193-656: The Normandy massacres were a series of killings in-which approximately 156 Canadian and two British prisoners of war (POWs) were murdered by soldiers of the 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitler Youth) during the Battle of Normandy in World War II . The majority of the murders occurred within the first ten days of the Allied invasion of France. The killings ranged in scale from spontaneous murders of individual POWs, to premeditated mass executions involving dozens of victims. Colonel Kurt Meyer ,
386-430: A British POW camp, and the members of the court accepted that answer. His testimony proved very important for the case, and Meyer's team failed to discredit him in cross-examination . Closing addresses were delivered on December 27, 1945, and the court reached its decision in just under three hours. Meyer was found guilty on three of the five counts he was charged with. The court sentenced him to death by firing squad, and
579-568: A British investigatory body. Lieutenant Colonel Bruce J.S. Macdonald , a Canadian who was posted to the soon-to-be-defunct standing court of inquiry, feared that the work they achieved to date would be wasted. Macdonald fiercely warned the CMHQ that their work was not nearly complete, and that the British 21st Army Group would not conduct the work that was needed to address these atrocities. He also met with members of staff for General Harry Crerar , commander of
772-605: A Canadian contingent in the British war crimes investigation unit, but they were not assigned any cases related to the Normandy massacres. Both the British and Canadian government remained indifferent to the efforts of Canadian prosecutors; Britain prioritized cases involving British servicemen, while Canada had other priorities. The dissolution of the CWCIU also lead to the disposal of a number of items and documents that were seen as surplus, because no departments felt responsible for them. When
965-529: A Canadian court for their roles in the Normandy massacres. This was partly due to the military's indifference toward the realm of war crimes. Already in November 1945, CMHQ staff were asking Macdonald when he thought the CWCIU would be finished with its work. Macdonald said he did not know, because his unit had 81 cases to investigate. In response, the Chief of Staff at the CMHQ gave Macdonald a deadline of May 1, 1946, when
1158-507: A German soldier was ordered to kill a group of four POWs after guiding them a short distance down a road. The German shouted in English "Run, run!" to the four men, and opened fire at the same time; one man was shot in the head and died instantly, another lay in agony on the road for five hours before perishing, and the other two escaped without being injured. During the tank battle, four other Canadian prisoners — two of whom were wounded — arrived at
1351-655: A German trap at the village of Authie . The Fusiliers' Intelligence Officer was captured by the Germans, who secured his radio codebook. The 12th SS Panzer Division's radio operator was reportedly highly adept at impersonating the commander of the Fusiliers, Lt. Col. M. Gordon, making it difficult for Canadian soldiers to distinguish genuine orders from false ones; the German radio operator sent Canadian tanks to pre-plotted fields, where 75mm anti-tank guns picked them off. Two companies from
1544-521: A bulldozer blade, the Duplex Drive system, flamethrowers for Zippo flame tanks , and various rocket launchers such as the T34 Calliope . British variants (DDs and mine flails ) formed part of the group of specialized vehicles collectively known as " Hobart's Funnies " (after Percy Hobart , commander of the 79th Armoured Division ). The M4 Sherman's basic chassis was used for all the sundry roles of
1737-449: A cohesive unit. Meyer received orders to destroy the Juno beachhead at 4:00 PM on June 7 — giving him less than 15 hours to prepare his forces. The German commander was forced to deploy his forces piecemeal, because many elements had been delayed by strafing from allied fighter-bombers. As the Germans began their counterattack near the villages of Villons-les-Buissons and Anisy , elements from
1930-490: A commander in the 12th SS Panzer Division, was the only perpetrator charged for his role in the atrocities. The massacres are among the worst war crimes committed against Canadian soldiers in Canada's history . One out of every seven Canadian soldiers killed between June 6–11 were murdered after surrendering — a figure that rises to one in five if the range is reduced to June 7–11, when Canadian units started engaging with elements of
