Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 101 continued ... Monday, June 5th, 1944: near Southampton, England, the men of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade had already boarded the ships. Landing Craft Assault (LCA) slung from the davits, the ships sailed off at dawn, followed by the large landing crafts for infantry and tanks. They passed Portsmouth around 0900 (9 am). On the way, subaltern officers and later troops were briefed. They broke open the seals of their orders and took out the maps where the actual targets were shown. This was no exercise… The Channel was rough. Waves, some two metres high, made sailing difficult even at reduced speed. The ships and landing crafts were tossed around and many got seasick. In front of the fleet, minesweepers cleared a route through the mined area protecting the coast. The 31st Canadian Minesweeper Flotilla, as well as other Canadian ships incorporated into British flotillas took part in the operation, clearing ten lanes marked with lighted buoys. At nightfall, everything was going according to plan. In the distance, the bombings could be heard; at 2331 hrs (11:31 pm) Bomber Command launched an assault against the coastal batteries in the landing zone. Bombs fell until 0515 (5:15 am); in all, 1,136 sorties, 5,268 tonnes dropped. The Royal Canadian Air Force 6 Group was part of the operation, targeting batteries at Merville, Franceville and Houlgate. Meanwhile, French resistance fighters warned by BBC coded messages undertook more than a thousand sabotage actions during a single night. At midnight, the 6th British Airborne division, which included the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, dropped off north of Caen to protect the eastern flank of the landing area. On the western side, US paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne were dropped; their mission was to take control of the area inland from Utah Beach. ‘C’ Company had been given the task of clearing out the enemy garrison at Varaville. Given the size of the force represented by ‘C’ Company, the undertaking was formidable. At the Chateau de Varaville, a 75 mm anti-tank gun and fortifications, which included bunkers and trenches, had been established to control the road intersection. This was manned by a much larger force than had been anticipated… – John A. Willes, Out of the Clouds 80th Anniversary of D-Day 6 June 1944 Landing Craft Assault - LCA
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