12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend - Normandy Campaign

Normandy Campaign

On 6 June 1944, the Western Allies launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of France. The 12th SS Panzer Division, along with the 21st Panzer Division, were the closest Panzer divisions to the landing beaches, but they were unable to move until they got authorization from Hitler. The 12th SS was not ordered to the front until 1430 hours on 6 June, over twelve hours after the first reports of the landings. Prior to this Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt had ordered over half of the division to deal with a parachute landing on the coast near Lisieux which were found to be dummies from Operation Titanic. Kurt Meyer's 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment and Max Wünsche's 12th SS Panzer Regiment were the lead elements of the Division as it started for Normandy from their base to the west of Paris and South of Rouen.

The Division's advance to Normandy and the British/Canadian landing beaches of Sword and Juno was severely hampered by the incessant allied fighter-bomber attacks, the losses to Allied aircraft were not heavy, but the delays caused by wrecked vehicles were enough to destroy the Division's timetable. The first units of the 12th SS finally reached their assembly area near Evrecy at 2200 hours on 6 June.

At 1000 hours on 7 June, Kurt Meyer's 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, along with 50 Panzer IV tanks of the 2nd Battalion of Max Wünsche's 12th SS Panzer Regiment, arrived and moved into position north west of Caen. Supported by a battalion of artillery (3rd Battalion, 12th SS Panzer Regiment), this battle group was ordered to crush the advancing Canadian infantry and tanks and drive through to the coast, still only a few miles away. In Meyer's words they were to "throw the fish into the sea". Meyer had three Panzergrenadier battalions and two companies of tanks on each flank with artillery in support. While planning to start his attack at 1600 houres, Meyer's hand was forced at about 1400 hours by a battlegroup of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and tanks of the 27th Tank Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers) who were advancing to Carpiquet. Watching the Canadian advance unfold from the tower of the Ardenne Abbey, he saw an opportunity opening in front of him. The Canadians continued to file across the German front. Once the lead Canadian tanks reached the ridge south of Franqueville, they spotted one of the panzer companies waiting in ambush (they had allowed the tanks to move forward without firing a shot). Meyer reported that "The battalion maintained excellent fire discipline" and the advancing tanks moving across the front were then hit in their unprotected flank by the tanks of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment. The attack by the 12th SS had caught the Canadians by surprise, and their infantry were forced to fall back to Authie with Meyer's 3rd Battalion in pursuit. They captured Authie and Franqueville in their initial attack and the next objective was Buron, a kilometer to the north.

Although the attacks destroyed many Canadian tanks and overran a company of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in Authie, they failed to break through the Canadians around Buron. Meyer, however, countermanded the divisional commander's order on his own initiative, feeling that objective unrealistic, and hoped to merely stop the flow of Canadian units inland until the situation could be stabilized.

The attack by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was supposed to have been supported by the 21st Panzer Division but they could not disengage from fighting the British 3rd Infantry Division and were still at Couvre, as a result the right flank was open and being probed by Canadian tanks, which were destroyed by the anti-tank platoon of the 1st Battalion. During these attacks the 12th SS had captured about 150 prisoners from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and crews from the 27th Tank Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers). According to Lieutenant Colonel Mel Gordon the 27th Tank Regiment had lost 28 Sherman tanks and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders 245 men on June 7. Casualties of the 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment amounted to about 300 men. 15 Tanks from the 12th SS Panzer Regiment were also destroyed.

Late on 7 June, the 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment under command of SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer Wilhelm Mohnke arrived on the battlefield. Meyer's attack had pushed back one part of the Canadian advance but to the west of Meyer, the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade had occupied a group of small villages two miles into the German line. The 26th Panzergrenadier Regiment crossed behind Meyer's regiment and took up positions to their west. After planning and positioning the regiment for a powerful thrust the 1st Battalion launched an attack towards Norrey-en-Bessin, defended by the Regina Rifles of the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division. Their orders were to overrun the Canadians and force a deep wedge between them and the British division to the west. No reconnaissance of the Canadian positions was done and the infantry met a maelstrom of defensive fire from firmly established positions.

The attack, launched at 0330 hours, 8 June - had little initial success. The various companies in the attacking Battalion failed to co-ordinate their moves towards the Canadians and, despite high casualties, Canadian artillery and supporting heavy machine guns of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa took a heavy toll on each attacking company of SS troops. The Regina Rifles held their ground and the 1st Battalion fell back. The division was criticized for performing inadequately in the opening days of the Normandy campaign. and Canadian Brigadier Harry Foster later noted that:

No use was made of the fact that the Reginas' flanks were exposed; instead, 'the enemy flung himself straight against the strongest points and utterly failed to exploit the undoubted weakness of his opponent's position.

