Napoleon I Bonaparte I completely agree with you on that because like at sword beach which was the easternmost landing site of the invasion and fighting there was the 3rd United Kingdom Infantry division which was commanded by Picton during the napoleonic war and the division played a prominent role in the Normandy landings but on the first day the beaches known as gold and Juno where linked up and I also think that the fighting at Utah beach should be covered because President Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest son Theodore Roosevelt Jr was directing troops at Utah beach and fighting at Utah Beach was the 4th Calvary Regiment and an interesting fact about the regiment is that two confederate generals were in charge of the regiment and they are Joseph E Johnston and the 17th in descent from Robert the Bruce Confederate General Robert Edward Lee but we also need coverage of the not just the famous battles at the beaches but also the attacks of the 2nd and 5th United States Army Ranger battalions on June 6th at Pointe Du Hoc because if the rangers hadn’t capture Pointe Du Hoc then the German artillery pieces at pointe du hoc could fire into the rear of the troops attacking both Utah and Omaha Beaches and the Artillery pieces could slow down near by beach attacks and the rangers suffered 77 killed and 152 wounded
You are absolutely right. We need to see other beaches of the Normandy landings. And we also need to see other landings, in Africa, Sicily, Italy, South France and well the whole of Pacific.
@@Armorius2199 i completely agree with you on that because I am interested in learning about the role of the marines during the battle of Guadalcanal and the reason is because my paternal grandmother’s Uncle Willard Clifford Weikert aka Jake was severing in the marines and you see the family likes to come up with nicknames and so the Marines gave my paternal grandmothers Uncle Jake the nickname Tarzan but I what interesting about my paternal grandmothers Uncle Jake is that when he returned to the United States his hometown of Gettysburg Pennsylvania gave him a big ceremony
My father served in the RCEME and landed on oJuno after the invasions, I believe on the 9th or 10th, but not sure as even he, a mechanic, never spoke about the war, or the loss he saw from both sides. Thanks for covering the Juno landings!
Excellent coverage and flagging up the huge Canadian contribution towards the opening up of the 2nd front in Normandy Let's not forget the huge CRAF contribution with the manufacturing of Lancasters and Mosquito aircraft 🇨🇦🇨🇦
My dear dad died on Juno Beach with a hundred others .They were B company of the Winnipeg Rifles.28 of that company got off that beach😢 I was born three months after my dad died but to me hes my hero i never knew him but i love him more than ever he lives on by me two grandsons and a great grandson
I'm an American from Upstate New York who has been to Canada many times and while reading a diary account of a German soldier attempting to repel Canadians on Juno, he detailed how fierce they were and sheer firepower they brought to bear.
God bless your father! My grandfather was a Canadian infantryman who landed at Juno Beach but not until a couple of days after D-Day. He fought up through France, Belgium, Holland and then into Germany. He survived physically but came home very messed up emotionally. We would now call it PTSD, which he had for many years after the war.
Major Bray didn't just decide to drive through a minefield for no reason, they were stalled at the minefield waiting for AVREs and flail tanks while the infantry was out of support range. He decided to risk the minefield to backup the infantry and led the advance with his own tank. Major Bray was awarded the distinguished service order for his dedication to the soldiers' advance.
You have made a great documentary. When the Normandy landings are mentioned everyone talks about the American zones. I thinks that Juno Beach is probably the least known of them all.
Most people seem to forget, that Juno was the second bloodiest beach, it was the last beach invaded, and had the most land gained in the first day. Canadians are known for being shock troopers, and being the backbone of the Commonwealth.
Thank you for highlighting our brave Canadian troops. My uncle Fred Goldsney from Moose Jaw Sask. landed at Juno with the Regina Rifles and survived . 🙏🇨🇦
As an American, I am honored and humbled that so many Canadians sacrificed on everyone's behalf. Thank you for our freedom, gentlemen. Rest in peace. 🇨🇦👊
My Grandfather, with the North Shore Regiment, landed with the first wave on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944 at H-Hour. The only thing he mentioned about the war was that it was the worst day of his life. He fought until the war ended and would never talk about his experiences.
My Uncle Bill was in D Coy RWR. So he was one of the 26 left standing after the initial assault. I didn't know that until now. Geez. His luck ran out on 25 Sept '44 outside of Calais. That he survived that long must have been something of a miracle.