2123-456: A concrete link between the atrocities, and Meyer himself. Jesionek took the stand on December 13, but Macdonald directed him to wear an Allied uniform in order to appeal to the court. Most officials in the court commanded units during the war and were highly displeased to see a former SS soldier wearing an Allied uniform. Jesionek thought quickly and claimed he was given it by the Red Cross while in
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#17328585473142316-570: A court of inquiry to be convened "at the earliest possible moment." However, such a step was not taken until General Eisenhower — Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe — heard about the murders and ordered the creation of a court of inquiry on July 8. The court of inquiry completed its interim report on July 15, and said that arrest warrants should be issued against four German suspects that it named. While this inquiry
2509-491: A few men managed to escape the trap and reach friendly lines. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles suffered around 256 men killed, wounded, or captured. More than 100 prisoners were immediately sent to Mohnke's regimental command under military police escort, while 40 other POWs were kept in a stable at the Moulin farm while awaiting a military police escort; they were held in cramped conditions but their captors initially treated them according to
2702-603: A few minutes. The German ultimately shot Metcalfe three times in the head, and emptied the rest of his magazine into the body. Lance Corporal Joseph R. Arsenault was undergoing a similar search, and held two grenades in his hands to clearly show the German soldiers what he had. An SS officer took the grenades and spoke to Arsenault in French; after Arsenault responded in French, the officer fatally shot him in his neck. The Germans were soon forced to evacuate Authie due to British naval shelling, and murdered at least twelve Canadian POWs during
2895-463: A hat and cigarette as props. The mass executions and bodily mutilations were witnessed by other Canadian POWs as well. To the left of Authie, another company of the 3rd Battalion committed additional murders. The first victim, Private John Metcalfe, was being searched along with 15–20 other POWs, when he fell because of rough handling from a German captor. The guard then fired four shots into Metcalfe's abdomen, and smiled while letting him lie in pain for
3088-627: A key component of the Allied war effort. The Sherman's role as the backbone of U.S. armored forces in World War II cemented its legacy as one of the most influential tank designs of the 20th century. Despite its limitations—such as relatively thin armor compared to German heavy tanks like the Tiger and Panther —the M4 was designed to be both affordable and adaptable. Its widespread deployment, durability, and ease of maintenance ensured it remained in service throughout
3281-529: A large tank attack close to the village of Le Mesnil-Patry . This was part of a larger British operation to encircle, then capture Caen. The Canadian segment of the attack composed of elements from the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade , who were supported by men of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. The attack was a massive failure, and cost the Canadians dozens of tanks and almost 200 men killed, wounded, or captured. During
3474-476: A machine pistol. This tipped the prisoners off to their fate, and as each name was called, the man in question went down the line of his comrades and firmly shook each of their hands. According to Jesionek, none of the men begged for their lives or tried to escape. The first executions after the Battle of Putot-en-Bessin occurred in the afternoon of June 8. A group of 24 Canadian and two British prisoners were brought to
3667-478: A mixed guard of military police and SS soldiers at around 8:00 PM on June 8. Roughly an hour later, the column was intercepted by an SS staff car , and an officer angrily shouted at the man in charge of the escort, before barking a series of orders. One prisoner, Lieutenant Reg Barker, told those around him that he spoke German and the escorts had been ordered to kill all of the prisoners, but he would try to talk them out of it. The prisoners were made to walk close to
3860-724: A modern mechanized force. These included the M10 and M36 tank destroyers; M7B1 , M12 , M40 , and M43 self-propelled artillery; the M32 and M74 "tow truck"-style recovery tanks with winches, booms, and an 81 mm mortar for smoke screens; and the M34 (from M32B1) and M35 (from M10A1) artillery prime movers . Pullman-Standard Car Company American Locomotive Co. Baldwin Locomotive Works Federal Machine and Welder Co. During World War II, approximately 19,247 Shermans were issued to
