Panzer Leader Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 After reading "Steel Inferno" by Michael Reynolds(great book! Any accuracy issues?) I was hoping to get a little more info on the Canadians in July/August of '44. Seems they were really in a meat grinder. Specifically looking for info on Carpiquet Village and Operation "Windsor." Are there any scenarios of this battle? Or does anyone have a map of the area Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopenfaust2 Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 PL Check Dorosh's website for a Carpiquet operation I did a long time ago (or the scenario depot). I've also re-done that operation using aerial photographs. I've never released it to the public but I think the map is great (the actual battle needs some work). If you want to play it or check it out I can e-mail it to you. Also read Kurt Meyer's Grenadiers. He has a chapter on the events surrounding the 12th SS against the Canadians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 C.P.Stacey is the author who did THE VICTORY CAMPAIGN, the official history - with maps. Check out books by Terry Copp, though, such as Maple Leaf Route: Falaise - complete with aerial photos and maps. The Carpiquet battle is neatly described in Charlie Martin's book BATTLE DIARY. He was a CSM in the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Panzer Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 panzer leader: ...you will find a modest amount of information concerning operation windsor in alexander mckee's Caen: Anvil of Victory. apparently, at the time of the 8th canadian infantry brigade's attack, both the village, as well as the air field were held by approximately 150 troops courtesy of the 12th SS, in addition to a rather small number of medium tanks (3-4?) and a thin screen of anti-tank guns, which included a "loaned" flak 36 ("88"). the latter is said to have dominated the fields surrounding the airfield and was responsible for busting up a tank assault virtually on its own. ...the canadians laid a positively ball-busting amount of artillery on their objectives (428 tubes), including 15" and 16" naval guns. ...the german defenses consisted, in part, of a series of interconnected blockhouses, which allowed them to "sit out" the bombardment. the defenders were also supported by the 7th werfer brigade and a liberal amount of mortars. i too am open to learning more about this particularly bitter engagement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpig Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 This isn't quite what you were asking about, but I'm interested in the Canadians in Normandy as well . . . I've been looking for some ideas for re-creating some Canadian Overlord (and beyond) battles and came across this article about a hitherto unkown unit (at least to me) of the British 6th Airborne. You can check it out at the Canadian Airborne Regiment home page http://members.tripod.com/TimothyCoderre/default.htm Look under "History." I've also included a snippet of the article below. I know there are no Canadian Airborne Troops in Combat Mission, but a cool scenario could be cooked up by either using the regular Canadian infantry and just "pretending" they're airborne troops, or using the British airborne troops (since the Canucks were equipped as and under command of the British 6th Airborne. I'm guessing the latter would be more "factual." But it'd be missing the Canadian flavour. (And thus missing the Airborne's firepower rating.) Anyways, I'm looking forward to someone verifying this info for me. Also, if anyone has any idea if the actions undertaken by these units were indeed of interest. (I suppose they could have been HO-HUM . . . ) Here is part of the article; While the Canadian parachutists completed their training in the United States, discussions were underway in England about the employment of this new unit. The Battalion would be part of the Canadian element in the United Kingdom, but under command and equipped as a British parachute battalion in the 6th Airborne Division. The Battalion's first taste of combat was the Normandy invasion. Late on June 5th, 1944 they took off with fifty aircraft carrying the troops and equipment heading for France. In addition to the troop's fighting equipment each man carried a knife, toggle rope, escape kit, with French currency, and two 24 ration packs totalling 70 pounds. Following a massive bombardment of the invasion area, the British forces were to land in the eastern sector on the beaches west of Ouistreham, their objective was Caen. The 6th Airborne Division's mission was to protect the left flank of the British sector. The First Canadian Parachute Battalion was to protect the flanks of the 3rd Brigade's operational area. Their tasks were as follows: - Secure and protect the 3rd Parachute Brigade DropZone by destruction of an enemy Headquarters at Varaville and any other enemy in the area; - Destroy bridge at Varaville by H plus two hours and cover demolition until relieved by 1 SS Bde (Special Service?) not before H plus five hours; - Destroy bridges at Robehomme by H plus two hours and cover demolition; - Cover move to and assault on battery (at Merville) by 9 Para Bn from interference from south; and - Seize and hold area road junction (where the 3rd Para HQ would be). Sounds interesting to me. Later Gpig P.S. there's also a cool article at the CAR homepage about the FSSF (FIrst Special Service Force), also known as the "Devil's Brigade." (Remember the movie?) [ July 24, 2002, 01:18 PM: Message edited by: Gpig ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 Here are a few scenarios / operations that involve Canadian units... Courselles-sur-Mer Putot Brettville Meyer's decision #1, #2 & #3 Bloody Buron Tilly Charnwood A Canadian confrontation Cintheaux-Totalize August Bank Holiday To the last man (der Kessel version) Worthington force The wrong hill I have most of these on my HD. E-mail me if you see any you like (or you can snag them from the depot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted July 24, 2002 Share Posted July 24, 2002 I am still interested in hosting Canadian historically based scenarios for CMBO, incidentally, so I would be pleased to consider any new scenarios being created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darknight (DC) Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 Hey Michael, How is the work on the Dieppe scenarios coming along??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 Originally posted by Darknight_Canuck: Hey Michael, How is the work on the Dieppe scenarios coming along???Ugh - complete abandonment. Too bad, I even found a contour map of the landing areas, but too much other real life crap on my plate. I would like to revisit it someday, but with CMBB coming out it seems kind of beside the point, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stixx Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 I was looking at doing a scenario on the carpiquet AO, this is one site that had some reasonable info on the area. Defeat of the 12th SS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopenfaust2 Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 try this link too. http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~grempel/tours/normandy/battle.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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