My Uncle was also with the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, R.C.I.C. He died on July 4th, 1944 and is buried at the BENY-SUR-MER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY Calvados, France
My Grandfather was also in The North shore regiment. He was a signaler with the RCCS.. He did not speak of the war at all. He spoke once at Christmas eve supper saying so many years ago I was on a boat headed home. Thats all he said. But the damage was done. Some sounds terrified him.
My Great Uncle, Cpl. Albert Joseph Savoy, A Company, North Shore Regiment, was in the first wave on June 6 and was killed while crossing the beach when a mine detonated killing him and 2 other NCO's.
@@honoramd6176 I think I saw in another comment 7 miles further than anyone else, they reached their objective and had to stand by for people to catch up
@@honoramd6176 Canadian forces were the only ones to have reached and completed their D-DAY objectives well before the British and American could even get to theirs
Great video (aside from a few pronunciation challenges). As another amateur historian posted in his video about Juno Beach, in terms of ratio - casualties measured against the total of attacking forces, Juno had a higher casualty rate than Omaha. Also, 3rd Canadian Div penetrated further inland than and was the only attacking force to seize their immediate DDay objectives.
It is barely mentioned but my Dad's unit 48 RM Commando, a British unit landed on Juno, Nan Red sector on D Day and suffered many casualties. My Dad was one of them. This unit also took part in Operation Infatuate with the Canadian army in November 1944. It was an allied effort and the Canadians were part of Monty's 21st Army Group.
My grandfather and great-uncle were with the 18th Field Company RCE. They landed in Mike sector west of Courseulles. They were Peter and David Hebblethwaite.
In fact, Juno Beach _was_ the deadliest beach of _all_ the Allied beaches when you take into account the number of soldiers killed attacking each beach expressed as a percentage of the number of soldiers deployed against each beach. Omaha doesn't come close ... No one even knows how many were killed on Omaha, only that there were about 2000 "casualties." And it is the Regina Rifles pronouncing Regina with a hard I just as it is spoken in Rifles. Regina has been around since the 1880s, so you folks should know how to pronounce it by now! *************************** It is interesting to note that as Montgomery drew up his plans for the Normandy campaign, the Canadians found themselves assigned to the toughest section of the Normandy front. Why was it the toughest? Because it was so wide open in so many places that it was regarded as by far the most favourable territory for tank warfare. So the very terrain of the Juno Beach regions was far and away recognized as the worst for infantry. Hedgerows were fewer or farther between, but the wide open access for the excellent German armoured divisions made it a terrible place to fight for the generally inferior Allied armour. In response to this, D-Day plans called for double the number of artillery pieces to be landed on Juno than on any other Allied beach and immediately put into action, coordinated with the forward-most Canadian infantry units-the Regina Rifles and the Winnipeg Rifles-both of whom had previously stormed the beach early on June 6. It was in precisely this sector of the Canadian front that the Germans planned to mass their armoured divisions and try to push the Canadians back into the sea, and then spread left and right to attack Gold and Sword beaches. This is what Montgomery realized when he drew up the plans for the Normandy campaign. The terrain literally dictated the Nazi’s strategy. During the lynch-pin Battle for Bretteville (June 7-10, 1944) this artillery support was vital and broke up numerous German infantry and 12 SS Panzer attacks. That and the sheer guts and unbelievable determination of the two aforementioned infantry regiments saved the day. These were some tough Canadian kids from the Prairies who took on the German SS Panzer divisions and beat them. The commander of the 12 SS Panzer division, Kurt Meyer, had smugly concluded that his men would sweep the Canadians back into the English Channel like so many “little fishes.” Needless to say, Meyer and his 12 SS Panzers were the ones licking their wounds and howling in misery when they finally fled from Bretteville-minus 43 dead, 99 wounded, 10 missing and 29 panzers destroyed including a good number of Panther Mark Vs. And other than the 29 lost panzers, that was just on the first night! The Winnipeg Rifles claimed 6 more panzers in nearby Putot. It was here and at nearby Abbey d’Ardenne that Kurt Meyer’s 12 SS and the Canadians began executing each other’s prisoners tit for tat, with no quarter given. The two sides really hated each other and this made for likely the bitterest fighting in Normandy. Here is a limited account of the terrible fighting at Bretteville: www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/northwesteurope/brettevillelorgueilleuse.htm And here is an excellent and much more detailed scholarly account of the Battle of Bretteville in .pdf format: scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol16/iss4/2/ [Be prepared to meet Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the original Star Trek series fame, as he was actually right in the area, being a Canadian artillery officer who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. I bet you didn’t know that! ;)] In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close. Indeed, three Sherman tanks of the Canadian 1 Hussars actually reached their assigned D-Day