Juno Beach

There were five beaches code named for D-Day landings. The Canadian beach was called Juno. This was the second last place we visited and was particularly important to all of us .... There is now a memorial to Canada's efforts during the war that is well worth the visit.

The invasion on D-Day called for two brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division to land in two sectors—Mike and Nan—focusing on Courseulles, Bernières-sur-Mer and Saint-Aubin. Preliminary naval and air bombardment would soften up the beach defences and destroy coastal strongpoints. Close support on the beaches was to be provided by amphibious tanks of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Once the landing zones were secured, the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was to land reserve battalions and deploy inland. The Royal Marine commandos would establish contact with the British 3rd Infantry Division on Sword, while the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade would link up with the British 50th Infantry Division on Gold. The 3rd Canadian Division's D-Day objectives were to capture Carpiquet Airfield and reach the Caen–Bayeux railway line by nightfall on 6 June.

The landings initially encountered heavy resistance from the German 716th Division; the preliminary bombardment proved less effective than had been hoped, and rough weather forced the first wave to be delayed until 07:35. Several assault companies —notably those of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada—took heavy casualties in the opening minutes of the first wave. Strength of numbers, as well as coordinated fire support from artillery and armoured squadrons, cleared most of the coastal defences within two hours of landing.
The subsequent push inland towards Carpiquet and the Caen-Bayeux railway line achieved mixed results. The sheer volume of men and vehicles on the beaches created lengthy delays between the landing of the 9th Brigade and the beginning of substantive attacks to the south. The 7th Brigade encountered heavy initial opposition, before pushing south and making contact with the 50th Infantry Division at Creully. The 8th Brigade encountered heavy resistance from a battalion of the 716th at Tailleville, while the 9th Brigade deployed towards Carpiquet early in the evening. Resistance in Saint-Aubin prevented the Royal Marines from establishing contact with the British 3rd Division on Sword. When all operations on the Anglo-Canadian front were ordered to halt at 21:00, only one unit had reached its D-Day objective. Despite this, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had succeeded in pushing farther inland than any other landing force on D-Day.

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