St. André-sur-Orne

By evening of July 19th, it seemed that the 2nd Canadian Corps had almost finished its part in Operation ATLANTIC/Operation GOODWOOD. When the tanks of the British 8th Corps began to withdraw from its furthest advance, however, the commander of the 2nd British Army called for the 2nd Canadian Corps to take over Bras as "soon as possible". On the 20th, the 8th Corps was ordered to halt, with the exception of 7th Armoured Division, who was to complete its capture of Bourguébus. The 3rd Canadian Division was left to relieve the 11th Armoured Division while the 2nd Canadian Division was to continue the advance southward and establish positions on the Verrières Ridge. The 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, not yet engaged, was ordered forward, with the Essex Scottish placed under command.¹ There followed a costly series of clashes between the 6th Brigade and German units.

 
The Battle

The Verrières Ridge rose just under 90 metres, overlooking the flat terrain to the north and was of great tactical importance. On the morning of 20 July 1944, the 6th Brigade was crossing the Orne River in preparation to attacking the ridge, while the British 7th Armoured Division were in the process of approaching it from east of the Caen-Falaise road. A company of the Rifle Brigade, supported by tanks of the 4th County of London Yeomanry were repulsed by heavy opposition, and after the British 8th Corps and the 2nd Canadian Corps headquarters consulted each other, discussing the situation of two formations heading for the same objectives, it was decided that the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade alone would continue the attack. The British tanks were ordered to withdraw east of the road to support the Canadian advance with their fire.

The brigade's start line ran from a point south of Ifs to Hill 67, newly won and held by the Calgary Highlanders (see the article on Fauborg de Vaucelles)  at 15:00hrs. The objectives of the battalions, from west to east, were:

The units attacked behind British and Canadian artillery concentrations as well as Typhoon aircraft attacks. Two squadrons of The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment remained in reserve to counter-attack as necessary, one allocated to the Camerons and another to the FMR, but no tanks went forward with the infantry.²

Good progress was initially reported, with the Camerons capturing St. André and holding it despite heavy counter-attacks, where "in the open grain fields along the ridge German tanks roamed at will, machine-gunning the infantry and knocking out the handful of Shermans that had ventured forward."³ The unit was also subject to heavy fire from west of the Orne, on the other side of the river, and the heights of Hill 112, where German observers were safely ensconced because the hill remained in enemy hands.⁴

The FMR took both Beauvoir and Troteval Farms, but were unable to advance further up the heights of the Verrières Ridge. The most severe set-back came in the centre, where the South Saskatchewans put two companies on their objectives at 17:32hrs, about 30 minutes after heavy rain had put an end to air support and observed artillery fire.

The acting Commanding Officer, Major G. R. Matthews, ordered the battalion's anti-tank guns, and those of the 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment which were in support, to come forward and dig in. But the guns were intercepted during the forward move by a small group of enemy tanks which suddenly appeared through the mist and rain from the direction of Verrières. The tanks then turned their machine-guns on the infantry. Attempts were made to use the PIAT, but the battalion, unsupported by heavy anti-tank weapons, was soon scattered and suffered very heavily. No message from it reached the 6th Brigade for more than two hours after 5:55 p.m., when it reported that it was being counter-attacked by tanks and asked for help. Many soldiers took refuge in the tall grain and made their way back during the night. None of our own tanks seems to have got into action. The South Saskatchewan had 208 casualties in this sad affair. Major Matthews was among the 66 officers and men who lost their lives.

The Essex Scottish, who had had little sleep the night before and "little or no noon meal", were ordered forward, at the moment when the leading elements of the South Saskatchewan were coming on to their objectives, to occupy the area between Beauvoir Farm and St. André. Before reaching it the battalion encountered men of the South Saskatchewan retreating. Enemy tanks and artillery fire now struck the Essex. Two of its companies are reported to have broken, it became disorganized and lost very heavily. But its main body hung on in the area north of its assigned objective, and in the early hours of 21 July the two companies that had withdrawn, after being reorganized by the brigadier, were sent forward to rejoin it. In the meantime General Simonds had taken steps to secure his right flank against further enemy counter-attacks.⁵

The advance of the Essex was a scene of extreme confusion:

