Although not officially invited to any of the D-Day Ceremonies twelve members, four from each of the three Legion Branches in Germany traveled to Normandy on Tuesday 05 June 2001 to partake in a battle tour of the Normandy area conducted by the Zone Commander, Thomas J. Andrews.
Accommodations were arranged at the French Military Barracks in Bretteville-sur-Odon, which is located just west of the city of Caen near the airport. All parties had arrived by 1800 hours and after getting rooms sorted out in the barracks a small reception was held in the canteen. That evening we all went to the near by town of Carpiquet for supper.
Early rise the next morning, 06 June, had breakfast at the mess after which we drove to Bayeux Commonwealth War Cemetery where we laid a wreath and visited the museum.
BAYEUX WAR CEMETERY (3843 burials)
There was little actual fighting in Bayeux, although it was the first French town of importance to be liberated. Bayeux is the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War in France and contains burials brought in from the surrounding districts and from hospitals that were located nearby. The cemetery lies on the south-west side of the ring road around the city of Bayeux, 100 meters east of the junction with the D5 to Littry.
BAYEUX MEMORIAL (1808 names)
The Bayeux Memorial stands opposite the war cemetery and bears the names of men of the Commonwealth forces who died in the Battle of Normandy and have no known grave. The inscription on the frieze of the memorial recalls the Norman Conquest of England 900 years before:
'NOS A GULIELMO VICTI VICTORIS PATRIAM LIBERAVIMUS'
('We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land').
The Battle of Normandy Museum lies 200 meters east of the Memorial. This museum was well worth a visit, it has everything even a picture of John Wallace, unfortunately it would take a week or so to take advantage of all the displays.
From Bayeux we drove to St Laurent-sur-Mer and visited the Omaha Museum and then down the hill from there to Omaha Beach where the 1st US Army landed. Here we had lunch while being entertained by a drive past of WW II vehicles and an old Dakota done several fly-pasts.
In the afternoon we traveled along the beach until we reached Courseuelles-sur-Mer where the Canadians landed on D-Day probably better known as Juno Beach. We spent some time along the beach area and visited the Arromanches Museum. The museum has a super display which is a model mock-up of the Winston Churchill "Mulberry's" including excellent film footage of the artificial floating harbour that was brought from England actually towed across the channel and assembled in the harbour a truly amazing engineering feat of that time.
This morning in the parking lot of the Battle of Normandy Museum in Bayeux we met the director and members of the Juno Beach Centre project. They were totally unaware there were Royal Canadian Legion Branches in Germany (Sound Familiar!). They asked us if we would attend the Canadian D-Day Commemorative Ceremonies to be held at Courseulles-sur-Mer at 1800 hours. Here they would plant a couple of maple trees and unveil a model of the new centre that will open on 06 June 2002. The Zone Commander said we would not only attend but would provide a Colour Party in honour of the occasion to which they were absolutely delighted.
An overview of the Juno Beach Centre project. The Juno Beach Centre will be built at Courseulles-sur-Mer on the Normandy Coast in France. Courseulles-sur-Mer is a community on Juno Beach, the beach assigned to Canadian forces on D-Day, June 6th 1944. The town served as a headquarters for Canadian troops following the landing and was the site at which Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill and King George VI first visited soon after the allied troops had landed in Europe.
On D-Day, the Regina Rifles, Canadian Scottish Regiment, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, 1st Hussars supported by Royal Canadian Engineers and the 12th and 13th Field Regiments (Artillery) made their landings here. The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the Regiment de la Chaudiere, supported by the 14th and 19th Field Regiments, Royal Canadian Artillery landed at the eastern end of Juno Beach.
While the Juno Beach Centre will be located at the site of the D-Day landing, the museum and information Centre will have a much broader purpose. The Juno Beach Centre will be an educational facility designed for both adults and children. The town of Courseulles-sur-Mer has provided a superb five-acre piece of land on the Normandy Coast, which is now, a trailer park overlooking the English Channel. On this land a new facility of 10,000 square feet will be built to house the Centre. The village of Courseulles-sur-Mer is located just behind and to the left of the picture above.