objective-the Caen-Bayeux highway next to Carpiquet airfield-before having to pull back when they could not make radio contact with army HQ and request reinforcements. (And it was hard fighting with the Canadians losing 359 men killed landing on the first day alone-second only to Omaha for men KIA.) Perhaps the great progress was because the Canadian army was the only Allied army in Normandy that was entirely volunteer. (Originally Juno beach was to be called Jelly, but Churchill forbade it noting it was a sorely inappropriate name for a place where so many men were going to die.) And yes, the two British and one Canadian beaches faced the bulk of the German armour-something like 80% of all German armoured divisions in Normandy faced us around Caen. Indeed, German armour was lined up virtually cheek by jowl. Historians have carefully investigated the numbers involved and the Germans, Canadians and British had more tanks per square mile all around Caen than the Russians and Germans had at Kursk. Between Caen, Carpiquet and Bayeux alone, the Germans had eight panzer divisions supplemented by an additional battalion of more than 100 Mark V Panthers. They were Panzer Lehr, 2 Panzer, 9 Panzer, 116 Panzer, 1 SS Panzer, 9 SS Panzer, 12 SS Panzer and 21 Panzer. Though few people understand this, these were the heaviest, most concentrated tank battles of WW2. In his analysis of the fighting against the Canadians of the Regina Rifles Regiment at Bretteville (which contained a number of Sherman and Firefly tanks, as did virtually every Canadian and British regiment), Hubert Meyer, the commanding general of the 12 SS Panzer division (after Kurt Meyer had been captured in September 1944) wrote later in “The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Volume 1” that: “The tactic of surprise, using mobile, fast infantry and Panzers even in small, numerically inferior Kampfgruppen, had often been practiced and proven in Russia. This tactic, however, had not resulted in the expected success here against a courageous and determined enemy, who was ready for defense and well equipped. Through good battle field observation, the enemy had recognized the outlines of the preparations for the attack and drawn his own conclusions. The deployment of D Company [of the Regina Rifles] to Cardonville had prevented a breakthrough by 2./26 [of the 12 SS] from the farm south of the rail line to Bretteville, only 1,000 meters away. The anti-tank defenses all around the village were strong enough to thwart all attempts by the Panzers to by-pass the town to the south and north. The surprising use of parachute flares with glaring magnesium light blinded the Panthers and clearly outlined them to the enemy Pak [anti-tank guns like 6 and 17 pounders]. This enemy was especially strong in the defense and could not be taken by surprise. He fought with determination and courage.” [pages 186-87] One is unlikely to find higher praise from the SS than 12 SS Panzer General Hubert Meyer had for the Regina Rifles Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army. And finally, let's look at the private sentiments of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a rarely noted statement from him, cited by esteemed British historian Andrew Roberts in his “History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900,” 2007, on page 343, he points out a little-known quote from Eisenhower that “man-for-man the Canadians were the best soldiers in his army.” In hindsight, it is something of a feather in Montgomery’s hat that he beat his own estimate of 90 days for capturing Caen and destroying the German armies-by two full weeks minus one day-but who is counting when numbers are so great and the opposition so terrible? And finally, Montgomery (and all the Allied generals) had insights into overall German strategy and counterattack plans through the Ultra intercepts at Bletchley Park, England. On many occasions he chose to withdraw his forces a short distance in order to preserve them, when informed that much superior German armoured divisions were being moved up to recapture territory lost. This was only sensible. You do not throw away large masses of men and armour to be ground up by superior numbers of enemy armour simply to display your bravado. No, you withdraw and rebuild your own forces until you can overcome what you positively 100% know is a much stronger force facing you only a short distance away. Many have questioned Montgomery’s leadership, perhaps with some reason. But how many know that he had to preserve his forces (as much as he could anyway) when Ultra intelligence revealed that not doing so would only be a futile gesture and the deliberate squandering of many men’s lives? Moreover, London had already told him that infantry reserves were virtually nil (though armour was abundant) and he had better save as many of his men as possible. So let’s try to be a little bit fairer in our criticisms of him. My hat comes off to the many, many brave and excellent fighting men from the US and Britain. They fought as hard as anyone else but it was a team effort between the three great English speaking nations of the world that defeated Nazi Germany in Normandy, as well as the many brave French, Polish and other freedom loving European soldiers who fought alongside us. Bravo to all involved! PS I am not trying to glorify war here, just so anyone who might think this to be so can understand that I do not approve of war-for all the good this will do. Sources for German armoured strength in Normandy. - Bernages, Georges “Panzers and the Battle for Normandy” 2001. - Zetterling, Niklas “Normandy 1944: German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness” 2000.
