Battle for Caen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Battle for Caen | |||||||
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| Part of World War II | |||||||
 Battle for Caen |
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| Combatants | |||||||
 United Kingdom Canada Poland United States |
 Nazi Germany |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Bernard Montgomery, Miles Dempsey, Richard O'Connor, Guy Simonds |
Edgar Feuchtinger, Erwin Rommel, Gerd von Rundstedt, Günther von Kluge |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 2nd British Army, 51st Highland Division, 11th British Armoured division, 7th British Armoured Division, Polish 1st Armoured Division, VIII British Corps, Royal Air Force, United States Army Air Force, Royal Tank Regiment |
German Seventh Army, German Fifth Panzer Army, 16th Luftwaffe Field Division, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, German 21st Panzer Division, German Panzer Lehr Division |
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The Battle for Caen from June to August 1944 was a battle between the Allied and German forces during World War II's Battle of Normandy.
Originally the Allies aimed to take the French city of Caen, one of the largest cities in Normandy and the surrounding areas during Operation Neptune. Caen was a vital objective for several reasons. First, it lay astride the Orne river and Caen canal; these two water obstacles could strengthen a German defensive position if not crossed. Second, Caen was a road hub; in German hands it would enable the enemy to shift forces rapidly. Third, the area around Caen was relatively wide open, especially compared to the bocage country in the west of Normandy. This area was valued for airfield construction.
On D-Day, Caen was an objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division. Because Caen was not taken during the D-Day assault, it became the focal point for a series of battles through June, July and into August.
The old city of Caen dating back to the middle ages as well as the surrounding villages and towns were mostly destroyed by Allied artillery and other fighting. The reconstruction of Caen lasted from 1948 to 1962. Today little of the prewar city remains.
[edit] Background: Invasion of Normandy
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces invaded France by launching Operation Neptune with a force of several thousand ships, supported by approximately 3,000 aircraft. The D-Day landings were generally successful, but the city of Caen was not taken as planned.
In addition to seaborne landings the Allies also employed their powerful Airborne forces. The U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions as well as British and Canadian paratroop units were inserted behind the invasion beaches. The British and Canadian paratroopers behind Sword Beach had the goal of reaching the strategically important bridges such as Pegasus and Horsa, as well as to take the artillery battery at Merville in order to hinder the forward progress of the German forces. They established a bridgehead north of Caen, on the east bank of the Orne, that the Allied troops could use to their advantage in the battle for Caen.
[edit] Attempts to take Caen
[edit] Fighting near Tilly-sur-Seulles (8—19 June)
From 8 to 19 June there was a battle near Tilly-sur-Seulles between parts of the 30th British Army Corps and the German Panzer Lehr Division, which is usually known as the Battle of Tilly-sur-Seulles. The British forces were able to break through on the evening of the 18th and despite isolated German counterattacks, the commander of the Division, Major General Fritz Bayerlein, ordered a retreat.
The area around Tilly-sur-Seulles had changed hands 23 times; finally on the 19th June the 50th British Infantry Division was able to take the entire area. During the fighting 76 civilians from the nearby village were killed, and that represented a tenth of the population of Tilly-sur-Seulles.
The German Panzer Lehr Division had 190 tanks before the battle, but only 66 afterwards. In addition to the lost tanks, the Germans lost 5,500 men. Today there is a British military cemetery in Tilly-sur-Seulles as well as a museum that gives information about the battle. A bit further out is another military cemetery, the "Jerusalem War Cemetery" it is called. This one is the smallest military cemetery in Normandy.
[edit] Operation Perch (Villers-Bocage) (9—14 June)
A week after the Normandy invasion of 6 June, the German 352nd Infantry Division was pushed back by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division and left the flank of the German Panzer Lehr Division exposed. The resulting gap in the German lines opened up an opportunity for the Allies to thrust forward with armored units and turn the flank of the German defensive position. The British General Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery opened Operation Perch in order to turn this flank, seize the road hub at Villers-bocage, and drive northeast to take Caen in the flank.