On completion of the ceremony our group drove to the Beny-sur Mer Canadian War Cemetery where we held a ceremony and laid a wreath.
BENY-SUR-MER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY, REVIERS (2048 burials)
Most of those buried in this cemetery are of the 3rd Canadian Division, who died either on 6 June when 355 of the Division's officers and men were killed. Or during the early days of the advance towards Caen when the Division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division.
The village of Reviers lies 18 km east of Bayeux on the D12. The cemetery is 1 km east of the village on the north side of the road.
Following this we drove into Caen and went to a Chinese Restaurant for supper and back to barracks following a full day of activities.
On 07 June after breakfast we headed for Argentan but our little convoy got separated and that was the last we seen of the group from Geilenkirchen for the rest of the day. We did meet up with the group from Baden at Mont-Ormel where the Polish Memorial is located on a site that overlooks the area where the Battle of the Falaise Pocket took place. Located at this monument there is a new museum that over looks the battlefield and tells the story of the closing of the Falaise pocket.
Panorama of the Falaise gap seen from the Polish position
The Germany found themselves trapped with the north wall of the pocket contained the 2nd SS Panzer while the south wall contained 47 Panzer Corps, 5th Panzer and the remnants of the 7th Army. Initially the pocket was 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. Basically the Canadians and Polish were pressing from the north, the Americans from the south and the British and French from the west. By mid August the pocket was 2 miles wide with St. Lambert on the west boundary and Chambois on the east. Parallel and to the west of highway D 13 which joins these villages is the River Dives which is only 5 to 10 feet wide but with shear banks 6 to 8 feet high forming a natural Anti Tank barrier. There was a bottleneck around the three man made crossings which were a stone bridge to the rear of St. Lambert, at Ford and at a small hamlet of Moissy half way between St Lambert and Chambois , additionally all lanes in the area leading to the river passed through the village of Tounai-sur-Dives ) Therefore the corridor was only a few hundred yards wide to three possible crossing points. What took place in this battle can be best summed up as follows:
The View at "The Gap" known to the Germans as "Das Korridor des Todes" (The Corridor of Death); It was like an avenging Angel had swept the area bent on destroying all things German. On the ground there was ten thousand corpses and thousands of horses. The Canadian Engineers dug a trench 75 feet deep and a half a mile long to bury over 10,000 bodies. The British 2nd Operation Research Section found 187 Tanks and SP Guns, 157 Armored Cars, 252 Artillery Pieces, 1778 Trucks and 669 Cars.
Following the visit to the Polish museum we stopped at the village of Chambois where we had dinner at a country type restaurant with good food, friendly service and good prices.
Across the street from the restaurant is a monument that depicts the place where the allies met after the battle. Canadians, Americans, British, Polish and French Armies that were involved in the operation to close the Falaise Gap.
On the way back to the town of Falaise we stopped at a monument dedicated to Major Currie who was awarded the Victoria Cross in the action to close the Falaise Gap. In Normandy on the 18th of August 1944, Major Currie was in command of a small mixed force of Canadian tanks, self-propelled anti-tank guns and infantry which was ordered to cut one of the main escape routes from the Falaise pocket.
This force was held up by strong enemy resistance in the village of St. Lambert-sur-Dives, and two tanks were knocked out by 88 mm. guns. Major Currie immediately entered the village alone on foot at last light through the enemy outposts to reconnoiter the German defences and extricate the crews of the disabled tanks, which he succeeded in doing in spite of heavy mortar fire.
Early the following morning, without any previous artillery bombardment, Major Currie personally led an attack on the village in the face of fierce opposition from enemy tanks, guns and infantry, and by noon had succeeded in seizing and consolidating a position halfway inside of the village.
During the next 36 hours the Germans hurled one counter-attack after another against the Canadian force, but so skillfully had Major Currie organized his defensive position that these attacks were repulsed with severe casualties to the enemy after heavy fighting.