The Essex Scottish was to form the firm base for the advance and be prepared to support the SSR in the event of the expected enemy counter-attack. The Battalion had began its advance behind the 6th Brigade at midnight and only received a light breakfast and no noon meal before it was ordered to dig in, in view of the enemy, between Beauvoir Farm and St. André. Even before A and B Companies, the lead elements of the Essex Scottish reached this exposed position, they suffered casualties from sniper and machinegun fire as well as from mortar bombs and 88mm shells. As the first men were hit, their friends rushed to their aid until Major Thomson told them to continue the advance and leave the wounded for the stretcher-bearers. Art Fyles saw three men go down in quick succession, including Major Thomson, and was behind Lloyd MacDonald as his head was blown off by an 88mm shell. John Cross remembered that his section of eight from A Company was down to four men by this time. Captain T.E. "Si" Steele led D Company to its objective, the crossroads between St. André and Beauvoir Farm...There they had the support of one self-propelled M-10 anti-tank gun...C Company was on their right flank. All around lay the bodies of men from the SSR, brought down in the initial attack. There was no time to dig slit trenches in the hard ground of the objective before tank shells and machine-gun fire began to cut through the Scottish position. The carrier platoon had been ordered forward by Macdonald, but had been no help. An 88mm shell knocked out the platoon sergeant's carrier. When the men of the SSR began to filter back to the Essex position with news of the armoured counter-attack and heavy losses, the commanders of A and B companies conferred and decided to withdraw without orders from battalion headquarters or brigade.⁶

The heavy rain that began in the afternoon of the 20th continued into the 21st of July, and so did the German counter-attacks, and the enemy continued to press the weakened centre with a large effort by tanks and infantry. The survivors of the South Saskatchewan Regiment attack had withdrawn to regroup and the Germans broke into the positions of the Essex Scottish, forming a deep salient between the Camerons in St. André and the FMR clinging to the foot of the ridge. The Essex retreated and at 18:00hrs, the Black Watch, supported by tanks of the 6th and 27th Armoured Regiments, prepared to counterattack from Ifs behind a massive artillery preparation.⁷

Lieutenant-Colonel Cantlie (Commanding Officer of the Black Watch) called an Orders Group and quickly assigned tasks. The Sherbrookes provided B Squadron, which was almost at full strength, to go forward with the infantry. At 1800 hours the barrage began and the Watch leaned into it, moving up the hill in a "text book operation." The tanks remained at the crossroads until the battalions' anti-tank guns were in position. The Canadians now held a line which stretched along the road from St. André to the Caen-Falaise highway but they were still on the lower slope and Verrières ridge loomed ahead.⁸

While the Black Watch attack was successful in recovering the ground lost by the Essex Scottish, and in stabilizing the brigade front along the lateral road connecting St. André and the Troteval Farm, both Troteval Farm itself and Beauvoir Farm fell back into the hands of the Germans. Many men were lost from the forward companies of the FMR, and the Verrières Ridge itself remained in enemy hands as well. Enemy counter-attacks from the river flank continued throughout the day and though the Camerons and tanks of the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment dealt with them successfully, the Camerons suffered 81 casualties, including 29 dead.⁹

Battle Honour

The following Canadian units were awarded the Battle Honour "St. André-sur-Orne" for participation in these actions:

2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade

• 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment)

2nd Canadian Division

• The Toronto Scottish Regiment (MG)

4th Canadian Infantry Brigade

• The Essex Scottish Regiment

6th Canadian Infantry Brigade

• Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal

• The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada

• The South Saskatchewan Regiment

Notes

1. Stacey, C.P. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War: Volume III: The Victory Campaign: The Operations in North-west Europe 1944-45 (Queen's Printer, Ottawa, ON, 1960) p.164

2. Ibid, pp.174-175

3. Copp, Terry The Brigade: The Fifth Canadian Infantry Brigade 1939-1945 (Fortress Publications, Stoney Creek, ON, 1992) ISBN 0-919195-16-4 p.58

4. Stacey, Ibid, p.175

5. Ibid, p.175

6. Antal, Sandy and Kevin R. Shackleton Duty Nobly Done: The Official History of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment (Walkerville Publishing, Windsor, ON, 2006) ISBN 0-9731834-8-9 pp.450-451

7. Stacey, Ibid, p.176

8. Copp, Ibid, pp.58-59

9. Stacey, Ibid, p.176