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ConclusionThe Canadian achievements on D-Day were remarkable. By the end of the day the 3rd Canadian Division was well established on its intermediate objectives, and had progressed further inland than any of the Allies. Although short of the planned final D-day objectives the Canadians had broken through the 'Atlantic Wall' and smashed the first line of German defences.
Fourteen thousand Canadians landed in Normandy on D-Day and to ensure the victory 340 Canadians had given their lives. Another 574 had been wounded and 47 taken prisoner. The casualties were less than expected, but heavy nonetheless. Ross Munro, a Canadian journalist reported: "The German dead were littered over the dunes, by the gun positions. By them, lay Canadians in blood stained battledress, in the sand and in the grass, on the wire and by the concrete forts. I saw friends I had known, men who had joined the army in the first months of the war - and now had died in their first action here on the Norman beach. They had lived a few minutes of the victory they had made. That was all."
Ahead lay eleven more months of bitter fighting. In June the Canadians
would fight and overcome the brutal killing machine of the 12th SS. They
would stubbornly hold and defend their positions against the vicious German
counter-attacks. They would fight a costly battle for Carpiquet on July
4th before finally taking Caen on July 9th. The Canadians would go on
to fight in the 'Battle of the Scheldt' to open the port of Antwerp. They
would enter Germany as part of Operation 'Veritable'. Finally the Canadian
Army would liberate the north-eastern Netherlands. The Canadians would
make a vital contribution in the Victory in Europe.
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