General News

Canadian soldiers stormed the beaches on D-Day

November 5, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

On June 6, 1944, Canadian forces took part in the greatest amphibious operation in military history.

Over 10,000 Canadian sailors in 110 warships, 15 RCAF squadrons, and 14,000 soldiers took part in D-Day.

The Canadian Army 3rd Infantry Division and 2nd Armoured Brigade were assigned to land at Juno Beach on the shores of Normandy.

The invasion had been years in the planning, with Allied soldiers landing in Britain and training for over a year.

The Atlantic Wall in Normandy had been defended and strengthened with millions of mines and obstacles.

All men taking part in this invasion were young and inexperienced.

Along with the Americans and British, the invasion crossed the English Channel with 7,000 ships.

Despite the massive bombardment from Allied battleships, the German bunkers and pillboxes, built of thick concrete and reinforced with steel, proved resistant to anything but a direct hit.

This meant the soldiers would have to take them out one by one.

The first to reach the beach were the engineer units. They were tasked with clearing mines and obstacles from the beaches.

The Germans responded with intense fire against men and landing craft.

Canadian units pressed forward, engaging German fortifications while under heavy fire.

By noon, every unit of the 3rd Canadian Division was on shore, and all preliminary objectives had been completed and captured.

By nightfall, a wide stretch of land, 10 to 16km deep, was controlled by Canadian forces.

On that first day, 359 Canadian soldiers had been killed and 584 wounded.

The Allied landing at Normandy proved to be a success and turned the tide of the war.

With the beaches secured, the Allies were able to land supplies and more troops and fight their way across Europe to victory when Germany surrendered on Apr. 30, 1945.

Readers Comments (0)