4053-424: A more capable but heavier tank. Tank destroyer battalions using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis, but with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies. Even by 1944, most M4 Shermans kept their dual-purpose 75 mm gun. By then, the M4 was inferior in firepower and armor to increasing numbers of German upgraded medium tanks and heavy tanks but
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#17328585473144246-594: A pivotal role in the success of the Allied forces. In terms of tank production, the only World War II-era tank to exceed the M4’s production numbers was the Soviet T-34 , with approximately 64,549 units built. On the battlefield, the Sherman was particularly effective against German light and medium tanks during the early stages of the war, notably between 1939 and 1942. Its 75 mm gun and relatively superior armor provided an edge over
4439-476: A previous interrogation out of shame for what Germans had done. Macdonald located a 14-year-old boy who recounted playing in the garden of the abbey at the same time as Meyer's story took place, but the boy did not see any bodies. With his version of events proven wrong, Meyer was flown to the town of Aurich , in Germany, where his trial would take place. The trial against Kurt Meyer began on December 10, 1945, but had
4632-465: A production program calling for 120,000 tanks for the Allied war effort. Although the American industrial complex was not affected by enemy aerial bombing or submarine warfare as was Japan , Germany and, to a lesser degree, Great Britain , an enormous amount of steel for tank production was diverted to the construction of warships and other naval vessels. Steel used in naval construction amounted to
4825-479: A reprisal against the civilian population after the railway they were on was sabotaged. The commander of the convoy, SS- Obersturmführer Walter Hauck , ordered troops to search and arrest all male members of the houses on both sides of the track. Altogether, 70 men were shot beside the railway line and another 16 killed in the village. In 1949, Hauck was put on trial in Lille, France, and was sentenced to death. His sentence
5018-409: A rocky start; the prosecution's second witness did not show up, and the third witness initially faltered because he was directly facing Meyer, who shot him intimidating glares throughout his testimony. Over the next few days, the court heard from a mixture of German and Canadian witnesses who gave accurate accounts of the circumstances leading to, and during the atrocities, but none were able to establish
5211-535: A tank designed by the Canadian General Staff, also influenced the development of the American Sherman tank. Before long American military agencies and designers had accumulated sufficient experience to forge ahead on several points. In the field of tank armament, the American 75 mm and 76 mm dual-purpose tank guns won the acknowledgment of British tank experts. Detailed design characteristics for
5404-782: A third of the battalions and none of the divisions were deployed to the Pacific Theater. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) deployed only their 1st Tank Division and 2nd Tank Division to the Pacific during the war with the 3rd Tank Division being deployed in Burma , China and Manchukuo 's border with the Soviet Union and the 4th Tank Division remaining on the Japanese home islands in preparation for an allied invasion that never came. Armor from both sides mostly operated in jungle terrain that
5597-442: A third soldier. They were interrogated by Mohnke and the others for approximately 15 minutes, during much of-which Mohnke was observed shouting at the three prisoners and dramatically gesturing. After the interrogation was finished, the prisoners were stripped of their identification tags, brought to a bomb crater 300 yards (270 m) away from the headquarters, and executed within full view of Mohnke and his Adjutant. In total, Mohnke
5790-624: A transfer with the Soviets, who held Mohnke in captivity. They offered the Soviets Meyer, who served on the Eastern Front , in exchange for Mohnke, who did not. However, the British accidentally repatriated an important witness against Mohnke to Europe, and the Department of External Affairs was unwilling to proceed with the negotiations. The British war crimes office closed in 1948, and von Reitzenstein
5983-550: A typical U.S. infantry division had attached for armor support an M4 Sherman battalion, a tank destroyer battalion, or both. After World War II, the Sherman, particularly the many improved and upgraded versions, continued to see combat service in many conflicts around the world, including the UN forces in the Korean War , with Israel in the Arab–Israeli wars , briefly with South Vietnam in
