Snowtractor;
Thought you might like to read the following, different extracts from various sources regarding "B" Coy, 6 June 1944.
From "A History of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles":
0749 Touchdown Despite the air support which failed to materialize and the spotty Royal Navy bombardment, the rockets falling short and the DDs and AVRE's being late the Regiment hit the beach. C Company of the 1st Canadian Scottish (under the Regiment's command) landed at the junction of "Mike and Love". They quickly headed towards the beach defences and the Chateau Vaux.
D Company (Maj L. Fulton) with a pioneer section landed to the left of "Mike Green". B Company (Capt P. Gower) with No. 15 Platoon and 2 sections of the 6 Field Company RCE landed at "Mike Red" - all within seven minutes of one another - records the War Diary.
As the doors were lowered, these companies advanced through a hail of bullets. Spandus and German rifle spat furiously at the invaders. During the run-in some assault craft were swamped on the reefs which abounded in front of Courseulles. Thoroughly submerged and weighted down by extra ammunition, Capt. Gower virtually walked under the water until he reached the beach. Many others were in the same situation. The landing had taken place at high tide.
Rushing the enemy, B Company encountered heavy enemy fire. Over 15 machine guns and five concrete emplacements were encountered by the Battalion on the Courseulles beach. Some of the enemy positions were quickly taken, while others had to be fought over in hand-to-hand struggle.
1400 Banville The remnants of B Company had reported - only Capt. Gower and 26 other ranks remained unscathed. They had taken and destroyed three casements and 12 machine-gun nests.
1800 Creully With evening fast approaching, the Battalion set about digging in just south of Creully. 5 officers and 78 other ranks arrived from the reinforcement unit that evening - all were posted to B Company.
From "The Victory Campaign" (Vol III, Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War):
The battalion diary remarked grimly, "The bombardment having failed to kill a single German or silence one weapon, these companies had to storm their positions cold" - and did so without hesitation." "B" Company met heavy machine-gun, shell and mortar fire beginning when the L.C.A.s were 700 yards from the beach. This continued until touch-down, and as the men leaped from the craft many were hit "while still chest high in water." But the Little Black Devils were not to be denied.
Note: "B" Company would have had a landing strength of Approx 127 (+ or -)
Cheers
