Supporting corps divisional units integrated in Mike Sector and Nan Sector
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
No. 14, No. 22, No. 23 Field Ambulance and No. 17 Light Field Ambulance (2nd CAB)s
Royal Canadian Dental Corps
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Canadian Chaplain Service
British Forces
British forces on Juno beach included units from Second Army and Combined Operations Headquarters They also provided the tri-service Beach groups that defended the beaches from air attack, directed the following waves and arranged casualty evacuation. The 79th Armoured division was the administrative division of the specialist assault and combat engineering vehicle units allocated to overcome the defences.
HQ, 5 Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers (Detachment)
26 Assault Squadron, RE (Churchill AVRE)
80 Assault Squadron, RE (Churchill AVRE)
71st Field Company, RE (Attached)
3rd and 4th Batteries, 2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment (Centaur support tanks)
Royal Armoured Corps
C Squadron, Inns of Court Regiment (armoured car unit tasked with rushing the bridges over the Orne river, south of Caen)
HQ 7th GHQ Troops Engineers, Royal Engineers – Comd: Col F.C. Nottingham (Landed as sub-units distributed amongst assaulting formations and Beach Groups)
65th Field Company, RE
72nd Field Company, RE
85th Field Company, RE
184th Field Company, RE
240th Field Company, RE
262nd (Sussex) Field Company, RE (attached from XII Corps Troops, Royal Engineers; distributed as beach obstacle clearance parties with 3rd Canadian Division)
582nd Field Company, RE
Platoon of 19th Field Company, RE (attached from I Corps Troops RE)
297th Field Park Company, RE
19th & 20th Stores Sections, RE
59th & 61st Mechanical Equipment Sections, RE
204th Works Section, RE
670th & 710th Artisan Works Companies, RE
Two Advanced Park Sections of 176th Workshop and Park Company, RE
48th Bomb Disposal Section, RE
1033rd & 1034th Port Operating Companies, RE
966th Inland Water Transport Operating Company, RE
1622nd Bailey Platoon of 106th Bridge Company, Royal Army Service Corps (RASC)
102 Beach Sub-Area
No.7 Beach Group, Mike sector, including:
8th (Irish) Battalion, King's Regiment
'O' Anti-Aircraft Assault Group (from 80th Anti-Aircraft Brigade)
474th (Independent) Searchlight Battery, less B and C Troops
112nd Company, Pioneer Corps, less detachments
114th LAA Regiment Workshop, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME)
No. 8 Beach Group, Nan sector, including:
5th Battalion (Hackney Gurkhas) Royal Berkshire Regiment
'P' AA Assault Group (from 80th AA Brigade)
Regimental HQ 86th (Honourable Artillery Company) Heavy AA Regiment – Comd: Lt-Col G.H. Champness
273rd Battery, 86th HAA Regiment
383rd Battery, 86th HAA Regiment less 1 Troop
375th Battery, 114th LAA Regiment
1 Troop 296th Battery, 73rd LAA Regiment
1 Troop 321st Battery, 93rd LAA Regiment
155th AA Operations Room
Detachment 112nd Pioneer Company
86th HAA Regiment Workshop, REME
In reserve No.4 Beach Group
Naval forces
Force J was commanded by the British, and the flagship vessel came from the Royal Navy. Among the chief vessels in this combined British and Canadian Force were
HMS Hilary infantry landing and headquarters ship
The force also included 109 Royal Canadian Navy vessels, among them:
Two of the 11 destroyers (7 Fleet Class and 4 Hunt-class) were Canadian RCN:
HMCS Algonquin
HMCS Sioux
Two of the Landing Ships Infantry (Medium) were Canadian RCN:
HMCS Prince Henry
HMCS Prince David
Landing craft from both the RN and RCN were employed in Force J, the total number were:
1 Landing Ship Headquarters
2 Assault Group Headquarters Ship
3 Landing Ships Infantry (Large)
3 Landing Ships Infantry (Medium)
12 Landing Ships Infantry (Hand Hoisting)
20 Landing Craft Infantry (Large)
8 Landing Craft Infantry (Small)
142 Landing Craft Assault
4 Landing Craft Assault (Obstacle Clearance)
18 Landing Craft Assault (Hedgerow)
8 Landing Craft Support (Medium)
4 Landing Craft Headquarters
22 Landing Ship Tank Mark II
2 Landing Craft Tank Mark III (Flotilla of 10 craft each)
7 Landing Craft Tank Mark IV (Flotilla of 10 craft each)
2 Landing Craft Tank Mark V/VI (Flotilla of 10 craft each)
7 Landing Craft Flak
7 Landing Craft Gun (Large)
7 Landing Craft Tank (Armoured)
8 Landing Craft Tank (High Explosive)
9 Landing Craft Tank (Rocket)
36 Landing Craft Personnel (Large) Smoke Layer
4 Landing Barge Flak
4 Landing Craft Support (Large) Mark I
3 Landing Craft Support (Large) Mark II
1 Landing Ship Dock
15 Rhino ferry
German forces
Standing against the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, units of 716.Infanterie-Division (Static) – Wehrmacht Heer Coastal Defence (Bodenständigen) had little tactical mobility and its personnel, in general, belonged to the lowest category of conscript, coming from older age groups or from the Landsturm: Military District 6. While the division in Normandy with the fewest personnel; fronting the Juno sector, its density of troops was a little stronger than elsewhere. The division had no combat experience before D-Day, and on 1 May 1944 it only had 7,771 personnel of all ranks.