On 13 June 1944 the Battle of Villers-Bocage took place. In fierce, close-range fighting the Germans succeeded in holding onto the town and securing their front. Thus ended the second attempt to take Caen.
[edit] Operation Epsom (25—30 June)
Eleven days after Operation Perch began, the Allies, after they had consolidated their forces and after a delays due to bad weather between 19 and 22 June, began Operation Epsom.
Three attacks, beginning on 26 June, implemented by Canadian and Scottish units of the British VIII Corps, were to bring Caen and the surrounding countryside under Allied control. Dempsey had 60,000 soldiers, over 700 pieces of artillery and about 600 tanks under his command, although most of the troops had seen very little combat to that point.
Due to bad weather conditions and badly prepared attacks the Allied attack was made more difficult. The allied artillery supported the advance with a creeping barrage. On 26 June the allied bomber fleet in England was prevented from supporting the attack because of bad weather. The allied attacks were stopped by Waffen-SS and the German Army. Most of the gains made by the Allies could not be held. After heavy fighting the Allies had only secured one location, Hill 112.
[edit] Operation Windsor (4—8 July)
During the course of Operation Windsor, Canadian forces were to take the airfield at Carpiquet on 4 July.
The airfield was to have been taken on D-Day but this plan had failed. In order to correct the failure, the Allies undertook Operation Windsor to break through the strongly held German positions near the airfield. Parts of the 7th and 8th Canadian Brigades of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division received the mission.
The airfield was reinforced with concrete shelters, machine gun towers, underground tunnels and 75 mm anti-tank guns and 20 mm air defense cannons. The surrounding area was also protected by mine fields and barbed wire entanglements. The Resistance had informed the Canadian troops about the defenses surrounding the airfield.
After hard fighting the Canadians were able to take the city of Carpiquet on the 5th of July. Three days later, after withstanding several German counterattacks, they also controlled the airfield.
[edit] Operation Charnwood (7—9 July)
The Allies planned to use heavy bombing in order to scare the German defenders as well as destroy their defensive positions. It was also hoped that the bombardments would raise the morale of the British troops as well.
Meanwhile the following instruction was issued on 7 July from the German armed forces operations staff (note: The 12th SS-armored division was under direct control of Adolf Hitler himself)
- 1. Stop the current front, [...] free up the 12th SS-Panzerdivision and replace the besieged Infantry divisions with fresh troops; [...]
- 9. Deployment of the entire Organisation Todt [...] [1].
SS-Oberführer Kurt Meyer, commander of a unit within the 12th SS-armored division, said that these instructions meant that their orders were to die in Caen.[2].
After taking some time to reorganize, resupply and refit, the Allies began Operation Charnwood on 7 July.
The Canadian 1st and British 2nd Army, with approximately 115,000 men, struck out at villages held by German force north of Caen. The Allies had planned to conduct a bombing run on the villages but cancelled them due to the proximity of their own troops. The bombardment area continued to shift towards Caen itself. On the evening of 7 July 467 airplanes flew in clear weather and dropped 2,276 bombs. The bombings did little to harm the German forces, but the northern suburbs were mostly destroyed in the attacks. French civilians also bore the brunt with about 3,000 being killed. The Germans were able to shoot one airplane down with their anti-air guns (flak), three others fell over Allied air space. The air bombardment was supported by Naval gun fire from the beaches.
Alexander McKee said about the bombardment on 7 July: "The 2,500 tons of bombs made no distinction between friend and foe. If the British commanders believed that they would intimidate the Germans by killing the French, then they were sorely mistaken." [3].
Among the victims of the bombardments were many French civilians. The intimidation factor was non-existent, since the attack did not take place immediately after the bombardment, when the defenders were still diverted and scared. Instead the main attack began the next morning, 8 July, around 4:30 AM. The employment of tanks was made more difficult because of the bombings. Later, when the city was finally taken, it was determined that German cannons, tanks or German dead were not found in the targeted areas.
