All language subtitles for Hitlers.Last.Stand.Series.1.1of4.Panzer.Fury.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

NARRATOR: Normandy, France.

One month after D-Day.

A Canadian regiment confronts
a notorious SS Panzer unit

accused of
horrific war crimes.

TIM: The Canadians
and the 12th SS Hitler
Youth had clashed,

uh since the 7th of June.

So, the Canadians and
the 12th SS have a very
vicious personal war.

NARRATOR: For the Germans, this
leaves no room for compromise.

PETER: It's only
victory or death.

NARRATOR: On June 6th,
1944 allied forces
finally land troops in Normandy

to open the western front.

(speaking in German).

But Nazi fanatics and
diehards continue to fight
ruthlessly for survival.

D-Day was a battle.

The allies still
need to win the war.

♪ ♪

July 8th, 1944.

Outskirts of Caen, France.

The Canadian Regina Rifles
prepare to do their part to
liberate the French city.

They scout the approach
to their objective in
the northwest sector.

-And what they saw
they didn't like.

It was extremely flat.

There was very little cover.

NARRATOR: Lieutenant Colonel
Foster Matheson has brought
along his company commanders:

Acting Major Gordon Brown,
Major Eric Syme,
and Major Stuart Tubb,

to find the best way forward.

-And they're driving around
in universal carriers and
at one point they get lost.

NARRATOR: The driver
takes a wrong turn

and they find themselves
in the midst of fighting.

The Regina Rifles
quickly come under attack.

(gunfire)

One of the drivers
is shot and killed, the
passengers dive for cover.

(gunfire)

As the battle rages
around them, the vehicles
try to reverse course.

(gunfire)

In the confusion, the
carriers start to pull away
leaving the officers behind.

It proves to be yet
another setback in the
quest to take Caen.

Only 12 miles from the coast
allied forces had planned
to take the city on D-Day.

But more than a
month later, the goal has
proved stubbornly elusive.

DAVID: Both sides understood
that the capture of Caen
was crucial to going through

the rest of the country,
that if you could capture Caen,

you could enter
the rest of France.

NARRATOR: 860,000 allied
troops are bottled up at
the Normandy beachhead.

The allies need their forces
to break out into France,

then east for Paris.

Caen is a critical
road and rail hub.

-The Germans understood, if
you can defend Caen, you can
block the Allies' advance.

-These are armored divisions
that had hundreds of tanks.

They needed good roads
and so they were going to be
passing through Caen to strike

at the Allies who were
on the beaches and who of
course were very vulnerable.

NARRATOR: The
Regina Rifles have landed
in a battle between the

German 12th SS Panzer division
and other Canadian forces.

This is not the first time
the rifles have encountered
the 12th SS.

A month earlier,
on D-Day plus one,

the Reginas had seized
the town of Bretteville,
not far away.

The Reginas withstood four
counterattacks from the
12th SS Panzer division,

inflicting 152 German
casualties and destroying
six tanks to hold the town,

and earned battle
honors for their unit.

At a distinct disadvantage
here, the trucks
make a desperate escape.

The officers of the Regina
Rifles are in danger
of being left behind.

-Go, Go! Go!

(gunfire)

NARRATOR: They haul themselves
onto the back of a vehicle
loaded to their surprise,

with crates of explosives.

They duck for cover
as enemy fire riddles the
vehicle, and can only hope,

that a bullet doesn't
ignite a fatal explosion.

(gunfire)

♪ ♪

After finally clearing the
battle scene the officers
take up their reconnaissance

position in the
nearby village of Authie.

Earlier that day, General
Bernard Montgomery launched
Operation Charnwood,

the British Second Army's
latest attempt to seize Caen.

To support the operation,
the Regina Rifles must
take the Abbaye D'ardenne,

which guards the
northwest approach.

A high stone wall surrounds
the 12th century church and
its adjoining buildings.

TIM: It was a stone fortress.
It had a large tower.

And from the heights of
that tower they could see
the entire countryside.

And so, it's a really
critical position.

A strong point that
the Germans will use both to
observe the Allies coming

off the beaches and from
where they will launch
their counterattacks.

NARRATOR: Flat grain
fields surround the
Abbaye on all sides,

providing clear lines of
sight for German snipers.

The Germans
occupy the only cover:

a dirt mound, that once
held anti-aircraft guns,
partway across the field.

(inaudible).

Matheson plans for Major
Syme's B Company to advance
400 yards from the village of

Authie and take the mounds.

