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Terry Copp

A Well-Entrenched Enemy: Army, Part 92

On June 7, 1944, D+1, the 12th SS Hitler Youth Division blocked the Canadian and British advance to Carpiquet and Caen by committing the tanks and infantry of Kurt Meyer’s 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment to battle. It was a tactical victory with enormous operational consequences. Sepp Dietrich, the commander of 1st SS Panzer Corps, who was supposed to launch a powerful counterattack against the Allied bridgehead in Normandy with three armoured divisions, found that both 21st Panzer and 12th SS were heavily engaged and could not be withdrawn. Panzer Lehr, the third armoured division, was also being drawn into combat with British 30 Corps.

Terry Copp February 5, 2011

Murder In Normandy: Army, Part 91

All those involved in the planning for D-Day knew there were two quite separate problems in securing a beachhead. The first task, breaking through the crust of defences known as the Atlantic Wall was rightly seen as the major challenge, but preparation and rigorous training was also required to carry out the advance inland to widen and deepen the bridgehead. The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, known as the Highland Brigade, had been selected to lead the Canadian advance, so Brigadier D.G. “Ben” Cunningham and his battalion commanders prepared detailed plans.

Terry Copp November 28, 2010

Fighting Normandy’s Terrain: Army, Part 90

This story marks the start of a new series on the Canadian Army’s experience during the campaign in Normandy and Northwest Europe, 1944-45. Having just returned from another battlefield study tour with eight students from my university, Wilfrid Laurier, and an equal number from the Université de Montréal, I have been reflecting on the enormous changes that have occurred since my first visit to these battlefields in the early 1980s.

Terry Copp October 18, 2010

Closing Out The Italian Campaign: Army, Part 89

This is the last of a series of articles on Canada’s role in the Second World War Italian Campaign. The series began in the September/October 2005 issue of Legion Magazine, and all of the articles, with photos and sketch maps are available on this website. After five years of reading, archival research and three trips to study the ground over which the battles were fought, I continue to marvel at what our soldiers accomplished.

Terry Copp August 11, 2010

Bedlam At The Lamone: Army, Part 88

The original plan for 1st Canadian Corps’ Operation Chuckle, December 1944, called for the capture of Ravenna, situated along the Adriatic coast in northeastern Italy, and an advance beyond the Senio and Santerno rivers to the town of Massa Lombarda. If the Canadians succeeded, their thrust would outflank German positions at Imola and threaten the enemy’s hold on Bologna further to the west. While Ravenna was liberated on Dec. 4, the 1st Canadian Division suffered a serious reversal when a hastily prepared attack across the Lamone River failed, forcing a withdrawal.

Terry Copp June 6, 2010
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