Duration: 57 minutes, 30 seconds ($12.00)   • Order DVD
First Released: 1998 • Read Script (PDF)

The United States Army on D-Day, June 6, 1944, captured two of the heavily fortified beaches on the Normandy coast – Utah and Omaha. The latter will be known for the popular 1998 film Saving Private Ryan.

The response of the younger generation to this Hollywood production might well have been anticipated. Almost in unison they said: "What did the Canadian Forces do in Normandy?"

Fortunately we had an answer. We produced D-Day: The Story of the Canadian Assault Troops. It told how our Canadian 3rd Division and 2nd Armoured Corps broke through the German fortifications at Juno Beach. It was released in July 1998.

Then came the next question! "How come it took British General Montgomery a month to seize the D-Day objective of Caen?" Who remembers now that the Germans saw the need to hold Caen to avoid an Allied drive for the Channel ports?

D-Day did, indeed, give us a foothold in France. The next big battle, however, was to dislodge the Germans from Caen. This was one of the Canadian Army's proudest achievements in the Second World War. So we produced a second documentary – called Operation Charnwood: The Canadian Battle for Caen. The documentary is complete with aerial bombardments, magnificent tank battles, artillery duels and, in the final stages, hand-to-hand fighting by famous Canadian infantry regiments, representing every province in Canada.

We think this production – which includes some heart-rending music of the era – is a classic and stands side by side with D-Day: The Story of the Canadian Assault Troops.