Courseulles-sur-Mer

The land for this cemetery was donated by France to Canada after the Second World War and lies 4 km (2.5 mi) inland from Courseulles-sur-Mer, just off Route 79.

The Juno Beach Centre is a museum located in Courseulles-sur-Mer, at the head of the River Seulles, in the port's estuary, where Canadian troops landed and fought, on D-Day 6 June 1944.

The strongest German defence position in the Juno assault area was concentrated at Courseulles-sur-Mer, on the estuary of the River Seulles.

Delaying H-Hour for a higher tide, to clear offshore reefs, the Canadian landing at Courseulles-sur-Mer began slightly later than those to the west, giving the German defender a warning they would need.

[6] Stützpuntkte (StP) (Strong-Point) Courseulles-sur-Mer, was a complex of three fortified ‘resistance nests’, two strengthened by numerous standard concrete fortifications, protecting anti-tank and artillery field guns.

[7] The concrete fortification casements at two resistance nests further disposed numerous entrenchments, in which mortars and heavy machine guns were emplaced.

[11] The position's Züg Führer (acting commander) defence was enabled by an 'underground' network of tunnels and covered trenches, permitting unobserved movement.

[13] Here it was shelled for effect by the embarked 105 mm guns of 13th Field Regiment, RCA from H-30 to H+5 and began taking direct fire from the DD Tanks of 'B' Squadron, 1st Hussars towards 07h55 (BST), who landed correctly and on time as planned.

[14] Landing to its centre at 08h05, in a gap between its two 75mm guns, making a left flanking approach, came ‘A’ Company, The Regina Rifle Regiment, (OC Major F. E. Hodge).

[16] ‘B’ Company landed at 08h15, further to the east; and quickly engaged the crew served weapon pillboxes positioned along the strong-point beachfront.

/ Batl II 736, establish a supporting depth position, opposite the Châteaux, reinforcing a group of houses, above the town centre.

Providing mortar and machine gun covering fire, into WN 29, with its height advantage it made the task of clearing the beachfront extremely difficult.

Courseulles (West) was fronted by an area of coastal erosion, where sand deposits had blocked the River Seulles access to the sea and forced it into a loop.

The strong-point was not fronted by beach villas, which were a feature of much of the JUNO Sector, and there were few landmarks, making it difficult to identifying the correct point on which to that land.

[27] Landing on its strong left flank, ‘B’ Company, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, (OC Captain P. E. Gower), was immediately pinned down by its heavy machine gun, and the 50mm, in a concrete pillbox, while taking accurate sniper fire.