At the end of the 8th of July the Allied had only advanced one kilometer towards the city of Caen. After the German troops withdrew on 9 July, from the city center to the north and west of the city, the Allied troops engaged in the north, but were kept from further advancement by German snipers. At 18:00 on 9 July the first units reached the river Orne in Caen. On the evening of the 9th and on the 10th the Allied reached the city center. Engineers were tasked with repairing bridges over the Orne and moving the rubble out of the city. Arthur Wilkes described the situation after the action: "Mountains of rubble, [approximately] 20 or 30 feet [≈ 6 or 9 meter] high [...] the dead lay everywhere." [2]. In the daily war journal of the 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers there is an entry on 9 July: "In the house that were still standing there slowly came life, as the French civilians realized that we had taken the city. They came running out of their houses with glasses and bottles of wine." [2].
Operation Charnwood was a minor tactical success for the Allies, because the city was still not entirely in Allied hands. The north-west portion of Caen had been taken, but the eastern as well as the eastern suburbs, where the steel factory at Collombelles (with high observation posts) were still under German control. Strategically the operation contributed towards the German belief that the Allied breakout would be in the British sector, where it in fact was not.
[edit] Operation Jupiter (10 July)
Richard O'Connor tried again to develop the bridgehead with Caen. The 43rd Wessex Division was to retake Hill 112 on 10 July during Operation Jupiter. In the first phase the Allied forces were to take Hill 112, Fontaine and Eterville and in the second phase use Hill 112 as a defensive position and move towards Maltot. A bombardment of mortars and artillery preceded the Allied attack.
The Germans had five infantry battalions, two Tiger tank battalions, as well as to Sturmgeschütz companies and Nebelwerfer.
The operation failed due to strong resistance from the Germans which had dug themselves in and were well prepared for the attack. The 43rd Wessex lost over 2,000 men during the operation.
[edit] Operation Goodwood (18—20 July)
[edit] Preparation
At a meeting with General Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery on 10 July, the commander of the 2nd Army, General Miles Dempsey suggested the plan for Operation Goodwood. On the same day Montgomery had approved Operation Cobra. The Canadian part of Operation Goodwood was given the codename Operation Atlantic.
Since the middle of July, 1944, the British had brought 2,250 medium and 400 light tanks in three Armoured divisions and a number of independent armoured brigades to Normandy. The Second Army could afford to lose tanks, but not men in order to bring about the plan to break through the German positions on the eastern side of the Orne and in the north of Caen. Operation Goodwood was to begin on 18 July, two days before the beginning of the U.S. Operation Cobra. Cobra however, did not begin until 25 July.
Although heavy losses were expected in the operation, Dempsey believed that the British had a good chance to break through. The Armoured divisions of the VIIIth British corps under the command of General Richard O'Connor was to be the main effort. Approximately 700 guns shooting about 250,000 rounds was to make the attack easier. Furthermore, the RAF was to bombard three targets— Collombelles-Mondeville, Toufreville Emiéville and Cagny.
The goal was to capture all of Bras, Hubert-Folie, Verrieres, Fontenay, Garcelles-Secqueville, Cagny and Vimont. A further goal was to push the Germans back from the Bourgebus ridge. The Canadian forces had the task of securing the western flank and the British infantry were to secure the eastern.
[edit] Execution
On 18 July 942 Allied bombers and fighters attacked five villages on the eastern end of Caen in order to facilitate the 2nd British Army's Operation Goodwood. The attacks took place at dawn and were helped by good weather. Four of the targets were marked by pathfinders, for the fifth target the bombardiers had to find another way to find their mark. Supported by American bombers and fighters, the British dropped approximately 6,800 tons of bombs on the villages and surrounding area. Two German units, the 16th Germany Luftwaffe Division and the 21st German Armored Division were hard hit by the bombing. German air defenses and ground troops were able to shoot down six of the allied aircraft.
