th Infantry Division from achieving this objective. On June 8, the Americans launched the 747th Tank Battalion against the village. At the same time, throughout the day, naval artillery relentlessly bombarded the German defenses, which had already been heavily pounded by American aircraft. The village was in ruins, nearly 80% destroyed. The assault was entrusted to the lead company of the 175th Infantry Regiment (29th Infantry Division), which crossed the lines during the night before liberating the village at 5 a.m. Isigny would have the honour of a visit from General de Gaulle when he came to Normandy to re-establish republican legality on 14 June 1944. With the capture of Isigny, the junction between the two American bridgeheads became more feasible.
Utah Beach
Crossing the Merderet
The third attempt to cross the Merderet River was successful after two initial failures on June 8. That day, Major General Gavin, deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, launched a new attack from the Fière causeway toward Cauquigny. With the help of smoke bombs and support from artillery and armored vehicles, the paratroopers managed to establish a foothold in Cauquigny around 11:00 a.m. and thus expand the bridgehead toward the other paratrooper forces isolated since June 6 west of the Merderet River. The losses in men were enormous. The commander of the 82nd Division, General Ridgway, set up his command post there for a time. This episode marked the end of the Battle of the Fière Bridge, in which the American paratroopers had lost many of their own since June 6.
3rd and final assault on the Azeville battery
Still able to halt the American advance with a last functioning 105 mm gun, the Azeville battery resisted repeated assaults by the 7nd Infantry Regiment (8th American Division) on June 22 and 4. On June 9, after an intense artillery preparation, the 22nd RI attacked again, but this time with flamethrowers. Thanks to the heroic action of Private Riley and his flamethrower, which notably succeeded in setting fire to the enemy's ammunition, Captain Treiber had no choice but to surrender with his 169 men. The regiment continued towards Quinéville and Ozeville, while the 12th Regiment (RCT) continued its march towards Montebourg after bypassing Azeville.
British sectors
Golden Beach
The liberation of Audrieu
Northeast of Tilly-sur-Seulles, Audrieu is located on the route of the 1st Dorset Regiment (50th British Infantry Division) which is marching towards Hill 103. On June 8, British troops accompanied by the armored vehicles of the 4/7th Dragoon Guards are at the gates of the town. Facing them, the German grenadiers of the 12th SS are well established. After fierce fighting, Audrieu is liberated during the night of the 8th to the 9th. But the British troops are stopped around Tilly-sur-Seulles by fire from another German division, the Panzer Lehr. Audrieu is then recaptured and occupied the same day by the Germans. Briefly occupied, since an order to withdraw is decided by the commander of the Panzer Lehr in the direction of Tilly. It was in this context that 26 Allied prisoners, most of them Canadians, were shot by the SS and later discovered around the Château de Pavie in Audrieu.
The beginning of the Battle of Tilly-sur-Seulles
Captured and recaptured 23 times between June 8 and June 19, the village of Tilly, southwest of Caen, was one of the objectives of General Graham's 50th Infantry Division, which landed on Gold Beach on June 6. Having reached the edge of Tilly, the British had been clashing since June 8 with troops from the Panzer-Lehr Division, which had just arrived on the Normandy front and positioned itself to the east of the 12th SS. By June 9, all passage was now prohibited by the Germans, who had consolidated their defenses with all the armored elements of the Panzer-Lehr, whose headquarters was established on a farm south of Tilly, equidistant from Villers-Bocage. Tilly in German hands was to force the Allies to change their plan: to break through the front west of Caen, they would now have to bypass this enemy position by carrying out their attack towards Caumont-L'éventé and Villers-Bocage.
Sword Beach
New attack on Cambes-en-Plaine
Cambes-en-Plaine has been on the list of objectives of the British 3rd Infantry Division since June 6. All offensives so far have been met with troops from the 21st Panzer Division or the SS of the 12th Panzer Division. A new attempt was entrusted on June 9 to the 2nd Royal Ulster Rifles with the support of armored vehicles from the 1st East Riding Yeomanry. After an artillery preparation carried out offshore by HMS Danae, the assault was launched in very violent fighting. Losses were heavy: 250 men were lost, including 45 killed. The village remained under German fire, the infantrymen dug in under the fire of the unleashed German artillery. Cambes-en-Plaine would be definitively liberated by the Allies during Operation Charnwood in early July 1944.
Last mission for the French battleship Le Courbet
Having taken refuge in England in June 1940 and assigned to defend Portsmouth Harbour during the Battle of Britain, the battleship Courbet served as a training ship and then as a barracks ship for General de Gaulle's Free French Naval Forces. Four years later, it received its final assignment: to berth off Sword Beach to serve as a breakwater off Ouistreham and Colleville. Admiral Wietzel, the ship's commander, was appointed to lead it to the Normandy coast. After being berthed amidships with the Gooseberry 4, the Courbet scuttled itself at 5:13 p.m., landing in 30 m of water. As a final provocation to the Germans, it flew the tricolor flag with the Cross of Lorraine for the occasion. It was torpedoed by the Germans on the night of August 11-16, 17.
