Battle of Verrières Ridge
Series of engagements, part of the Battle of Normandy, World War II / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in Calvados, during the Second World War. The main combatants were two Canadian infantry divisions—with additional support from the Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade—against elements of three German SS Panzer divisions. The battle was part of the British and Canadian tacks south of Caen, and took place from 19 to 25 July 1944, being part of Operation Atlantic (18–21 July) and Operation Spring (25–27 July).
Battle of Verrières Ridge | |||||||
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Part of Operations Atlantic and Spring | |||||||
Canadian soldiers under fire near Fleury-sur-Orne in the early hours of 25 July 1944 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Canada | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Guy Simonds Charles Foulkes |
Günther von Kluge Sepp Dietrich Kurt Meyer Wilhelm Bittrich | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2 Infantry Divisions, 1 Armoured Brigade |
2 Panzer Divisions remnants of 1 Panzer Division 1 Infantry Division | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
800 killed[a] 2,000 wounded or captured | Unknown[a] | ||||||
^[a] Discussed in detail in Casualties |
The immediate Allied objective was Verrières Ridge, a belt of high ground which dominates the route from Caen to Falaise. The ridge was occupied by battle-hardened German veterans, who had fallen back from Caen and entrenched to form a strong defensive position. Over the course of six days, substantial Canadian and British forces made repeated attempts to capture the ridge. Strict German adherence to defensive doctrine, as well as strong and effective counterattacks by Panzer formations, resulted in many Allied casualties for little tactical gain.[1]
From the perspective of the First Canadian Army, the battle is remembered for its tactical and strategic miscalculations—the most notable being a highly controversial attack by The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada on 25 July, in which 315 of its 325 soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. This attack—the costliest single day for a Canadian battalion since the 1942 Dieppe Raid—has become one of the most contentious and critically analysed events in Canadian military history.[2][3][4] While failing to achieve its original objective, an important strategic result of the Battle of Verrières Ridge was to aid the overwhelmingly successful Operation Cobra, by tying down powerful German Panzer formations that might otherwise have been moved to counter-attack Cobra.