At dusk on the 20th August the Germans attempted to mount a final assault on the Canadian positions, but the attacking force was routed before it could even be deployed. Seven enemy tanks, twelve 88 mm. guns and forty vehicles were destroyed, 300 Germans were killed, 500 wounded and 2,100 captured. Major Currie then promptly ordered an attack and completed the capture of the village, thus denying the Chambois-Trun escape route to the remnants of two German armies cut off in the Falaise pocket.
Throughout three days and nights of fierce fighting, Major Currie's gallant conduct and contempt for danger set a magnificent example to all ranks of the force under his command.
On one occasion he personally directed the fire of his command tank on to a Tiger tank, which had been harassing his position and succeeded in knocking it out. During another attack, while the guns of his command tank were taking on other targets at longer ranges, he used a rifle from the turret to deal with individual snipers who had infiltrated to within fifty yards of his headquarters. The only time reinforcements were able to get through to his force, he himself led the forty men forward to their positions and explained the importance of their task as part of the defence. When, during the next attack, these new reinforcements withdrew under the intense fire brought down by the enemy, he personally collected them and led them forward into position again, where, inspired by his leadership, they held for the remainder of the battle. His employment of the artillery support, which became available after his original attack went in, was typical of his cool calculation of the risks involved in every situation. At one time, despite the fact that short rounds were falling within fifteen yards of his own tank, he ordered fire from medium artillery to continue because of its devastating effect upon the attacking enemy in his immediate area.
Throughout the operations the casualties to Major Currie's force were heavy. However, he never considered the possibility of failure or allowed it to enter the minds of his men. In the words of one of his non-commissioned officers, "We knew at one stage that it was going to be a fight to the finish but he was so cool about it, it was impossible for us to get excited." Since all the officers under his command were either killed or wounded during the action, Major Currie virtually had no respite from his duties and in fact obtained only one hour's sleep during the entire period. Nevertheless he did not permit his fatigue to become apparent to his troops. Throughout the action took every opportunity to visit weapon pits and other defensive posts to talk to his men, to advise them as to the best use of their weapons and to cheer them with words of encouragement. When his force was finally relieved and he was satisfied that the turnover was complete he fell asleep on his feet and collapsed.
There can be no doubt that the success of the attack on and stand against the enemy at St. Lambert-sur-Dives can largely be attributed to this officer's coolness, inspired leadership and skillful use of the limited weapons at his disposal. The courage and devotion to duty shown by Major Currie during a prolonged period of heavy fighting were outstanding and had a far-reaching effect on the successful outcome of the battle.'
We visited a museum in Falaise. The museum was old but had a lot of interesting war machinery especially German vehicles, tanks and guns. They also had a display of the town of Falaise and what it looked like after the battles in that area there was not a building that was not damaged and most were destroyed completely.
After Falaise we drove to the Canadian War Cemetery at Bretteville-sur Laize where we again held a ceremony and laid a wreath. We had seen that the group from Geilenkirchen had been there earlier in the day since they had as well laid a wreath. Often we get requests from family members in Canada to search out individual gravesites, so following the ceremony we located and photographed several individual graves.
BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY (2957 burials)
Buried here are those who died during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the thrust southward - led initially by the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Divisions - to close the Falaise Gap, thus sealing off the German divisions fighting to escape being trapped west of the Seine. Most of the burials are Canadian, with almost every unit of the Canadian 2nd Corps represented in the cemetery.
This cemetery lies on the west side of the N158, the main road from Caen to Falaise, about 14 km south of Caen and just north of the village of Cintheaux.
Later that afternoon we drove to Authie loosing the Branch 001 group as we proceeded to visit and lay a floral bouquet on the grave of our dear friend and comrade Robert Bennett. We then went by his house to say hello to his widow and she told us that there was a ceremony in the garden of the Abbaye d'Ardenne so we went to the ceremony at the Abbey. The ceremony is conducted to honour the twenty victims of murder that took place at the Abbaye d'Ardenne. The existing bronze plaque attached to the monument contains their names in memory. The ceremony was well attended by dignitaries as well as members of the victims families laying flowers as each of their names were called in honour. Witnesses during the war trials stated that these Canadian Prisoners of War were led one at a time into the garden and shot in the back of the head by one of the SS NCO's who at the time was serving under the Command of Brigadfueher Kurt (Panzer) Meyer.