Thank you for your support.When I will finish the feature length documentary I think I should allow patrons of a certain tier to watch it without spending additional money.
Aussie here. Would love to see a feature film on the Canadians kicking arse- Grayson in particular has one helluva story. It's a shame we don't live at a time when these stories are valued and can be told truthfully.
With a lifetime of research into WW2 under my belt, I have previously stated that, man-for-man, the Canadians were the fiercest Allied soldiers in that long war. I stand by that statement.
Of the Western Allies possibly They should have been based on the majority being volunteers (conscripts did not have serve outside Canada until 1945) and had years to train. First combat Dieppe for one day in 1942, next stop Sicily July 1943.
Tough kids born just before the Great Depression. I have heard numerous of them say they only joined the army because they got three square meals a day, decent clothing (their uniforms) and decent footwear (their boots). My dad was of that generation, born in 1922, though he could not get into any branch of the armed forces due to a back injury suffered as a teenager working in the logging camps of northern Ontario. He used to tell us (regularly!) that we didn't know what hard times were. That is true, in comparison to what he and his generation went through. He had to leave home at 14 due to his brutal father, in 1936, at the very depths of the Depression. A not unusual story for the place and times, unfortunately.
My Dad landed on Nan red on D-day, he served with 48 Commando Royal Marines who you sadly fail to mention. He is no longer with us. On the few occasions that he spoke about his experience he always said how brave the Canadian soldiers were.
FYI, I've just discovered that Juno Beach was represented in the movie "The Longest Day" but was labeled as a British Beach in the movie's subtitle (either Sword or Gold). The Beach Master in the scene, Colin Maaud, was at Juno Beach, and a building in the background does resemble the building at Juno Beach.
I agree with the other comments. Not enough said about the Canadians. But I must say we don’t have loutenants in the Canadian military.. although spelt Lieutenant, the pronunciation is Leftenant.
The Canadians have a tremendous history in both world wars. The Canadians have an outstanding military history in both World Wars. I enjoyed training and serving with them in Europe.
Just one note about pronunciation. Americans often have difficulty with Regina. It is Regina as in eye, a small city in Saskatchewan west of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The capital of Saskatchewan and home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders! "Roughriders" is taken from the name the NWMP gave to their best horsemen back in the 1870s and 1880s. (The RCMP still award the Roughrider badge, a spur emblem sewn near the jacket cuff, to those who can earn it by being part of the Musical Ride.) The Green Riders sell more paraphernalia than all other CFL football teams combined, and more people turn out in all the other CFL cities to see the Riders play than any other team! 😉
I visited Juno beach a few years ago. As I was standing on the beach three young men asked if I could take their picture on their phones. I said sure. After the pictures I asked where they were from. "Winnipeg" they said. They were reserve soldiers in the Winnipeg Royal Rifles and we were at the exact spot that very same unit had come ashore on D-Day. This place meant a lot to them. We got to talking and when I mentioned I was from Pittsburgh they - in true Canadian fashion - happily let me know that the Jets had won against the Penguins just the night before!