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6176-548: A vehicle with the 76 mm gun, B for the 105 mm howitzer, C for the 17-pounder gun, and Y for any vehicle equipped with horizontal volute spring suspension (HVSS), e.g. British operated M4A1(76) was known as Sherman IIA. Early Shermans mounted a 75 mm medium-velocity general-purpose gun . Although Ordnance began work on the T20/22/23 series as Sherman replacements, the Army Ground Forces were satisfied with
6369-404: A well-timed dive to feign being hit, while Lance Corporal Frank Meakin was saved by his older brother George, who stepped in front of Frank and was hit in the chest by multiple machine pistol bullets as a result. The officer killed Frank, then proceeded to empty the remainder of his magazine into Slywchuck's head. The remaining five Canadian and two British POWs were executed last, not far from where
6562-406: A whispered conversation with one of his officers, then loudly declared "In the future, no prisoners are to be taken!" The officer who spoke with Meyer proceeded to interrogate the seven prisoners but was unsatisfied with their responses. A few minutes later, the officer called out a name. The prisoner walked into the nearby garden, and when he turned the corner he was shot in the back of his head by
6755-455: Is alleged to have occurred on the morning of July 8, during another Allied attempt to take Caen. According to a German soldier who provided the details during an interrogation, his company killed 15–20 Canadian POWs near Cambes-Anisy . In each case, no bodies were ever found, nor did any witnesses corroborate their claims. Canadian forces were not on the front lines of either sector that the atrocities are alleged to have occurred. However, each man
6948-544: Is evident that the 12th SS was not capable of conducting successful offensive operations against prepared positions in Normandy. Artillery and anti-tank guns were the key to victory, and the Allies possessed large numbers of these effective weapons. All of the German assaults were checked and defeated in detail. The 3rd Canadian Division had won a decisive victory". The 3rd Canadian Division ceased major combat operations until July, with only one day of major operations, on 11 June, at
7141-471: Is in offensive operations against hostile rear areas. The M4 was, therefore, not originally intended primarily as an infantry support tank . It placed tanks in the "striking echelon" of the armored division and placed the infantry in the "support echelon", without directing that tanks should only seek to attack other tanks, thus leaving target selection up to the field commander based on what types of units were available to him to attack. A field manual covering
7334-584: The 6th SS Panzer Army of SS- Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich , which was forming up for Operation Wacht am Rhein (the Second Battle of the Ardennes, popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge ), a large-scale offensive to recapture Antwerp and halt the Allied advance. The operation opened on 16 December 1944, with Kampfgruppe Peiper from the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler breaking through
7527-497: The Axis nations . The T6 prototype was completed on 2 September 1941. The upper hull of the T6 was a single large casting. It featured a single overhead hatch for the driver and a hatch in the side of the hull. In the later M4A1 production model, this large casting was maintained, although the side hatch was eliminated, and a second overhead hatch was added for the assistant driver. The modified T6
7720-658: The Battle of Le Mesnil-Patry . This saw the 12th SS inflict many casualties on the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the 1st Hussars (6th Armoured Regiment) which lost 51 Sherman tanks . Also on 11 June the 46th Royal Marine Commando assaulted Rots . The official historian of Le Régiment de la Chaudière , described the "ferocious battle" including hand-to-hand fighting and "smoldering" tanks, "from each blackened turret hangs
7913-580: The Falaise Pocket . The 12th SS, along with several other German units and panzer ace SS- Oberscharführer Rudolf Roy who destroyed 26 Allied tanks, was instrumental in re-opening the corridor out of the pocket on 20 August, allowing an estimated 10,000 German soldiers to escape encirclement. During their retreat from France, members of the LSSAH and the Hitlerjugend division murdered 34 French civilians in
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8106-509: The First Canadian Army After Macdonald's efforts, the CMHQ recommended to the government that Canada should create its own war crimes investigatory body. On June 4, 1945, No. 1 Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit (CWCIU) was formed. Much of the case against Kurt Meyer rested on the testimony of SS private Jan Jesionek, who overheard Meyer dissuade the taking of prisoners, and witnessed the second round of executions at