After the ceremony at the Abbaye d'Ardenne we drove back to Authie and visited the memorial dedicated to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. The bronze plaque on the monument reads "ON JUNE, 7TH 1944, IN THIS TOWN AND IN THE SURROUNDING FIELDS, THE NORTH NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLANDERS EXPERIENCED THEIR BAPTISM OF FIRE. EIGHTY FOUR NORTH NOVAS AND SEVEN CITIZENS OF AUTHIE LOST THEIR LIVES THIS DAY".
Just to the left of this memorial is a small Gasthaus where we went for something to eat and partake in a few refreshments. Thanks to our French Comrade Lucien Perraut we were able to kibitz with the local people and have a few laugh's. From here we returned to the barracks to change cloths. We wanted the other two groups to join us at a local pub but unfortunately the others didn't wish to join us so we proceeded on our own, again we had a delightful time for a couple of hours and returned to barracks. The next morning after breakfast we all departed for home.
I photographed three gravestones on this visit to Normandy that was of particular interest to me. The first was of two brothers whose markers would most likely depict the sediments of most young Canadians that went off to war.
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Many Regiments suffered grievously stopping the 12th SS. The Chaudières, the Winnipeg Rifles, the North Shore Regiment, the Regina Rifles. Boys like Gordon Branton, from Lethbridge Alberta who lies in the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Normandy, France beside his brother Ronald. Their markers both read: "We left with a jest, Our homes in the west, Now here with the best, We lie at rest". |
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The other was of a young Major of the Black Watch who is buried in the Canadian War Cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. He should have been awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). Instead what did the Army and the powers to be do but try and lay the blame entire catastrophe on him. In my opinion all that has finally came to light about those battles he still deserves to be awarded the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a soldier for his heroism.
The men of the Black Watch know that the story of their Regiment's darkest day is a combination of bad luck, poor Generalship and tragic miscalculations. In the early morning of 25 July 1944, they were told to advance across an open field and clear the enemy out of a French village about a kilometer away. Their top General, Guy Simonds, watched them move out from his observation post overlooking the battlefield. This was the plan from his point of view: The Black Watch were to move through the villages of St. Martin and St. André, supposedly already in Canadian hands. From there they would attack up the hill to capture the village of Fontenay, just over the crest of Verrières ridge. On the right overlooking the battlefield was the town of May. The Black Watch were told that it too was in Canadian hands. In fact, the Germans were there - and everywhere. The entire ridge was honeycombed with mine shafts, allowing the Germans to move around the battlefield undetected. General Simonds' staff knew about the mine shafts but didn't think it important enough to pass on to the Black Watch.
What they had to do was leave the town, advance across, and get to their start line, really the crest of that ridge, and attack Fontenay......?..... But things go wrong. The Germans are in the house, and they can't figure out why the Germans are there. All through here are mines and what the Germans are doing is using these mine shafts to bring in reinforcements, so you can clean out a house once, and half an hour later, they've come back into the house. You're advancing and still you're taking fire from the side. Before they know it they've lost three, four hours.
Across the battlefield, the Germans watched the Canadian approach. As the Canadians moved into position for the attack, German snipers hidden in the fields carefully took aim at the Senior Canadian officers. An MG 42 machine gun killed the Black Watch Colonel and severely wounded his second in command. Suddenly, the Regiment was in the hands of the popular but Junior Officer, 26 year old Phil Griffin.
The Canadians could not understand where the German fire was coming from. Their jump off point was supposed to have been cleared of the enemy. As they move towards the town of May on their flank, most of the Germans disappeared back down the mine shafts and popped up elsewhere on the battlefield. The Canadians assured that the Germans had retreated from the town but in fact, the remaining Germans were just hiding and holding their fire.
