![]() ![]() On June 6 a dozen machine gun nests and a number of anti-tank guns defended this stretch of beach. To the west of the harbour is a long sandy beach backed by a short rise in the ground. Courseulles was heavily defended with concrete bunkers housing anti-tank guns, machine gun nests and mortar pits but the Canadian troops were able to quickly overcome these defenses and clear the beaches.Īt Courseulles there is a small harbour for fishing vessels. ![]() You can see from the holes in the gun shield that the gun has taken a direct hit, probably from a Canadian tank. I took all the recent photos myself in May 2015, while the historical photos are drawn from a variety of sources.Ī German 50mm gun position protecting the harbour of Courseulles. In this photo essay we'll take a tour of Juno Beach today, learning about the men drawn from across Canada who fought on these beaches and carried the day. As the historian John Keegan remarked, "That was an accomplishment in which the whole nation could take considerable pride." Yet the Canadians were also the only units to reach their D-Day objectives, advancing further inland than any other Allied army. These were the heaviest casualties on any beach save the near-disastrous American assault on Omaha. Victory at Juno would come at a heavy price: by the end of the day 340 Canadians lay dead. They were determined to prevent the Allies gaining a foothold in France. Mortars and artillery were pre-sighted on the landing grounds. Steel-reinforced concrete bunkers brimming with anti-tank guns, machine guns, and riflemen overlooked the beaches. They had erected thousands of obstacles, belts of thick barbed wire and dozens of minefields. Waiting for them were men of the German 716th Division. Stretching along five miles of sandy beaches, Juno Beach included the three small resort towns of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernieres-sur-Mer and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. The sector assigned to the Canadians was codenamed Juno. ![]() The Canadians and their British and American allies would storm the beaches of Normandy and begin the long and arduous task of liberating occupied Europe. They were taking part in Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious operation in history. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, thousands of Canadian assault troops anxiously waited aboard their landing craft, straining to launch themselves against Hitler's Fortress Europe. ![]()
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