Operation Windsor

Operation Windsor Part of Battle for Caen A rocket fired from a Typhoon of No 181 Squadron, Royal Air Force, on its way towards buildings at Carpiquet airfield. The Canadian 3rd Division took Carpiquet to the west of Caen on 4 July. Date 4–5 July 1944 Location Carpiquet, Normandy, France Result Tactical German Victory Strategic Allied Victory Territorial changes Carpiquet captured by Canadian forces Belligerents  Canada  Nazi Germany Commanders Rod Keller Kurt Meyer Strength 4 Infantry Battalions 1 Machine Gun Battalion 2 Armoured Regiments 1 SS Panzergrenadier Battalion 1 Flak Battery 15 tanks Casualties and losses 377 casualties[nb 1] 155 casualties[1]

v • d • e Operation Overlord (Invasion of Normandy) Neptune – British airborne landings – American airborne landings – Sword – Juno – Gold – Omaha – Utah – Pointe du Hoc – Caen – Brécourt Manor – Ushant – La Caine – Perch – Carentan – Le Mesnil-Patry – Villers–Bocage – Cherbourg – Martlet – Epsom (1st Odon) – Windsor – Charnwood – Jupiter – 2nd Odon – Goodwood – Atlantic – Verrières Ridge – Spring – Cobra – Bluecoat – Totalize – Lüttich – Tractable – Hill 262 – Falaise – Brest – Paris v • d • e Canadian military actions in World War II Northern Europe Battle of France - Dieppe - Spitzbergen Normandy Landings - Juno Beach - Le Mesnil-Patry - Windsor - Charnwood - Atlantic - Verrières Ridge - Spring - Totalize - Tractable - Falaise pocket - Le Havre - Boulogne - Calais, 1944 - Dunkirk, 1944 - Scheldt - Rhineland - Northern Netherlands - Liberation of Arnhem Italy Sicily - Avalanche - Bernhardt Line - Moro River Campaign - Monte Cassino - Shingle - Gothic Line Far East/Pacific Hong Kong - Aleutian Islands Other Campaigns Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)

Operation Windsor was a Canadian offensive launched as part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. Taking place between 4–5 July 1944, the attack was undertaken by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division in an attempt to capture the Norman town of Carpiquet—as well as the adjacent airfield—from German forces. The attack was originally intended to take place during the later stages of Operation Epsom, as a method of protecting the eastern flank of the main assault.^[2] It was postponed and launched the following week.

On 4 July 1944, four battalions of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division attacked Carpiquet in conjunction with flanking attacks by armoured regiments of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade. Although the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade succeeded in capturing Carpiquet by mid-afternoon, heavy resistance to the south prevented the airfield from being captured—despite significant Allied armour and air support. The following day, Canadian forces defeated multiple German counterattacks, succeeding in holding Carpiquet in preparation for British attacks on Caen as part of Operation Charnwood.

Background

The historic Norman town of Caen was a major Operation Overlord objective for the British Second Army, having landed forces on three Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 in order to capture the town.^{[3][dubious – discuss]} Although the actual landing objective of British forces landing on Sword Beach, heavy German resistance prevented Caen from being captured on 6 June 1944.^[4] Throughout the next three weeks, positional warfare ensued—with both sides attacking and counterattacking one another to gain minor tactical advantage—across the Anglo-Canadian front.^[5]

From 26–30 June the Second Army launched Operation Epsom, utilising the newly arrived VIII Corps, designed to outflank Caen and seize the high ground near Bretteville-sur-Laize, south of the city.^[6] By the end of the operation VIII Corps had succeeded in advancing six miles through strongly entrenched positions^[7] however the Germans were able to contain the offensive, after committing in their last available reserves.^[8] Depending on the success of VIII Corps, during Operation Epsom, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, supported by the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, was to capture the village and airfield of Carpiquet in an operation codenamed Ottawa.^[2] The operation was postponed.

Despite the penetrations to the west of Caen, forces of the I SS Panzer Corps still held positions north and west of Caen. Strong fortifications on the River Orne and near Carpiquet prevented further advance to Caen from the north.^[9] Carpiquet, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northwest from the centre of Caen, became a major objective of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, under the command of Major-General Rod Keller. The need for additional airfields on the Normandy mainland turned Carpiquet into a valuable prize for Allied forces and a heavily-defended position for German forces.^[9]

Plan

German Defenses

German defenses in and around Carpiquet were formidable, as the position was considered "strategically vital" by both sides of the conflict.^[10] German defenses at Carpiquet Airfield relied on a 1.2 miles (1.9 km) expanse of level ground, which offered the perfect "killing field" for defenders.^[10] Since D-Day, the airfield had been converted into a defensive fortress,^[11] employing minefields, field gun and machine-gun emplacements along defensive positions manned by the the I Battalion, SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 26, a flak battery and 15 tanks.^[10][12]

Canadian Assault

For the attack on Carpiquet, Keller selected the three Infantry Battalions of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade—The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, Le Régiment de la Chaudière, and The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment—as well as The Royal Winnipeg Rifles from the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade to lead the assault.^[10] Armoured and machine-gun support took the form of the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment, The Sherbrooke Fusiliers and the Cameron Highlanders Support Battalion. Additional support was later made available in the shape of two squadrons of antitank Hawker Typhoons and three squadrons of specialized tanks from the British 79th Armoured Division.^[10] As a means of adding heavy-calibre firepower to the initial bombardment, the 16 inch (41 cm) guns of the battleship HMS Rodney would bombard German positions around Carpiquet 15 miles (24 km) inland.

