History Isu: Juno Beach

Some of the greatest battles in Canadian history took place during the course of World War II. Most would argue it to have been Stalingrad, The Battle of the Atlantic, or even the Battle of Scheldt. The Battle at Juno Beach was a defining moment in Canadian history that led to the rise of a great nation. On June 6, 1944, after having prepared for more than four years, Canadian troops in Britain took place in an invasion that would become the greatest turning point in Canadian history. “... early in the morning of June 6th, 1944 under cover of a massive air and naval bombardment, ships started ferrying 150 000 American, British, and Canadian troops across the channel of Normandy.” After courageous fighting and tremendous struggles, the Canadian, American, and British troops managed to get the farthest inland to secure a position against allied invaders. “...the German defences at Juno Beach had been shattered and Canada had established the beachhead.” Because Canadian troops were able to secure the beach, “Operation Overlord” led to great victories amongst the Allied Troops. Juno was the largest amphibious battle to have taken place in history. “155,000 soldiers, 5,000 ships and landing craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 planes were massed for the greatest seaborne invasion in history.”
Canadian troops, being the only commonwealth nation, were assigned 1 out of the 5 beaches at Normandy to secure. First, Canada was to create a beachhead on Juno beach. The American, Canadian and British troops task was to capture and seize all sea towns ashore of the beach and get further inland after breaking through enemy lines. Also, their objective was to secure the Carpiquet airport and create a link that would be able to attach the British beachheads on the other two beaches, Sword and Gold beach, and also to secure the Caen-Bayeux highway. “The challenge facing the Canadians was to overcome the coastal defences and capture ground positions that could be defended against