The large bunker of Ouistreham falls into the hands of the English
In Ouistreham-Riva Bella, overlooking the sea, the fire control post was built by the Germans starting in 1942 as part of the construction of the Atlantic Wall. Standing 17 meters tall and spread over 5 levels, this concrete tower provided an exceptional vantage point for German artillery observers who had installed their rangefinders on the fifth level. It was this observation post that was responsible for giving firing instructions to the 6 guns of the artillery battery installed facing the sea. When the British commandos landed on Sword Beach and advanced towards Riva Bella, the surprise was complete. This fortification was not identified on aerial photographs, and does not appear on the surveys provided by the French Resistance. However, the British knew that 6 155 mm guns had been installed near the port locks. But that morning, the artillery pieces had disappeared; they had been moved to the rear towards Saint-Aubin-d'Arquenay to be sheltered from the bombing. For three days, the British ignored this concrete tower, which clearly posed no danger. Until the engineer troops realized it was still occupied. In the evening, the decision was made to launch the assault. The fire control post fell into the hands of Lieutenant Bob Orrell and three of his men from the Royal Engineers. After entering the bunker by destroying the armored door with explosive charges, they took prisoner the garrison of 53 German soldiers who had been living there since June 6.
The Canadian sector
The Canadians stop the SS at Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse
Located on the Paris-Cherbourg railway line, Bretteville-l'Orgueilleuse was liberated on June 7 by infantrymen of the Regina Rifles Regiment. With the failure of their advance towards Authie, the Canadians feared a possible German counterattack on their left flank. This occurred during the night of June 8-9, when about twenty panzers from the 12th SS and infantry elements under the command of Kurt Meyer attacked due west from the village of Rots. The engagement was furious on both sides, with fighting taking place all the way to the center of the village. The Canadians resisted until dawn, forcing the SS grenadiers and Meyer's armored vehicles to withdraw to Rots. The Germans left a dozen armored vehicles on the ground in this withdrawal. On the morning of June 9, the Canadian battalion had 170 killed in its ranks, but for the first time Kurt Meyer had to retreat on the Normandy front.
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles annihilated at Putot-en-Bessin
Located on the N13 between Bayeux and Caen, Putot-en-Bessin was liberated on June 7 by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, one of the battalions of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. The liberation was short-lived. On the evening of June 8, a terrible counterattack led by the 26th Regiment of the German 12th SS wiped out three infantry companies and forced the Canadians to withdraw. After the fighting, 256 men were missing, including around 1 killed. However, the village of Putot was not lost, thanks to the 125st Canadian Scottish Regiment, which took over. But for this unit, the price to pay was heavy: 45 casualties, including 45 killed. Another XNUMX Canadian soldiers captured in Putot were summarily executed by the Germans in the Audrieu region.
German forces
The 2nd Panzer Division sets out
Engaged on all fronts since the invasion of Poland in 1939, von Lüttwitz's 2nd Panzer Division was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and rested in the Amiens region since the winter of 1943-1944. On the night of June 8-9, the unit's 15 men and 900 tanks were put on alert. The motorized columns immediately set off for the Normandy front, while the tracked vehicles were transported by rail. In excellent condition, very well trained, and highly experienced, this armored division was a significant reinforcement preparing to enter the battle. The first elements would be in place in Normandy between Villers-Bocage and Caumont-L'éventé on June 200. To confront the Allied forces, however, von Lüttwitz would have to do without the armoured vehicles whose delivery had been considerably slowed by the destruction of bridges and railways.
Von der Heydte retreats to Carentan
At the head of the 6th German Parachute Regiment, Friedrich von der Heydte had been fighting tirelessly in the Carentan sector since the 101st Airborne Division's parachute drop in the early hours of June 6. The "Lions of Carentan," as the American paratroopers nicknamed them, were determined to hold this key, a strategic position between the two American beaches of Utah and Omaha. Since June 6, elements of the German 6th Regiment had held on to Houesville, repelling all American offensives, until the paratroopers of the 502nd Regiment drove them out on June 9 after two days of intense fighting. Von der Heydte had given in but had taken care to organize the withdrawal of his men to Carentan by crossing the marshes. With this German withdrawal, the Americans' task of capturing Carentan proved even more difficult.
Civilians in war
The bombing of the Rodney
In Caen, heavy naval bombardment took place during the night. Around 2:00 a.m., the 72-meter bell tower of Saint-Pierre church collapsed into the nave, probably hit by a 406 mm shell fired from the waters off Sword Beach by the HMS Rodney. A fire ensued, destroying the building's roof.
A large portion of the population continued to evacuate the city, particularly heading for the underground quarries of Fleury-sur-Orne. Reception centers for civilians remained full at the Bon-Sauveur Hospital, the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, the Malherbe High School, and the Caen quarries.
The Saint-Lô underground
Much of the city was destroyed by aerial bombardments on June 6 and 7, and 500 to 600 people were killed by bombs. To escape the Allied raids, hundreds of civilians spontaneously sought refuge in a large underground gallery dug by the Germans beginning in March 1943 under the city's rock. When the D-Day landings took place, the work was not yet completed, but the two large rooms and side galleries could be used for shelter during the bombings, but also to house the sick from the nearby civilian hospital. The Germans, who had authorized the occupation of the premises by the Saint-Lois, also housed some of their wounded and American prisoners there. But the place was not conducive to life; water and electricity were running out, and hygiene conditions were deplorable. The Germans ordered the evacuation on the morning of June 9. The last occupants left the area in the afternoon to begin their exodus, while the sick and wounded were taken to the stud farm. At the same time, Field Marshal Montgomery ordered General Bradley to advance south toward Saint-Lô.