8299-768: The IX SS Mountain Corps had been encircled. While the division was in transit, the IV SS Panzer Corps launched several unsuccessful relief operations. The division, alongside the LSSAH as a part of I SS Panzer Corps arrived in Hungary in early February 1945, a few days before the city fell. The division next took part in Operation Spring Awakening , another operation to retake the Hungarian oilfields. The attack got underway on 6 March 1945; after initial success,
8492-638: The Korean War , the M4A3E8 Easy Eight was the main tank force of the U.S. military until the signing of the armistice agreement. At the outbreak of the war, the U.S. military tried to deploy the M4A3E8, a medium-sized tank of the same class, to respond to North Korean T-34-85, but there were few tanks available for rapid deployment from the Far East due to disarmament after World War II. The U.S. Far East Command collected 58 M4A3E8 scattered throughout Japan, created
8685-563: The M3 Lee , a medium tank developed by the United States during the early years of World War II. The M3, also known by its service names "Grant" and "Lee," was characterized by a unique design that featured the main armament mounted in a side sponson. The Grant variant, used by British forces, employed a lower-profile turret based on British designs, while the Lee variant, used by the United States, retained
8878-649: The North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment were advancing southward, and initially did not encounter any resistance. C Company of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders was the first unit to come under fire in this sector, with German artillery and mortar fire killing and wounding a number of Canadians. The Canadian forces were unable to secure any support from artillery or ships offshore, and tanks from
9071-514: The Regina Rifles , 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division . Their orders were to overrun the Canadians and force a deep wedge between them and the British to the west. No reconnaissance of the Canadian positions was done and the infantry met intense defensive fire from firmly established positions. The attack at 03:30 hours on 8 June had little initial success. The various companies in
9264-673: The Republic of Korea Marine Corps during the war while the Army operated M36 GMCs as its main armored asset. After World War II, the U.S. kept the M4A3E8 Easy Eight in service, with either the 76 mm gun or a 105 mm M4 howitzer. The U.S. Army replaced the M4 in 1957, in favor of the M47 Patton , M48 Patton and, M60 Patton . The U.S. continued to transfer Shermans to its allies, which contributed to widespread foreign use. The Israeli Defense Force used Shermans from its creation in 1948 until
9457-570: The Royal Winnipeg Rifles , the Regina Rifles , the Queen's Own Rifles , the 3rd Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment , and the Cameron Highlanders . Mohnke ordered his battalions to conduct patrols on the night of June 7, to prepare for attacks against Brouay , Putot , and Norrey . One of the patrols came across a Canadian mine-laying party, and in the ensuing engagement three Canadians became separated from their units and were captured by
9650-898: The Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942 with the British 8th Army . At the start of the offensive, there were 252 tanks fit for action. These equipped the British 9th Armoured Brigade (for the battle under the New Zealand Division ), 2nd Armoured Brigade (1st Armoured Division), and 8th and 20th Armoured Brigades (10th Armoured Division). Their first encounter with tanks was against German Panzer III and IV tanks with long 50 mm and 75 mm guns engaging them at 2,000 yards (1,800 m). There were losses to both sides. The first U.S. Shermans in battle were M4s and M4A1s in Operation Torch
9843-547: The Sherman Firefly ). Some were fitted with a 105 mm howitzer to act as infantry support vehicles. The relative ease of production allowed large numbers of the M4 to be manufactured, and significant investment in tank recovery and repair units allowed disabled vehicles to be repaired and returned to service quickly. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, and many infantry divisions were provided with M4s and tank destroyers. By 1944,
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#173285854731410036-626: The Vietnam War , and on both sides of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 . The United States Army Ordnance Department designed the M4 medium tank as a replacement for the M3 medium tank. The M3 was an up-gunned development of the M2 medium tank of 1939, in turn, derived from the M2 light tank of 1935. The M3 was developed as a stopgap measure until a new turret mounting a 75 mm gun could be devised. While it