The three Allied armored divisions had to overcome water obstacles and a minefield, in order to reach their start point. The river Orne and the Caen canal was an obstacle for the British troops during their advance. Six small bridges were available for the 8,000 vehicles including the tanks, the artillery, the motorised infantry, the engineers and the supply vehicles to cross the river. It was obvious that there would be a large traffic problem. Dempsey's solution was nearly fatal—he allowed his corps commander O'Connor to leave the infantry, engineers, and artillery on the other side until all of the tanks got across.
After the bridges were crossed, the British had to cross a minefield that, only a few days before, had been laid by their own 51st Highland Division. The minefield consisted of a combination of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. This obstacle would have taken a massive effort from the engineers to be cleared before the battle. But since the Germans had their own minefield at the steel plant in the German occupied suburb of Collombelles and could observe the mine clearing effort they would have been forewarned of the attack.
The Allies made the mistake of giving up the element of surprise. Many tanks were slowed by the bridges and minefields. Thus the artillery was not firing at the right distances in order to support the attack. Through Allied broadcasts, the Germans had known about the attack since the 15th of July and had plenty of time to prepare their defenses.
Additionally fire support was bad. The artillery units stayed west of the Orne, so that the main German defense at Bourgebus ridge was not in range. Also, the coordination between the field artillery and the tanks was bad.
It became clear that the area that had been selected was not good. There were many small villages and in each one there was a small German garrison. Each of these were connected by tunnels. There were many observation posts that could watch the progress of the Allies. The Bourgebus ridge had many resistance points that had heavy weapons such as machine guns that had free fields of fire.
The German artillery on the Bourgebus ridge at Cagny and Emieville was weakened neither by air nor by artillery support. From these places, the Germans had free fields of fire on the Allied forces. The Germans had the 16th Luftwaffe Division as well as the 346th Infantry Division dug in on the ridge. Behind the ridge, in solid stone structures, were the antitank guns of the 21st Armored Division with overlapping fields of fire; they also had infantry support. On the ridge there were 78 88 mm gun which could destroy a Sherman with one shot. On the reverse slope three combat teams were stationed, made up of 40 tanks and an armored infantry regiment—further back were the artillery reserves. The engineers of the 51st Highland Division had taken the two nights before the battle to clear 17 corridors through the minefield.
The Allies failed to relieve the pressure on the 11th British Armoured Division . Although it was the unit that led the attack the division, it also was tasked to clean out the small villages along the front lines, namely Cuverville and Demouville. These were to be secured by units following the initial effort. Instead the armored units of the division attacked Bourgebus ridge while the infantry battalions took care of the villages. This slowed the attacks down and prevented meaningful cooperation.
For the most part, the Allied force pressed forward very slowly. The 29th Tank brigade of the 11th Armoured Division, the only active Allied unit of the day, made the biggest gains, capturing almost 11 kilometers.
When the railroad line was reached in the morning at Caen Vimont on 18 July at 9:30 AM, the Germans had recovered from bombardment. Twelve allied tanks were destroyed by one 88 mm gun that fired on them several times. The Allies advanced slowly and crossed the rail line in order to approach the Bourgebus ridge held by the 21st German Panzerdivision, the 1st SS-armored division and a number of other guns. For most of the day, only the 29th Panzer Brigade and the 11th Panzer Division were without artillery support. The infantry brigade was busy clearing out two villages behind the armor brigade. The remaining two tank divisions were also busy crossing the bridges or passing through the minefield. At dawn only one armor battalion of the 7th British Armoured division was involved in combat while most of the remaining armor units had to wait from 10 A.M. to midday on the 18th to cross the Orne.
Individual tank battalions fought without support and behind one another instead of fighting together which was what was planned at the outset of the operation. Most of the land won came on the morning of the 18th. By 20 July most of the city of Caen was under Allied control.