Operation Windsor was designed to commence at 05:00 on 4 July 1944—following a bombardment by 21 artillery regiments^[13]—with Le Régiment de la Chaudière and The North Shore Regiment attacking Carpiquet while the Sherbrooke Fusiliers protected their northern flank.^[10] To the south, The Royal Winnipeg Rifles would advance and seize the hangars of Carpiquet Airfield.^[14] Once the two regiments had captured Carpiquet, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada would push through and take control of Carpiquet Airfield's control buildings.^[10] Once the airfield was taken, it would enable further Anglo-Canadian attacks against Caen itself.^[15]

4 July: Canadian assault on Carpiquet

As dawn broke on 4 July 1944, 21 artillery regiments opened fire on German positions in and around Carpiquet, laying down a creeping barrage 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 400 yards (370 m) deep.^[16] At 05:00, two Canadian infantry regiments advanced on Carpiquet, while the Sherbrooke Fusiliers attacked to the north.^[13] While the Sherbooke Fusiliers attack succeeded in breaking through the German minefields, defensive positions of the 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment remained intact—and continued to fire on advancing infantry of The North Shore Regiment.^[13] In the centre, the Chaudières avoided much of the fire directed at The North Shore Regiment as they advanced on Carpiquet.^[1] By 06:32, both regiments had reached the outskirts of the town, coming in contact with forces of the 12th SS Panzer Division.^[16] As fighting in Carpiquet degenerated into a house by house battle of attrition, tanks of the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment assisted the infantry in gradually overcoming German defensive positions.^[17]

To the south, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles (RWR) advanced slowly towards the airfield, with German mortar fire inflicting heavy casualties on advancing infantry and armour alike.^[1] It would take the RWR 90 minutes to advance the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) between Marcelet and the hangars of the airfield.^[17] Only with eventual indirect fire support from an available squadron of the 10th Armoured Regiment was the RWR able to advance to the airfield.^[17][1] Several Sherman tanks were knocked out, and by midday the RWR were forced to withdraw halfway to their original positions.^[17]

Unaware that the Royal Winnipeg Rifles had failed to gain control of the airfield, Keller elected to commit the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (QRC) to the second phase of the assault plan. The regiment moved forward into Carpiquet—now controlled by the Chaudières and The North Shore—and attacked German strongpoints bypassed by the initial assault.^[18] It took a combination of infantry attacks, flame-throwers, petard-tanks, and immolation of one strongpoint to force the remaining 12 defenders to surrender, with the remainder surrendering after vicious fighting.^[18] The QRC reached the edge of Carpiquet as the RWR was withdrawing, and was ordered to hold their positions until the Royal Winnipeg's could reorganize for a second attack.^[1]

For the second attack on the airfield, Keller was secured the assistance of two squadrons of Hawker Typhoon antitank fighter-bombers to support the attacks against 12th SS positions.^[18] The remaining forces of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles were ordered to "execute a sweeping attack by the lower ground around the enemy's left flank",^[1] with full armour and artillery support. In the late afternoon, the RWR resumed the attack on Carpiquet Airfield. Although the RWR reached the hangars, they were unable to dislodge German defenders from the airfield.^[18] Facing strong counterattacks by Panzer units,^[1] the RWR was ordered to withdraw to their start-line under the cover of darkness.^[18] In Carpiquet, the three battalions of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade rapidly fortified their positions. Following their seizure of the town, the 8th Brigade was now positioned closer to Caen than any other Anglo-Canadian unit.^[19] Though the Canadians had obtained firm control of Carpiquet and the northern hangars, the southern hangars and control buildings remained in German hands.^[19]

5 July: German counterattacks

Less than 1 mile (1.6 km) away from the outskirts of Caen, the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade posed a significant threat to German positions in the city.^[19] With most of the defense concentrated north of Caen and by the River Odon, it was feared that Anglo-Canadian forces could attack from Carpiquet and bypass the majority of the defenses.^[19] Despite growing misgivings about the success of a counterattack, Kurt Meyer ordered the soldiers of the 12th SS Panzer Division to retake Carpiquet from Canadian forces.^[1] SS forces prepared to counterattack at Carpiquet from Francqueville with armour, artillery, mortars and infantry.^[19]

Shortly after midnight, the first of the SS counterattacks began, throwing itself against Canadian defenses. Although 13 tanks had been lost the previous day,^[19] the remaining tanks of the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment—supported by mortars from the Cameron Highlanders—prevented German panzers from penetrating the ruins of Carpiquet.^[19] Strong Canadian defensive positions and machine-gun fire caused attacking German forces heavy casualties. By dawn, almost no ground had been gained by the attackers. By midday, forces of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade and 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment had defeated three counterattacks, with artillery and Hawker Typhoons ensuring that German forces could not breach Canadian positions.^[1] Although the town remained under Canadian control, German Nebelwerfer Rocket-Artillery and mortars continued to bombard Carpiquet.^[19]

Aftermath

Three days after Operation Windsor ended, full-scale attacks on Caen renewed, with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division taking part in Operation Charnwood. On 9 July, the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade succeeded in capturing Carpiquet Airfield from its German defenders,^[15] as 450 heavy-bombers of the Royal Air Force bombarded the city in preparation for a full assault. By 11 July, the northern half of Caen had been seized by British forces, while the remainder of the city had been leveled.^[20] On 19 July, British forces as part of Operation Goodwood captured the remainder of Caen, while Canadian forces attacked German positions on Verrières Ridge as part of Operation Atlantic.^[21]

Canadian casualties for the operation totaled 377,^[1] of which 127 were fatal.^[1] The majority of these losses occurred on 4 July—the RWR and The North Shore Regiment took approximately 130 casualties each on the first day.^[19] In total, 17 tanks were lost by the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment, with an unknown number of losses by the Sherbrooke Fusiliers.^[22] Casualty statistics for the German defenders indicate 155 total losses,^[1] the majority of which occurred during the counterattacks on 5 July.^[23]

Notes

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