Battle of Villers-Bocage - Casualties

Casualties

Contradictory sources make exact casualty figures for 13 June difficult to establish. The 22nd Armoured Brigade group suffered around 217 men killed, wounded, and missing that day, a large proportion of whom were taken prisoner when the Germans cut off and captured the force on Point 213. This figure includes five riflemen who had been captured but were subsequently shot by their guards; according to Marie, the guards believed the British were attempting to escape when they spontaneously took cover in a ditch as American shellfire closed in. The British lost between 23 and 27 tanks, more than half of which were on Point 213 where A Squadron 4CLY lost all 15 of the tanks it began the battle with.

Both the Panzer Lehr and 2nd Panzer Divisions were in action across the entire sector on 13 June and did not count the casualties sustained at Villers-Bocage separately from all losses incurred that day. However, the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion was only engaged at Villers-Bocage, so this unit's losses are available. Taylor gives nine men killed and 10 wounded in the 1st Company and one killed and three wounded in the 2nd. Sources differ widely on the number of German tanks lost during 13 June—in part because elements of the Panzer Lehr Division were committed piecemeal making it impossible to be certain of the number of Panzer IVs knocked out. German tank losses are generally placed at between eight and fifteen tanks, including six Tiger Is. Chester Wilmot notes what a costly loss this was, as there were only 36 Tiger tanks in Normandy at that time. However, Taylor concedes that the numbers claimed by the British probably include tanks that were immobilised but subsequently recovered.

Local Villers-Bocage historian Henri Marie names at least nine French civilians who died on 13 June. Six of these were killed by crossfire or shrapnel during the battle and the remaining three by artillery fire just before midnight. Marie claims that three of the deaths may in fact have been the result of executions. Further civilian casualties were sustained over the following days due to the continued fighting and bombing. Following the British withdrawal the town was reoccupied and searched by the Germans for any wounded or hiding British soldiers. In the course of this several shops and houses, along with the town hall, were set on fire.