The 716. Infanterie-Division consisted of:
716.Division – HQ Stab Gefechtsstand: Caen: La Folie-Couvrechef – GOC: Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter
Nachrichten-Abteilung 716. Kdr Major Werner Liedloff (Signals)
K.V.A. H1 / Küsten Verteidigung Abschnitt Caen. Kdr: Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter. Gefechtsstand: Caen - La Folie-Couvrechef
K.V.-Gruppe. Küsten Verteidigung Gruppe Courseulles:
K.V.U.-Gr. Küsten Verteidigung Unter Gruppe Meuvaines: Major Lehman - Kdr Bataillon II. / 726. Gefechtsstand: St. Croix sur Mer (Bazenville)
K.V.U.-Gr. Küsten Verteidigung Unter Gruppe Seulles: Hauptmann Deptolla - Kdr Bataillon II. / 736. Gefechtsstand: Château de Tailleville at WN 23
K.V.-Gruppe. Küsten Verteidigung Gruppe Riva-Bella: Oberst Ludwig Krug - Kdr Grenadier-Regiment 736. Gefechtsstand: Colleville-sur-Orne at WN 17 Höhe
K.V.U.-Gr. Küsten Verteidigung Unter Gruppe Orne: - Kdr Bataillon I. / 736. Gefechtsstand: Colleville-sur-Orne
K.V.U.-Gr. Küsten Verteidigung Unter Gruppe Luc: Major Pipor - Kdr Bataillon III. / 736. Gefechtsstand: Cresserons
716.Division – Artillerie-Regiment 1716.
Bataillon I. / 1716 AR. East of Orne: WN 17 Beauvais
Bttn 1. Merville WN01 - NW Gonneville-sur-Orne
Bttn 2. Southwest of Colleville-sur-Orne - At WN16
Bttn 3. East of Orne - At Brieville
Bttn 4. Southwest Ouistreham - Château d'Eau: At WN12
Bataillon II. / 1716 AR. Ouistreham: West of Crepon
Bttn 5. Between South Crepon and Bazenville: At WN36a
Bttn 6. La Mare-Fontaine: Between Crepon and Bazenville - At WN32
Bttn 7.(Resi) North le Moulin sur Mue - West Bény-sur-Mer: At WN28
Bataillon III. / 1716 AR. Northwest of Caen: NOT in 716 Inf.Div. Sector
Bttn 8 Not in 716 Div Sector: At Maisy La Martiniere - WN84 (352 Inf Div)
Bttn 9. Not in 716 Div Sector: At Maisy Les Perruques - WN83 (352 Inf Div)
Bttn 10. (Waldersee) At Plumetot - N.E. Bayeux
GHQ Heeres-schwere-Artillerie-Abteilung 989. (Heeresgruppe-Reserve Attached) Gefechtsstand: Northeast of Reviers.•
Batterie 1. / s.Art.-Abtl 989. Southwest of Basly - Moved to Bénouville (x4 12.2 cm s.F.H. 396 (r))
Batterie 2. / s.Art.-Abtl 989. At Amblie - East of The Seulles (x4 12.2 cm s.F.H. 396 (r))
Batterie 3. / s.Art.-Abtl 989. East of Creully (x4 12.2 cm s.F.H. 396 (r))
Panzer-Division 21., belonging to XXXXVII Pz.Gr.West, was allocated to AOK.7 (Army Group B) as its (only) reserve. Pz.Div.21 was reconstituted on 15 July 1943, in the reorganization of schnellen Brigade West (SB 931). Pz.Div.21 was absent from Normandy from March 1944, for Operation Maragretha, in Hungary, until May 1944, when it was reassigned to Brittany, and then moved up into Normandy. On 6 June 1944, Panzer-Division 21., on its initiative, adopted a 'new' organization for battle, as Regimental (Brigade) Groups were formed, PzKGr.Oppeln - Pz.Regt.22., and KGr.Luck - Pz.Gren-Regt 125., they regrouping an infantry battalion for a tank battalion, and KGr.Rauch - Pz.Gren-Regt192., was formed, given Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 155., assigned a battalion to each Kampfgruppe. The Canadians, coming South, from Juno Beach, did not experience a direct impact from either PzKGr.Oppeln or KGr.Luck and only felt a slight impact, in their area of influence, from the counter-move undertaken by KGr.Rauch, on 6 June.
Panzer-Division.21. Gefechtsstand: St. Pierre-sur-Dives (Begleitkompanie)
GOC Kommandeur: Generalmajor Edgar Feuchtinger
Panzer-Aufklärung-Abteilung. 21. Gefechtsstand: SE of Condé-sur-Noireau: x5 Kompanien (some Pz.)