Brown's D Company
on the left along with
Tubb's C Company on the right

are to pass the mounds
and advance the remaining
700 yards to the Abbaye.

At 1700 hours allied
artillery begins to shell
the Abbaye D'ardenne,

in preparation
for the assault.

The barrage is meant
to soften up German defenses
and keep German heads down

as the Canadians approach.

The artillery will
last for 30 minutes,

after which the Regina Rifles
will launch their attack.

The Abbaye D'ardenne
is the headquarters of
the 12th Panzer division

they had encountered earlier.

Their commanding officer is
Standartenfuhrer Kurt Meyer.

The 33-year old colonel is
one of Germany's youngest
divisional commanders.

-Kurt Meyer is an extremely
courageous and brave officer.

But at the same times,
he's also extremely ruthless.

He's very much determined
to the cause of Nazism
and is also determined

to instill this
ideology into his men.

NARRATOR: Meyer's Panzer
division is made up
of former Hitlerjugend.

The infamous "Hitler Youth"
movement Raised a generation
of German children

to believe in their
Aryan superiority.

-For the SS leadership,
12th SS Panzer
Division Hitler Youth

is a kind of symbol for
the next generation of Nazism.

NARRATOR: Meyer
withstands the barrage
inside the Abbaye complex.

-The main building, as such,
would be too much exposed
to allied artillery fire or

allied air bombardment.

So, he situates his
headquarters in a secondary
building, in the cellar,

so that he's protected.

NARRATOR: As the
allied shelling of the
Abbaye continues, Brown,

and the rest
of the Regina Rifles
try to move into the

field from which
they are to attack.

But it proves difficult.

-Well the
Regina Rifles are pinned
down because the village

of Authie is not cleared.

This means that the Germans
are also able to bring fire
to bear down on the Rifles.

NARRATOR: German counter
battery fire also opens up.

Several allied tanks
position themselves nearby.

But as their jump-off time
approaches a hidden German
88 begins to launch shells.

The 88 millimeter gun is
the most effective artillery
piece in the Nazi arsenal,

and feared by allied
tankers everywhere.

In ground combat, it
has a maximum range
of over 16,000 yards.

And a well-trained
crew can fire a round
every three seconds.

♪ ♪

The 88 quickly destroys
three Sherman tanks.

As their crews escape,
they draw German machine gun
fire from the nearby mound.

Unwilling to stay exposed
to the German artillery,
the remaining tanks retreat.

-The fighting in Normandy
is often envisioned as
a slashing tank assaults,

um and almost blitzkrieg
like attacks on the enemy.

But, this was combined arms
warfare and if the tanks got too
far in front of the infantry,

they were easily knocked
out by anti-tank guns
that are very effective

at this point in the war.

NARRATOR: With
their tank support gone,

all three
Regina Rifle companies
are trapped in the open.

The German barrage continues.

The Canadians risk being
wiped out before they can
even leave their lines.

NARRATOR: July 8th, 1944.

German artillery targets
the Regina Rifles' position
as they prepare to attack the

Abbaye D'ardenne, which
blocks access to the
French city of Caen.

(explosions)

The Regina Rifles are
dubbed "farmer johns"
by other Canadian units

because they come
from a rural part of Canada.

TIM: Obviously the Farmer
John's is meant as,
a, a bit of a put down.

But ah, the John's they seem
to have shortened it, they
got rid of the farmer part

and they proudly,
they embraced it.

NARRATOR: Pinned down
due to enemy fire, the
Johns miss the jump-off

time for their
attack against the Abbaye.

-In the chaos and the
confusion, units are late
arriving to the front and

in fact most of the,
the uh three attacking, um
Regina companies get there,

um after the
barrage has gone off.

And so, with communications
broken down there's really
a dire situation here.

The Reginas are looking at
attacking this fortress with
almost no artillery support.

NARRATOR: The Reginas can
only take cover and wait for
the German barrage to ease.

(explosions)

When it finally does
acting Major Gordon Brown
and his fellow officers

hurry to organize their men.

At 1800 hours, 30 minutes
after their jump off time,

the Reginas commence
their assault,

with Major Eric Syme's
B Company in the lead.

The Germans have put
the time to good use.

PETER: During this pause,
the German defenders are
able to regroup and

sight their machine guns,
sight their anti-tank guns.

And this is the worst-case
scenario for any army.

