The Normandy Bombardment

Let me tell you about the bombardment. We had ninety-four self-propelled guns, each firing a 37 pound shell and during the run-in for the assault, each of those guns fired 105 rounds and then when we got those shells expounded, we turned aside for the first landing and the infantry went ashore but before they went ashore, the Royal Marine Rocket Barrage pounded those beaches with rockets. They had what they called a mattress of rockets mounted on barges and I was always very happy when I’d see those things in training that I wasn’t going to be exposed to those terrible explosions. That was a massive bombardment and right on the heels of that our infantry and our artillery observers landed and that’s where the 7th Brigade went in on the right, right here at Courseulles, the 8th Brigade landed at Bernières and St. Aubin just down a little but our bombardment started about a half an hour after the British one on our left cause the British 3rd Division, the tide had uncovered their obstacles before ours so they had a half an hour difference in the tide and we could hear their gunfire before ours started. We had three divisions, the 3rd British, the 3rd Canadian and the 50th British Division made that attack and on, as I told you before on all three British beaches we had complete success and breakthrough. Some of them didn’t but ours was, ya… Many times I used to read that previous battles the men weren’t briefed enough on what to expect. We were briefed. Before this attack we were told in detail that we were going to attack the coast of Normandy on the 5th or 6th of June. The objective was to set up a bridgehead so we could build up an army in France and we might have to accept fifty percent casualties, that was the unfortunate word, fifty percent. The 51st Division was already afloat and it was going to relieve us after three days if we had too many casualties. We didn’t need relief so we kept on fighting. And the 3rd Division wasn’t pulled out of the line until all through the Battle of Normandy it kept on until the 2nd and 4th joined us and then but the 3rd Div fought constantly until we wore our guns out and then they pulled us out to change the guns. I hate to think what would have happened if we had had fifty percent casualties but I can see some of those big battalions, now I wish you could see them here. Oh, they were in great shape. We all were, ya!

Mr. Barr details the bombardment on the beaches of Normandy and credits his superiors with providing great leadership.

Vernon Barr

Mr. Vernon Barr was born November 11, 1921 in Cobourg, New Brunswick. Growing up in the shadows of the great war, Mr. Barr witnessed the return of Veterans and this left a lasting impression on him. Later in life when war was again declared, he volunteered to serve and became part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as a signals/wireless operator holding rank of corporal. Mr. Barr travelled overseas on the O’Ryan and was part of D- Day and the Battle of Normandy. He remains very proud of his service during the Second World War. Postwar and back in Canada, Mr. Barr and his family moved to Wolfville, Nova Scotia where he resides today.