The Black Watch at Verrières Ridge On 25 July, two days later than originally planned, Operation Spring was launched. The Black Watch were scheduled to begin their attack at about 05:30 from an assembly area at St Martin, 6 km (3.7 mi) south of Caen. The Canadians ran into heavy German resistance on the St Martin road and did not arrive at their assembly area until close to 08:00. By that time, the Black Watchs two highest-ranking officers had been killed and command fell to Major Phil Griffin. Despite the non-arrival of most of their promised armoured support, the decision was taken for the attack to proceed. At 09:30, as the Canadian infantry regiments advanced up the ridge, they were easy targets for the well-entrenched German machine gun nests and mortar pits, supported by tanks, 88 mm (3.46 in) anti-tank guns, and Nebelwerfer rocket artillery. To make matters worse, the Black Watch communications were knocked out within minutes of the start of their assault. Very few members of the Black Watch Regiment managed to make it to the crest of the ridge and those who did were subjected to an even heavier bombardment as they ran into the counterattacking forces of the 272nd Infantry Division and the 9th SS Kampfgruppe Sterz. Of the 325 men that left the assembly area, 315 were either killed, wounded or captured. The Black Watch lost all its senior commanders, including Major Phil Griffin, with two companies virtually annihilated. This marked the costliest day for a Canadian battalion since the Dieppe Raid of 1942
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 07:45:39 +0000
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