| Original caption: “The Attack on Caen: Sherman tanks moving forward, pass other tanks and crews waiting for the order to advance.” Sherman tanks of “C” Squadron, United Kingdom Royal Army 144th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps, 33rd Armored Brigade, in support of the United Kingdom Royal Army 3rd Infantry Division, moving forward into Lébisey Wood, north of Hérouville, for Operation Charnwood, the 3rd operational plan of assault on Caen since the landings on June 6. The city of Caen is encircled to the north (and in particular by the British paratroopers of the 6th airborne division in position since D-Day) and to the west by the positions held by the Anglo-Canadians on the Odon. The situation became highly tragic to German defenders who had to withstand a bombardment on July 7, 1944, in the evening by the strategic forces of the Royal Air Force; Lancaster and Halifax aircraft dropped 2,500 tonnes of bombs north of Caen, on the outskirts. The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division and the British 3rd Infantry Division occupied the northern part of Caen on D-Day + 33 (July 9, 1944), while the 12th Schutzstaffel (SS) Panzer Division and the Nazi German Heer (“Army”) 272nd Infantry Division fell back, towards the south of the Orne River. The city of Caen was entirely liberated on July 20, at the end of operations Goodwood and Atlantic (the latter was entrusted to the Canadian II Corps as part of Operation Goodwood), and the Caen plain was controlled up to 7 kilometers (4.5 miles) from the city. But the city is almost destroyed by the incessant bombardment of Allied land, sea, and air forces. 80 percent of the town is destroyed following various bombings, and ruins hinder vehicle movements. The bombardment of Caen, which is 1 of the most important in the battle of Normandy, had particularly terrible consequences for the population of the city. Estimates of losses amounted to nearly 400 civilians killed. This is without counting the hundreds of injuries and the indirect deaths related to the diseases declared after the bombings. Still, the survivors welcomed Anglo-Canadians as liberators. For the Normans, whose heroism is only too little emphasized, everything has to be rebuilt. Their freedom is at this price, that of blood. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0483.jpg |
| Image Size | 336.48 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1737 x 1651 |
| Photographer | James H. Mapham |
| Photographer Title | Number Five United Kingdom Royal Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 8, 1944 |
| Location | Hérouville |
| City | Caen |
| State or Province | Normandy |
| Country | France |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | B 6642 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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