I've heard Juno Beach was one of the most heavily defended Beaches on The Normandy coast. A lot of our Boys got cut up on that beach at a great cost. 🇨🇦🙏
28, 12 left out of companies.. god damn we lost a lot and now I know why my great grandpa never talked about it. He said something one time and all it was that “he was a corporal”
Not so unusual that vets did not talk of the war. It was a terrible time. They would talk about it sometimes with other vets while drinking at local service stations in the evening or at the Legion, but many only told of the funny incidents. I can totally understand why. My uncle Joe, who was in the Rocky Mountain Rangers regiment, only told me one story and he was in his 70s when he did that. Even his kids say he only spoke of it very rarely.
I dont recall which action it is part of, whether it was Pacific WW2, Korea or Vietnam, and I sadly do not recall the gentlemans name, but a Coast Guard won himself a battle commendation and I think he may have even be awarded the MOH for tacking his lil transport along a beach and laying down heavy support fire to the Marines on the beach. I think he may have extracted them. If anyone knows whom I am attempting to describe, plz feel free to comment who it is!
The Canadians were always going to be part of the D-Day invasion, they were not an afterthought after Eisenhower arrived in England. In fact, First Canadian Army was supposed to be the spearhead of the invasion in the original plans for D-Day.
They failed to mention that a lot of the German defences were not bombarded because they were built into towns. Which also resulted in street fighting. As a percentage, the Juno landing had the highest casulties. Also the only beech that achieved all objectives on the first day.
Not to be too much of a weenie, but I'd hate to see a great video get ignored because a few names get left out or murdered. 6th Cdn Armd Regt were aka 1st Hussars. 10th Cdn Armd Regt = The Fort Garry Horse, or the nickname Gary's if that helps with future videos. I'm familiar with the Latin, but it's more often pronounced Ree-G(eye)na, rhymes with a word starting with Vagina. Also the Farmer John's. Now that the i's are dotted and t's are crossed that was Great ! Thanks very much.
My Grandfather lost a friend outside of Caen. He was one of the Canadians rounded up by The 12th Armored SS Hitler Jugend Division and taken behind The Abbey of Ardenne and Shot under the orders Orders of Commanding officer Kurt Meyer.
the Canadian ww2 veterans I would love to call them the underrated warriors of ww2 because for example Holland wasn't freed by the US or UK soldiers no they were freed by the Canadians and for that, they should be remembered
@@steveosborne2297 Canadians did a lot of the hardest fighting to free up the road to Rome but American General Mark Clark (Marcus Aurelius Clarkus as he was known then) stepped in and stopped everyone but the US army from getting their first. Even other American generals thought of Clark as little more than a conniving politician. Patton called him a "skunk."
Its a shame 48 Commando Royal Marines didn't get mentioned here. My dad served in 48 Commando and landed on Nan Red to attack the German strongpoint at Langrune, like the Canadian's, 48 took heavy casualties and lost 40 percent of it men in the landings and by midnight the commando was down to half its strength. Whenever he talked about the war which wasn't very often as is the norm with old soldiers he always spoke highly of the Canadians.
All of the men who stormed the beaches that day, no matter from what country they came from or beach, they stormed, they all had balls that couldn’t fit inside their trousers
My poor Northern cousins! Not only did the Canadians suffer horrendous losses at Dieppe in '42 followed 2 years later by drawing the 2nd worst beachead!! I can't think of one bombing campaign with actual targets-not just mass destruction-that hit what it was supposed to hit! This does NOT include dive bombers, just high altitude ones.
Canadians fought very well at Juno. Naval gunfire was better and they got more tanks on the beach. The Commonwealth was better trained. AVREs were effective, they were offered to Omar Bradley, but he refused. American casualtys were higher.
@@ww2-epicbattles well I talk about it because my dad (RN) was in one of the landing craft that took the Regina rifles in to Juno Nan green . Mind you on the way out they did have a slight mistake they seem to have found a mine which blew them up and he ended up swimming in the English Channel for about half an hour until picked up by French destroyer
Check pinterest for the full map. Feel free to download it. Not gonna beg for it but it would be awesome if you could give us credit in any way possible. We work hard for this stuff. Have fun.
Allies total power of the sea and the air but very little achieved by either, German close air support dive bombing was much more effective at the beginning of the war than allied efforts were toward the end