NARRATOR: As the three
Regina companies start out
Baker Company is to advance

400 yards from the village
and take the mound the
only cover, in the field.

German forces open fire
on them from all directions.

(gunfire)

Caen is considered so
critical, General Field
Marshall Erwin Rommel

has assigned elite
units to defend it.

Overseeing the defense of
Normandy, Rommel had invested
heavily in the Atlantic wall.

PETER: It is a series
of bunkers, block houses,
casements, fortified positions

along the French, Belgian,
Dutch, Danish and
Norwegian coast.

It is supposed to ward
off an Allied invasion.

NARRATOR: Based on Rommel's
experience with the allies in
North Africa he knew German

tanks were vulnerable to
allied air superiority.

Rommel believed the allies had
to be defeated on the beaches

in the earliest
hours of the invasion.

The German failure to
do so on D-Day, makes the
fighting more desperate.

-Germans are still determined
to fight, because they think
if the Allies win the war,

this would mean
the annihilation of
the German people.

NARRATOR: This was especially
true of German military
leadership, like Kurt Meyer,

who commands the
12th SS Panzer division,
which holds the Abbaye.

-How they understand war
is that it must be fought
in the most ruthless way

because it is a
struggle for survival.

NARRATOR: Meyer has encountered
Canadian units before.

-The Canadians and
the 12th SS Hitler Youth
had clashed,

uh, since the 7th of June.

So, really the second
day of the fighting.

Um, and there had been fierce
battles all over the front.

NARRATOR: On June 7th and 8th
Meyer's unit executed 18
Canadian prisoners of war

at the Abbaye D'ardenne,
in flagrant violation of
the Geneva Convention.

-For people like Meyer
or for SS officers,
it's all or nothing.

And there is no way of
compromising with the enemy so
it's only victory or death.

(gunshot)

NARRATOR: Now, the
12th SS Hitlerjugend
believed that if

they are captured or
surrender to the Canadians,

they will be
executed in retaliation.

-And so, the Canadians
and the 12th SS have a
very vicious, personal war.

NARRATOR: Regina rifles
B Company, still leads
the advance towards the

German occupied mound
partway across the field.

Faced with heavy gunfire,
B Company must run, or crawl,

in short bursts
to avoid being hit.

-The Germans open up
with mortar fire, machine
gun fire, sniper fire.

And the Regina Rifles are
being picked off one by one.

(speaking in German)

(gunfire)

NARRATOR: As they inch their
way forward, the company
suffers heavy casualties.

-There's no easy way
to take out machine guns.

Machine guns firing
500 bullets a minute,
firing on an arc.

You have to sacrifice
soldiers to take that out.

NARRATOR: They have no
choice but to keep moving.

NARRATOR: Three companies
of the Regina Rifles commence

an assault against
the Abbaye D'ardenne.

Across more than
1100 yards of open field,
without tank support,

and one half hour after
their artillery barrage lifts.

B Company leads the way.

DAVID: Baker Company
advances slowly and using
whatever cover is available.

But there's
not a lot of cover.

So, this means
you gotta stay low.

You gotta stay in the grass.

You gotta try to
stay out of sight of any
sort of German sniper,

German artillery,
or German machine gun.

So, it is a very slow
process and it causes
significant casualties

because every time
they pop up, they get shot.

NARRATOR: As the casualties
mount weeks of strain
also take their toll.

TIM: The Regina Rifles
were very weak at this point.

They had lost a lot of
soldiers in the fighting in
the first month of Normandy.

NARRATOR: As frontline
troops at the sharp end,
they get very little sleep

and endure unimaginable stress.

-There's no question that
the lack of sleep and
the continual engagement

with the enemy that just
combined will wear anyone down.

NARRATOR: It has been four
weeks of constant combat.

-So as these soldiers are
engaged with the German enemy,
as they're approaching the

Abbey, there are soldiers
that are breaking down.

There are soldiers
that are crying.

There are soldiers that are
catatonic and can't even move.

NARRATOR: This now
includes baker company's
commander, Major Syme,

who succumbs to what is
called, battle exhaustion.

-Major! Major! I need a medic!

NARRATOR: Though the Canadian
division had undertaken
psychiatric screening prior to

deployment conditions like
battle exhaustion or battle
fatigue prove unpredictable

and claim many soldiers.

By late July 1944, battle
fatigue makes up 25% of

all non-fatal
casualties to the allies.