On the Canadian right the 2nd Battalion attacked the Royal Winnipeg Rifles defending the village of Putot-en-Bessin at 0630 houres. The Battalion managed to break into the village and surround several companies, effectively pushing the Winnipeg Rifles out of the village by 1300 houres and inflicting 256 casualties - of which 175 were taken prisoner. A counter-attack launched at 2030 hours by the Canadian Scottish, however, regained Putot-en-Bessin, and the II Battalion withdrew and dug-in south of the village. With neither side able to secure complete victory the lines on either side were becoming fixed and turning the battle into one of attrition to capture the surrounding villages. A company of Panther tanks arrived late on 8 June, and Meyer personally led a night attack toward the village of Rots, which they reached at midnight. After several hours of fighting, however, the 12th SS were forced to withdraw, leaving behind six tanks. The Canadians noted that, despite advancing with courage and determination, the young Germans seemed to lack tactical control and had a habit of attacking piecemeal and failed to exploit favorable opportunities.

Despite the ferocity of the 12th SS counterattacks, the Division failed to fulfill its orders to throw the attacking allies back into the sea. British troops had moved up on either side of the positions now firmly held by the troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and had also established a firm line from which they could develop future operations.

What followed were a series of local attacks by both sides. Neither was able to secure any strategic advantage, and the German defensive perimeter around Caen tightened. Casualties on both sides steadily mounted. The 12th SS headquarters, positioned in Venoix some 2 kilometers southwest of Caen, came under naval gunfire on 14 June, killing the commander, Fritz Witt, and several other senior officers. The High Command appointed Kurt Meyer as the new commander of the division. (some sources believe he was the youngest divisional commander on any side during the war). The 12th SS was now deployed in detachments north and west of Caen, and like the rest of the German Army, was suffering from shortages of ammunition, fuel and equipment. To the north of Caen, some of its Panzers supported unreliable units such as the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division and to the west, a flak battery and 15 tanks, together with the 1st Battalion, 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, held the important Carpiquet airfield.

The 3rd Canadian Division ceased major combat operations until July, with only one day of major operations, on 11 June, at Le Mesnil-Patry. This saw the 12th SS inflict major casualties to the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the 1st Hussars (6th Armoured Regiment) which lost 51 Sherman tanks during the attack.

Also on 11 June the 46th Royal Marine Commando assaulted Rots. The official historian of Le Régiment de la Chaudière, described the scene the following day:

They fought like lions on both sides, so that the dead lay corpse by corpse. We searched every house, every courtyard to avoid ambush. And here is the confirmation of how ferocious last night's battle must have been. The Commandos lie dead in rows beside the dead SS. Grenades are scattered all over the road and in the porches of houses. Here we see a Commando and an SS man, literally dead in each others arms, having slaughtered each other. There, a German and a Canadian tank have engaged each other to destruction, and are still smoldering, and from each blackened turret hangs the charred corpse of a machine gunner. Over here are a group who ran towards a wall for shelter and were shot down before they got there. And then near the church, as the advance guard of C Company and the carriers turn the corner, there are three Germans. Only three. But one of them instantly draws his pistol and hits one of our men. A Bren gunner kills two of the three SS men, but the survivor gets away. Now we understand with what kind of fanatic we have to deal.

The following two weeks until the end of the month, was a period of relative quiet, as both sides were exhausted. What did not stop was the constant Allied artillery, naval bombardment and air attacks. Major operations for both sides began again in July. Losses were suffered when the 12th SS successfully defended the Carpiquet airfield (which the Canadians called Operation Windsor) though the village of Carpiquet itself fell as only fifty men were available to defend it from an attack by an entire Canadian battalion.

More attacks during Operation Charnwood fell upon the Division the following week. Vicious hand-to-hand fighting took place in various locations, notably at Buron with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada on 8 July where the Highland Light Infantry lost 262 men in a single day of combat with the 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment. However,

Not only was Buron taken, but a very formidable armoured counter-attack late in the morning was beaten off... Fourteen German tanks were reported destroyed.

The division was driven from its positions in nearby villages of Gruchy and Cussy as well, and the divisional command post in the Abbey Ardennes, which had been occupied since before D-Day, was also lost.

For the next four days, the 12th SS held out against repeated attacks by the British I Corps. Finally 2,600 tons of bombs were dropped on Caen by the Royal Air Force. The bombing destroyed much of the city and caused further problems for the German supply line. Meyer, unwilling to retire, continued his bitter defense. Eventually though, the British were able to penetrate into the city, forcing the Germans to prepare to withdraw from Caen. On 8 July, after all hope of holding the city was lost, Meyer ignoring his orders ordered the evacuation of the city and the remnants of the Division withdrew to the south of Caen.

Operation Jupiter began on 10 July, while some elements of the 12th SS still held part of the line between Eterville and the Orne River. Although they held the line for a time, the defenders were eventually overcome by sheer numbers. A young grenadier noted in his diary what it was like to face the British:

From 0630 to 0800, again heavy machine-gun fire. Then Tommy attacks with great masses of infantry and many tanks. We fight as long as possible but we realize we are in a losing position. By the time the survivors try to pull back, we realize we are surrounded.

The following day, the division was pulled out of the line and sent to Potigny, some 30 kilometers north of Falaise, for a rest and refit.

The division was to have little respite though, and on 19 July were under attack by Anglo-Canadian forces Operation Goodwood. Following this the division was pulled out of the line and used to form the mobile reserve for I SS Panzer Corps. Goodwood was followed by Operation Cobra on 25 July, during which the German line finally broke, leading to the breakout of the Americans to the west.