The Germans began a counterattack after midday on the 18th that lasted until the 20th. Montgomery brought the operation to a close on 20 July after having lost 4,000 soldiers and approximately 400 tanks.
[edit] Results
The operation did not go as planned for the Allies. They lost roughly 400 tanks and about 5,500 British and Canadian soldiers. The Germans held their most important positions while losing 109 tanks—a figure that was high for them as opposed to the Allies, in that they could not replace their tanks as quickly. While tactically the operation went poorly for the Allies, strategically it was partly successful in that the Germans remained convinced that the main attack would still come in the British Second Army sector.
[edit] Operation Spring (25—27 July)
At a conference on 22 July it was decided that Operation Spring would begin on the 25th under the command of General Guy Simonds. The goal of the operation was for the Canadian 2nd Corps to capture, among others, the high ground near Cramesni and La Bruyers, approximately three miles south of Brougebous
Two Canadian infantry divisions were to attack, after which follow-up armor divisions would break through the holes opened up by the infantry and advance even further, in order to take the targeted areas. The 2nd Canadian Infantry division was to be on the right, the 3rd Canadian Infantry division on the left. The operation was to go forward in three parts. First to the May-sur-Orne—Verriéres—Tilly-la-Campagne line. Then to the Fontanay-le-Marmion—Roquancourt line, and then onto the plateau.
The Germans tried to bring more troops into the Caen-Falaise area. On 20 June the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht announced that the advance of their forces was finished. The Germans had five armored divisions and various other infantry units in the area. Since these units had been available on the first day of the operation the chance of an Allied break through was small.
After the air and artillery bombardment that had preceded the attack, the Canadians could have reached their goal on the 25th but, because of the strong German resistance, were forced to withdraw entirely or at least pull back to defensive positions. On 26 and 27 July a German counterattack in the area around Verriéres where the Canadians had taken the day before was pushed back by an Allied artillery strike.
The operation did not reach its intended goals, instead it ensured that Verriéres remained in Allied hands which amounted to a good tactical position, as the town lay on the high ground and allowed observation of several lower lying areas. The advantages afforded by the view that the Allies had was lost to the Germans, as Tilly-la-Campagne was also taken. The operation was the Canadians' most costly in the war, as they lost approximately 1,500 men, many of whom are buried in the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.
[edit] Treatment of prisoners of war and war crimes
[edit] Treatment of prisoners
Kurt Meyer reported what happened in the handling of the German prisoners of war by the Canadian troops:
- "On the 7th of June I was given a notebook taken from the body of a dead Canadian captain. In addition to handwritten orders, the notes stated that 'no prisoners were to be taken'. Some Canadian prisoners were asked to verify these instructions...they confirmed orders that if prisoners impeded the advance, they were not to be taken" [4]
The Canadian company commander Major Jacques D. Dextraze said and to a certain extent confirmed the accusations by Meyer:
- "We crossed the river - the bridge had been blown up...Eighty five prisoners we take. I select an officer, "take them back to the P.W. cage". He goes back, making them run, to the bridge that we had... These guys had been running for a couple of miles. They came to the bridge (bad cut) No no, you don't take the bridge, you swim. Now these guys fell...went into that water you know. Most of them drowned. Imagine having run you know, they had been fighting before, running you know for a couple of miles, and then the water you know. Now, they were picked up by the engineers rebuilding the bridge. I could have been accused of not having protected them. I'm responsible for these prisoners you see. I felt very bad when I saw them all piled up beside the bridge..."[4]
[edit] War crimes by the German troops
More than 156 Canadian prisoners, according to reports, were murdered near Caen by the 12th SS-Panzerdivision in the days and weeks following D-Day.
20 Canadians were executed near Villons-les-Buissons, northeast of Caen in the Abbaye d'Ardenne— Abbey of the Ardenne. The abbey was made up of buildings from the middle-ages and a gothic church. The commander of the 25th German heavy armored regiment of the 12th SS-Panzerdivision, Kurt Meyer, had his headquarters in tha area and probably was involved in the execution.