After D-Day the British
and Canadian army group

established front-line centers
to treat battle exhaustion.

Therapy is simple:
sedation and sleep.

-You want to treat
them quickly.

You want to treat them
effectively and then you want
them back in the front line.

(gunfire)

NARRATOR: As Major Syme
is carried from the field
the remainder of B Company

continues to
press to the mound.

-As they are making those
hard yards, Riflemen
would lay down fire,

Bren machine gunners
would lay down heavier fire.

The way they knocked out
those machine guns was to use
grenades for the most part.

And those grenades
explode and they send shrapnel
of course and that's how,

ultimately, they
knock out the mound.

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: The Germans
are forced to retreat
back towards the Abbaye.

♪ ♪

To achieve the objective,
Baker Company is gutted.

61 out of 100 men
become casualties.

With the mound finally in
Canadian hands, C Company and
D Company now continue the

advance and pass through
the remains of B Company.

DAVID: From that position,
Baker Company can then provide

covering fire for
the other two companies.

You have Dog Company
on the left,
Charlie Company on the right.

And Baker Company will provide
very important covering fire,
which will allow the other

troops to move up slowly.

So, the idea simply
here is what we call
fire and movement.

Someone's shooting.
Someone's moving.

NARRATOR: To prevent his
men from meeting B Company's
fate, Major Stu Tubb,

the commander of C Company,
orders high explosive mortars
against the Abbaye complex.

He hopes the distraction
will provide his men
much needed coverage.

But Tubb receives word that
the Reginas have no high
explosive mortars available,

and he is
offered smoke instead.

This works for a while,
until the wind comes up.

-They're now wide open
and exposed completely
to German fire.

All Hell breaks loose.

(gunfire)

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: Facing heavy
enemy fire C and D Companies
of the Canadian Regina Rifles

must attack the
Abbaye D'ardenne across
700 yards of open field.

They have just learned that
they've run out of high
explosive mortars to subdue

the German counter fire.

Such shortages have
proved a problem across
the allied front.

Just three weeks before
a Major storm struck
the Normandy coast.

800 ships and vessels
were stranded, damaged or
destroyed on June 19th.

To further cripple
allied supply lines,
already hindered,

by a lack of a
deep-water port.

All units were
having to make do.

Advancing in the
open would be suicidal.

So, the Reginas fire
smoke to cover their advance.

Once more,
acting Major Gordon Brown
and D Company press forward

on the left flank.

But with the men still
500 yards short of the
Abbaye, wind clears the smoke.

With the
companies now exposed.

(speaking in German)

NARRATOR: The Germans
have clear shots.

(gunfire)

In the chaos C company's
13th platoon stumbles
into a minefield.

(explosions)

TIM: You don't know where
to step, and they are set
up for a number of reasons.

One is to cause
casualties of course.

But secondly to
slow an advance.

NARRATOR: The minefield
creates a shooting gallery.

-Riflemen and snipers and
machine gunners will turn upon
those isolated soldiers who

are stuck in the middle,
unsure of where is safe.

NARRATOR: As
their losses mount,

Major Stu Tubb
enters the minefield
to help extract his men.

Tubb falls to German
machine gun fire.

His second-in-command
moves forward to
help, and is killed.

C company's third in command
is wounded moments later.

Wiping out the enemy's
leadership is a time
honored military strategy.

-And that is a technique
that the Allies
and the Germans use,

that snipers would
aim for those NCOs or those
lieutenants or those captains

to try to in, in effect
decapitate the unit.

(gunfire)

NARRATOR: Without
leadership C Company
retreats to the mound.

They have lost
85 out of 106 men.

General Bernard Montgomery's
stated goal at Caen was to
draw in German troops to kill,

wound or capture as
many as possible.

A war of attrition.

But the campaign to
capture Caen proves costly
to everyone involved.

Allied aerial bombing to
support Operation Charnwood
began the night before,

on July 7th.

More than 460 aircraft dropped
6000 bombs on the city.

While the bombing improved
the morale of allied soldiers,

the strategic impact
on German troops was minimal.

The rubble created hinders
the allied advance and
retreat by German forces.

PETER: It also has
got an impact on French
civilian population.

Because, French civilians
perished and this had a
negative influence on the

attitude of the French
population towards the Allies.

NARRATOR: Now, to the
northwest of the city the
remaining 15 able-bodied

members of C Company retreat
to Authie to bring back
stretchers for their wounded.

