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ESTRÉES-LA-CAMPAGNE
Calvados
- 20 km sud de Caen
Hill 111, the tomb of the Canadian tanks
On
July 1944, the Operation Goodwood, east of Caen, had caused
the loss of more than three hundred allied tanks; the offensive had
been blocked for two weeks. But this war of attrition turns in the
Allied Forces advantage. Indeed, men and supplies landed ashore unceasingly
on Normandy beaches, whereas the German supply columns were strafed
by the Allied Air Force. German convoys could move only during the
night and arrived in dispersed order on the front line. On 10 August
1944, in the second phase of the Operation Totalize, the
Canadians underwent a serious setback on Hill 140 near Estrées-la-Campagne.
The 1st Polish Armoured Division assaulted the hill, starting from
Soignolles. But the Germans of the 85th Infantry Division had built
trenches, and opposed solid resistance until darkness. The polish
tanks were counter-attacked by the Tiger, the Panther and the Mark
IV of the Kampfgruppe Wünsche, who had defeated the Canadians.
The 10th Dragons Regiment liberated Estrées-la-Campagne in
the night of 10-11 August.
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Worthington Forces monument