On 7 June Canadian troops fighting at Authie were taken prisoner. The abbey was fast filling up with prisoners. Ten were selected and executed outside the abbey. The rest of the prisoners were brought to Bretteville sur Odon. In the evening on the same day eleven prisoners were shot in the garden of one of the Chateaus.
On the evening of 8 June another seven prisoners that had fought at Authie and Buron were brought to the abbey. There they were questioned and then afterwards executed. The seven were brought into the garden and ten minutes later all seven were dead, shot in the back of the head. Jan Jesionek, a Polish soldier serving with the 12th SS, later reported the events and that the German units commander Meyer supposedly had said: "'What should we do with these prisoners? They only eat up our rations. In future no more prisoners are to be taken."[5] The last corpses of the Canadians that were killed were found in the fall of 1945.
The Abbaye d'Ardenne was captured at midnight on the 8th of July by the Regina Rifles.
Meyer was sentenced to death in December 1945. He had denied knowledge of the incident, but was sentenced to death nonetheless. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison. On 7 September 1954 he was released from prison.
A small chapel at the abbey was set up in memory of the Canadian soldiers. The chapel consists of a wooden cross, over which is a niche with a statue of Mary. On the cross is a Canadian steel helmet. Every year the children of Authie place flowers at the chapel. In 1984 a bronze plaque was erected at the abbey, it reads:
- "On the night of June 7/8, 1944, 18 Canadian soldiers were murdered in this garden while being held here as prisoners of war. Two more prisoners died here or nearby on June 17. They are dead but not forgotten."
[edit] After effects and memories
Operation Overlord and the battles in Normandy successfully gave the Allies a foothold in France, which led to the liberation of the rest of Europe. On 25 August the Allies were able to retake the French capital Paris.
Caen and the surrounding towns and villages were for the most part destroyed. The cathedral in Caen as well as the University of Caen (founded in 1432) were both also destroyed. The buildings were rebuilt after the war and even expanded. For this reason the symbol of the University of Caen is the Phoenix. Approximately 35,000 citizens of Caen were rendered homeless after the fighting.
The rebuilding of Caen officially lasted from 1948 until 1962. On 6 June 2004, Gerhard Schröder became the first German Chancellor to be invited to the anniversary celebration of the invasion.
There are many monuments to the Battle for Caen and Operation Overlord. For example on the road to Odon-bridge at Tourmauville, there is a memorial for the 15th Scottish Division; or the monument on hill 112 for the 53rd Welsh Division, as well as one for the 43rd Wessex Division. Near hill 112, a forest was planted in memory of those that fought there.
The landings at Normandy, the Battle for Caen and the Second World War are remembered today with many memorials—in Caen there is the Mémorial with a "peace museum" (Musée de la paix). The museum was built by the city of Caen on top of where the bunker of General Wilhelm Richter, the commander of the 716th German Infantry Division was located. On 6 June 1988 the museum was opened by the French president at the time, François Mitterrand as well as twelve ambassadors from countries that took part in the fighting in Normandy. The museum is dedicated to pacifism and borders the Parc international pour la Libération de l'Europe, a garden in remembrance of the Allied participants in the invasion.
The Allied fallen are buried in the Brouay War Cemetery, the Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery (2,170 graves) and the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery (2,957 graves).
[edit] The battle in the media and other information
[edit] Films
- The documentary D-Day 6.6.44 - Entscheidung in der Normandie from British television BBC documents the results of the advances on Caen. Producer: Tim Bradley; Director: Richard Dale, Kim Bour, Pamela Gordon, Sally Weale.
- The U.S. black and white documentary Crusade in Europe from 1949, based on Eisenhower's book, documenting Operation Overlord as well as the Battle for Caen
- The Norman Summer: 1962 Canadian documentary about the fight for Caen as well as Normandy.