General Simonds was watching from a far, impatient with the delays. One of his Brigadiers was sent to get Griffin and the Black Watch moving. What was said at this meeting is still a matter of bitter controversy. The Brigadier claims he told Griffin to be cautious and make sure the villages were clear before advancing up the Ridge. The Black Watch has a very different version. They say the Brigadier ordered them to stop wasting time with the villages and attack straight up the ridge. Whatever was said, the Brigadier left the pressure square on the shoulders of a 26 year old Major, and a Battalion which never retreated.
He waits for the tanks but they're late...he wants to have a squadron of tanks. They're supposed to come up to May to help but he can't wait any longer, so, he deploys his battalion, two companies forward, about 150, perhaps 200 yards wide, 2 Companies up, 2 Companies back. Over 325 men, of the Black Watch. So on the command, realizing the tanks aren't going to be here on time, Phil Griffin says, Black Watch, advance. He picks up his hand, waves it once, and points, and the whole Battalion stands up. And somewhere up there is a German, who's watching him with field glasses and is maintaining a solid grip on his Division, saying hold your fire, we've got a Battalion coming into our gun sights.
We (Germans) noticed a body of Infantry -- about three to four hundred men - advance south. This was most impressive and perplexing. The soldiers were marching upright, holding rifles across their breasts in readiness, as if on parade drill. To us, German soldiers with four or five years of experience in Russia, this was an almost unreal sight. In spite of strong fire from our forces at May, scarcely anybody looked for cover but kept on marching upright. It looked like...waves of men, rolling steadily forward, no sign of panic despite their visible losses.
There was no panic, but a growing desperation as Major Griffin tried to get the artillery to fire and cover his advance. But the radio malfunctioned. The Black Watch were all alone, and all alone whole platoons began to die. At one point someone yelled at Griffin saying "We can't go on, it's murder to go on". And Griffin says "Well it's murder to stay here, let's keep going on to the left", and he keeps on advancing with the men. Griffin and a band of desperate soldiers actually reached the top of the ridge.
At that point a runner comes up to Griffin and says, "They're coming, support company's coming." And these as far as we know, are Griffin's last words, he tells his runner, he says "Get back and tell them to send no more reinforcements, we've got too many men as it is, we're trapped. Send no more reinforcements."
The attack faded out ... as actually there was nobody left over. It had been, well, sheer butchery. We were the Black Watch we never learned the word retreat. And I didn't want to be branded a coward, I didn't want to bring disgrace on my family, on my Regiment. The last picture the Germans remembered is a few Canadian soldiers, mostly wounded, trying to get north. You should know we did not fire on retreating men. We had been too deeply impressed, and embarrassed, by the sacrifice and gallantry of a Battalion, which had no chance against our position, no close air support and meager artillery. I think the dominating feeling was, let these poor men get home safely. (At least the Enemy got it right).
They found a string of bodies, still wearing their kit, still close to the weapons strung out right up to that crest line, and beyond. They found the body of Major Griffin, surrounded with about 15, 20 men, the rest had obviously been taken away. And this ridge is basically the end of the Black Watch, or at least the Black Watch for that battle. They lost well over 300 men. Of the 320 that crossed their original start line, only 15 came back to be counted. For Canada, the Battle of Verrières Ridge is second only to Dieppe as a catastrophe in the Second World War.
Few Canadians have ever heard about it because the full extent of the calamity was covered up. The families of the soldiers slaughtered here were told only that their boy , their brother, their lover , their husband died doing his duty on the 25th of July 1944. All toll, from Tilly on the left to St.Andre on the right, there were 450 dead and 1500 wounded, and many maimed for life in body or in mind. Late in the day, facing rebellion, General Simonds finally stopped sending more men.
Simonds was not anxious to confront the evidence of his mistakes. Before the battle, men of the Black Watch were told it was going to be a glorious break out to surround the Germans. After the slaughter, General Simonds declared it was actually planned as a sacrifice action for the Allied cause. The survivors are still bitter about that dark day. They especially resent the attempt by Simonds and the army to lay the blame for the Regiment's Death at the grave of young Phil Griffin. The army did not honour him with a medal. The epitaph comes from his family. The top reads: "That they might have life." The bottom reflects the family's defiant pride. "And all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."
