[martin14]

The big plan:






Our plan:







On D-Day, June 6, 1944, “Operation Overlord”, the long-awaited invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, began with Allied armies from the U.S., Britain and Canada landing on the coast of Normandy. On D-Day, the 3rd Troops of the Queen's Own Rifles, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, land at Bernieres-sur-Mer, Juno Beach, on D-Day. The Canadian assault troops stormed ashore in the face of fierce opposition from German strongholds and mined beach obstacles. The soldiers raced across the wide-open beaches swept with machine gun fire, and stormed the gun positions. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, they fought their way into the towns of Bernières, Courseulles and St. Aubin and then advanced inland, securing a critical bridgehead for the allied invasion.


Fourteen thousand young Canadians stormed Juno Beach on D-Day. Their courage, determination and self-sacrifice were the immediate reasons for the success in those critical hours. The fighting they endured was fierce and frightening. The price they paid was high - the battles for the beachhead cost 340 Canadian lives and another 574 wounded. John Keegan, eminent British historian who wrote Six Armies in Normandy, stated the following concerning the Canadian 3rd Division on D-Day: “At the end of the day, its forward elements stood deeper into France than those of any other division. The opposition the Canadians faced was stronger than that of any other beach save Omaha. That was an accomplishment in which the whole nation could take considerable pride.”

[martin14]

Another video, but especially for PF; The Maple Forever, pipes by the Black Watch

[martin14]

from my visit in 2008
Memorials placed on the beaches, the first Regiments ashore:



North Shore from New Brunswick:





Queens Own Rifles, from Toronto:




Regina Rifles, the "Farmer Johns"




Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the Memorial is in the wrong place





Canadian Scottish, from Victoria:

[martin14]

A few of the 340 Canadians who died on this day, 67 years ago:

May they rest in Peace.

[PostFactum]

Great stuff, thanks Martin

[ShepherdsDog]

Do they teach anything about this in your history courses yet, or was is it still seen as the war between the USSR and Germany? The Chinese, including the Taiwanese, still think they single handedly defeated the Japanese Empire. What's really funny is the Taiwanese fail to remember that they were part of Japan proper and their men served as Imperial officers and enlisted.....and that Taiwan was bombed by the Americans.

[PostFactum]

No, they don't twist facts about war. There is no sence in doing it, Soviet Union is dead and today it'a another country with another cultural demands. I had foreign history in school, we were just learning the genneral idea, members and date of it. Nothing more, saw many documentaries and was reading different stuff, that's interesting.

[PostFactum]

Martin, I even downloaded this mp3

[GreenTiger]

To all the people who fought in that war 67 years I say a very profound Thank You,
you did nothing short of saving the world.

[Regina]

As usual......very nice Martin!

A little more about one of the men who's headstone Martin posted. Major Love of the Regina Rifles was killed when his landing craft hit a submerged mine and blew up. My uncle was in the same landing craft and was thrown into the water. He only survived because he was a strong swimmer. Him and another Rifleman were able to grab onto a trailing rope from another craft and make it to shore.

For those of you who subscribe to History Television, they will be re-airing Storming Juno tonight. Storming Juno features A Company of the Regina Rifles, B Squadron of the 1st Hussars, and C Company of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on D-Day.
www.stormingjuno.com

[martin14]

Regina Regina:

As usual......very nice Martin!

Thanks R

[BartSimpson]

Here's to the men who fought for our freedoms.

[CDN_PATRIOT]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Here's to the men who fought for our freedoms.

Here here!!

Those men had more guts than most of us can ever hope to have. They stormed the beaches knowing full well it was almost a suicide mission, but they never wavered.

Heroes til the end.

Lest we forget.

-J.

[ShepherdsDog]

These were the brave souls(and bravery can mean being scared shitless. Yet you still do the job knowing the consequences) who truly understood the sacrifice that sometimes has to be made in defence of freedom.

[Taseko]

Not far from where I live is a area called "Bankhead". There used to be a coal mine and a little town of 1500 or so people. The mine closed in the late 1920's. The whole town was removed and all that remains are some old foundations and right beside the road, a cenotaph dedicated to war dead of WW1 and WW2. On this cenotaph are the names of some of these guys who were born in Bankhead and lived in Bankhead and who served in those wars.

I like the area (below Cascade Mountain) and today as I drove past the cenotaph I saw someone had placed a new flag beside it. Then I remembered Martin's post. Those who know the place know what a beautiful spot it is. You look up and there is Cascade....really big. Fitting!

"These were the brave souls (and bravery can mean being scared shitless. Yet you still do the job knowing the consequences) who truly understood the sacrifice that sometimes has to be made in defence of freedom."

Not bad.