Almost three hours after
commencing their attack
on the Abbaye D'ardenne,

Gordon Brown's D Company
remain the only Regina
Rifles left in the fight.

Still hundreds of
yards from their objective,

the covering smoke has also
just cleared on their position.

And leaves them dangerously
exposed to enemy fire.

The 12th SS quickly pin
down Brown and his men again.

Several of the
Reginas are hit.

(gunfire)

To limit the company's
casualties, Brown and his men
push forward in short bursts,

often gaining just
a few feet at a time.

German troops at the
Abbaye have the ideal weapon

to prevent Brown from
achieving his objective.

The MG-42 is arguably the best
machine gun of World War II.

At 1200 rounds per minute,

its rate of fire outpaces
comparable allied machine guns.

Light, reliable and easy
to deploy, the MG-42 has a
range of nearly 1,100 yards

to avoid the German
machine guns D company's
number 16 platoon makes a

flanking move to the
left of the Abbaye.

The remaining Regina
Rifles continue their
frontal assault.

But at 2100 hours his
runner reports to acting
Major Gordon Brown,

that number 16
platoon has vanished.

NARRATOR: July 8th, 1944.

As darkness falls, the Regina
Rifles continue their assault
on the Abbaye D'ardenne.

A fortified position
that controls access to
the French city of Caen.

With reports that
some of his men are

missing and knowing he needs
them all to seize the Abbaye,

acting Major Gordon Brown goes
in search of his 16th platoon.

Searching the battlefield,

he makes a
disturbing discovery.

TIM: And he Stumbles into a
small ditch area, which is
a scene of a, a nightmare.

There are wounded
soldiers bleeding,

um dying, crying out and he
thinks that's his lost platoon.

It's not.

It's a group of the
Can Scots, who have stumbled
into the battle somehow,

and there are
many wounded there.

NARRATOR: Brown tries to help.

He bandages some of the
more seriously wounded.

-And he's not sure what to
do, of course human instinct
is to care for them,

but that's not the role
of a company commander.

And so, he rightly
gives them his water.

He must have been parched.

NARRATOR: Unable to
do any more for them,

Brown turns back to
rejoin the rest of his company.

-He did the right thing.
He did what he had to do.

He did what a soldier had
to do, was to keep pushing
on to the final objective.

NARRATOR: When he returns
Brown finds D Company
in the thick of battle.

TIM: D Company is spread
out over the battlefield.

They're facing a
fortress a stone fortress,

the Germans are
firing at them non-stop.

I'm amazed at how they could
have pushed their way forward.

NARRATOR: They make a daring
charge for the Abbaye walls.

-They do call in some
smoke, and the smoke
is quite effective.

It obscures the front,
ah for precious minutes.

NARRATOR: The men shoot and
throw grenades on the run.

(gunfire and explosions)

Their bold
initiative pays off.

At 2200 hours, D Company
reaches the Abbaye walls.

With the Regina Rifles
closing in, Colonel Kurt Meyer
had made plans to protect his

fighting strength and asks
for permission to retreat.

PETER: He gets the answer, no.
There is no way to retreat.

The, reason for that
is in the mindset of the

German leadership is
where does our retreat end?

(speaking in German).

NARRATOR: But Meyer
withdraws anyway.

He would later claim that he
knew Caen could not be held.

Hitler's order to hold
the city to the last bullet,

would mean the needless and
futile sacrifice of his men.

Thus, the desperate
fighting on July 8th,
was to bide time for the

evacuation of Meyer's
wounded soldiers under
the cover of darkness.

They devise a plan to delay
the capture of the Abbaye,

and make it as costly as
possible for the Canadians.

The Regina Rifles encounter
the German soldiers left
to cover the withdrawal.

(gunfire)

-They launch one final assault
and they find a way through

and around those walls
and drive the Germans out.

NARRATOR: Some of the
Canadians begin to push
into the Abbaye courtyard.

DAVID: Captain Brown
calls the soldiers back and

he tells them to dig
in outside of the walls.

NARRATOR: Having fought the
Germans for a month now Brown
knows they are not safe yet.

The Germans will have
pre-ranged their guns.

-One of the nice things about
occupying a position when
you're on the defense is you

have it perfectly
placed on your map,

which means your artillery
knows exactly where to hit it.

NARRATOR: Learning that allied
troops have reached the walls,

Meyer orders an artillery
barrage against the Abbaye.

Brown's shrewd orders
prevent further casualties
amongst his men.