- In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944 1992 Canadian television film about the Battle for Caen.
- Road to Ortona, Turn of the Tide and V Was for Victory as well as Crisis on the Hill (all 1962): Canadian documentary about the Battle.
[edit] Games
- Call of Duty 2: Computer game from the U.S. game developer Infinity Ward. Released on 3 November 2005, the player is British Sergeant John Davis in the attack on Caen.
- D-Day: In this real-time tactical computer game the player can play one of the operations involved in the Battle for Caen. Also the player can simulate the action on D-Day and other actions in the breakout in Normandy.
- Hidden & Dangerous 2: The player is a British SAS soldier that must liberate a town near Caen from the Germans.
[edit] Literature
- Simon Trew: Battle Zone Normandy: Battle for Caen, Sutton, 2005, ISBN 0-7509-3010-1
- Henry Maule: Caen: The brutal battle and break-out from Normandy, David & Charles, 1976, ISBN 0-7153-7283-1
- Ken Ford: Caen 1944, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-625-9
- Ken Ford: D-Day 1944: Sword Beach & British Airborne Landings, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-366-7
- Ken Ford: Falaise 1944: Death of an Army, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-626-7
- Chris Going, Alun Jones: D-Day: The Lost Evidence (Above the Battle), Crecy Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-85979-097-5
- Stephen Badsey: Normandy, 1944, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 0-85045-921-4
- Anthony Hall: Operation Overlord---D-Day---: Operation Overlord, Zenith Imprint, ISBN 0-7603-1607-4
- Jane Penrose: The D-Day Companion: Leading Historians Explore History's Greatest Amphibious Assault, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-779-4
- Russell Hart, Stephen Hart: The Second World War (6): Northwest Europe 1944-1945, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-384-5
- Ian Daglish: Operation Bluecoat (Battleground Europe S.), Pen and Sword Books Ltd., 2003, ISBN 0-85052-912-3
- Ian Daglish: Operation Goodwood: Battleground, Leo Cooper Ltd., 2004, ISBN 1-84415-030-5
- Tim Saunders: Operation Epsom (Battleground Europe S.), Pen and Sword Books Ltd., 2003, ISBN 0-85052-954-9
- Eric Hunt: Mont Pinçon, Pen and Sword Books Ltd., ISBN 0-85052-944-1
- Tim Saunders: Hill 112, Pen and Sword Books Ltd., ISBN 0-85052-737-6
[edit] External links
- Overview of the Battle for Caen
- Information about Operation Charnwood
- Additional information about the battle
- Info on the battle for hill 112
- Information about the battle from valourandhorror.com
- diverse information
- Maps
- ibiblio.org
- Caen Memorial
- Info
- Operation Bluecoat from the BBC
- Info
- Journal of the RAF:
- Information
- ornebridgehead.org
- junobeach.org
- Abbaye d'Ardenne
- Info about the massacre
- Info about the battle
- [PDF] Britishes Ministry Of Defence on the Battle - Part 1
- [PDF] British Ministry Of Defence on the Battle - Part 2
- [PDF] Operation Charnwood
- [PDF] Report from the Canadian military
[edit] References
- ^ Percy E. Schramm: War Diary of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces 1944-1945 , ISBN 3-7637-5933-6, volume 1, page 325
- ^ a b c British Ministry of Defense: http://www.veteransagency.mod.uk/pdfolder/60th_anniversary/drive_on_caen.pdf, PDF
- ^ Yves Lecouturier: Entdeckungspfade - Die Strände der alliierten Landung (Discovery Paths - The Beaches of the Allied Landings), ISBN 3-88571-287-3, Page 102
- ^ a b valourandhorror.com: http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/POWs.php
- ^ waramps.ca: http://www.waramps.ca/military/wwii/tnop.html#abbaye2, Report from a Polish Private from the 12th SS Panzerdivision
This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article from the German Wikipedia, accessed on May 15, 2006
