“He then coolly gave orders for the departure and announced his intention to hold off and ‘get even with’ the enemy. When last seen he was collecting Bren and Tommy guns and preparing a defensive position which successfully covered the withdrawal from the beach.”More than 900 Canadians died at Dieppe and nearly 2,000 more were captured, including Merritt. The Allied invasion of Normandy involved nearly 150,000 troops — including 14,000 Canadian soldiers — who stormed ashore in the face of German machine gun fire. The battle for Normandy would continue for another two months and cost more than 5,000 Canadian lives. World leaders will continue the commemorations in Normandy on Thursday, including at Juno Beach, the eight-kilometre stretch of coastline where the Canadians came ashore.

Source: National Post June 05, 2019 08:02 UTC