But they have yet to completely
achieve their objective
to occupy the Abbaye itself.

(explosions)

NARRATOR: Heavy
German shelling prevents
acting Major Gordon Brown

and the rest of the Regina
Rifles' D Company from fully
capturing the Abbaye D'ardenne.

(gunfire)

As the men endure
the barrage, their lost
platoon finally reappears.

During their absence,
16th platoon has been busy.

DAVID: 16th Platoon is
able to achieve something
pretty remarkable.

NARRATOR: They've knocked out
a battery of German 88 guns.

-This means that any Sherman
tanks coming up behind them
are now free to move

in the open countryside.

NARRATOR: The platoon's
reappearance brings
the company's strength to

70 soldiers but Brown
knows he needs more men,

if he's going to take
and hold the Abbaye.

TIM: They've fought for
five and a half hours.

They've lost about 200
soldiers killed and wounded.

Many of them left strewn
over the battlefield.

And now in the dark
crying out for help.

Um, but there's
no communication
from front to rear.

Um, though,
there's no wireless.

There's no telephones.

NARRATOR: Brown, and
a lieutenant return to the
village of Authie on foot to

request reinforcements
and inform headquarters
of their progress.

But on their way, the
two men are caught in a
sustained mortar attack.

(explosions)

They endure the
80-round bombardment.

The shelling is another
phase of Colonel Kurt Meyer's

plan to cover
the German retreat of
the 12th SS from Caen.

Meyer's withdrawal proves
sensible, to protect the
unit's fighting strength.

By the second week of July,
German battle casualties in

western Europe totaled
more than 100,000 men.

Yet German command had
managed to replace only
9% of their manpower losses.

Late into the night Brown
returns to the Abbaye walls
with reinforcements...

the Regina Rifles A-Company,
which had been held in reserve.

(gunfire)

In the early morning
hours of July 9th, the
German shelling stops.

-It's an eerie calm.

I couldn't imagine what
it'd be like to look around

and not hear bullets
whizzing by your face.

And not hear artillery
rounds exploding around you.

And suddenly realize
that for a brief period
there's some calm.

You've done it.

NARRATOR: At first light, the
Regina Rifles A and D Companies

advance cautiously
into the courtyard.

PETER: So, when
Meyer retreats, he

tries to delay the enemy's
advance by leaving snipers.

This gives his own troops
time to withdraw in good order.

With snipers and booby traps,
the enemy doesn't feel secure.

He doesn't know
where the enemy is,
where he's coming from,

so he must be very
cautious when he advances.

NARRATOR: It takes them
until mid-afternoon to clear
the Abbaye of German snipers.

♪ ♪

Inside the Abbaye they
discover the headquarters
in the cellar.

♪ ♪

-Captain Brown who himself
is beyond exhaustion.

He, he later talks about
almost being delirious,
uh, hallucinating.

NARRATOR: An exhausted
Gordon Brown pours a
drink, climbs into the bed,

and falls asleep.

The western half of Caen to
the Orne River would fall to

the allies by
the end of July 9th.

During Operation Charnwood,
the Regina Rifles
suffer 216 casualties,

including 36 men killed.

-In terms of the casualties
on that day, something
like 50% of the combat soldiers

were killed,
wounded or taken prisoner.

The casualties were so
severe for Charlie Company
and Baker Company that after

this combat on
the 8th and 9th of July,
they were non-operational.

NARRATOR: French civilians
are also deeply affected.

Up to 75% of Caen lay in
ruins and hundreds were killed.

After the war,
Colonel Kurt Meyer faces trial
for war crimes for his part

in the execution of
Canadian prisoners of war
at the Abbaye D'ardenne.

Meyer would be sentenced
to death later commuted
to life imprisonment.

He serves nine years
before being released.

The two Canadian
company commanders,

Majors Stuart Tubb
and Eric Symes,

recover and survive the war.

Major Tubb is later awarded
the Distinguished Service
Order for his leadership and

coolness in the
face of enemy fire.

Gordon Brown continues to
serve throughout the war,
and would earn the

Distinguished Service Order
for personal valor and
devotion to duty.

While ultimately successful,
the capture of Caen,
confirms that allied gains

could be slow and sometimes
measured only in yards.

PETER: It is clear to the
Allies the road to Berlin
is not a simple walkover.

It will be a costly
and bloody campaign.

NARRATOR: And the war
in Europe would continue
for another 10 months.

Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.