10229-459: The 12th SS Panzer Division's atrocities during the Battle of Normandy. The material found during these investigations was used in a report on the 12th SS Panzer Division's crimes against POWs at Normandy, which was submitted by the prosecution during the Nuremberg Trials . The standing court of inquiry ultimately estimated that 103 Canadians were murdered during the Normandy massacres, but this
10422-530: The 12th SS Panzer Division, despite no bodies being located. The first allegedly took place during a renewed Allied assault against Caen on June 26. Canadian forces were being held in reserve, but a Polish conscript serving with the Wehrmacht at the time, says he saw up to 15 SS soldiers guarding seven Canadian POWs. Some of the SS men lifted their machine pistols, and killed the entire group of Canadians. The second incident
10615-465: The 12th SS Panzer Division. The 3rd Canadian Division landed at Juno Beach at approximately 7:45 AM, on June 6, 1944. They were opposed by the German 716th Division , which was at two-thirds strength. Juno Beach was secured shortly after 10:00 AM, with Canada incurring hundreds of casualties in the process. Most Canadian units failed to achieve their day-one objectives, but nonetheless advanced inland over 7 miles (11 km). The 12 SS Panzer Division
10808-497: The 12th SS Panzer Regiment, arrived and moved into position north-west of Caen. Supported by a battalion of artillery (3rd Battalion, 12th SS Panzer Regiment), this battle group was ordered to stop the Canadian advance and drive through to the coast, a few kilometres away. They failed to break through the Canadians around Buron , a kilometre to the north. Meyer countermanded the divisional commander's order on his own initiative, feeling that objective unrealistic and hoped merely to stop
11001-532: The 12th SS reached their assembly area near Evrecy at 22:00 hours on 6 June but the Panther battalion ran out of fuel east of the Orne River. According to Marc Milner, "[t]his was just the first example of sloppy staff work and command and control that characterized 12th SS Division's experience in the beachhead battles". At 10:00 hours on 7 June, the 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment, along with 50 Panzer IV tanks of
11194-446: The 1980s, having first acquired a single M4A2 lacking the main armament from British forces as they withdrew from Israel. The popularity of the tank (having now been re-armed) compared to the outdated, 1934-origin French Renault R35 interwar light tanks with their 37 mm short-barreled guns, which made up the bulk of the IDF's tank force, led to the purchase of 30 unarmed M4(105 mm)s from Italian scrapyards. Three of these, plus
11387-479: The 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment under command of SS- Obersturmbannfuhrer Wilhelm Mohnke arrived on the battlefield. Meyer had pushed back one part of the Canadian advance but to the west, the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade had occupied a group of small villages three kilometres into the German line. The 26th Panzergrenadier Regiment crossed behind Meyer's regiment and took post to the west. The 1st Battalion launched an attack towards Norrey-en-Bessin , defended by
11580-401: The 2nd Battalion attacked positions in other parts of the village, and the two sides engaged in a ferocious battle which involved some house-by-house fighting. The 3rd Battalion attacked a railway line between Putot and Brouay. The Canadian defenders tried to buy time for reinforcements to arrive, but by 1:30 PM they were completely surrounded and unable to communicate with the outside world; only
11773-481: The 2nd Battalion's first-aid post. One soon died of his injuries, but the other continued to cling to life. However, on the night of June 11 all three were executed and buried near three victims of a previous killing. Nine additional Canadians were executed between June 12 and 17, when the Normandy Massacres were considered by officials to end. Historian Howard Margolian argues in his book Conduct Unbecoming that two additional massacres could potentially be attributed to
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#173285854731411966-443: The 8072nd Temporary Tank Battalion (later renamed to the 89th Tank Battalion) on 17 July and landed them in Busan on 1 August. The 8072nd Temporary Tank Battalion was immediately deployed for Battle of Masan to support the 25th U.S. Infantry Division. Since then, a total of 679 M4A3E8 were deployed on the Korean Peninsula in 1950. The M4A3E8 and T-34 -85 were comparable and could destroy each other at normal combat ranges, although
12159-409: The Allied Normandy landings , including the Ascq and Normandy massacres , and several massacres, arsons and rapes in the cities of Plomion, Tavaux, Bouillon, Godinne, Hun, Rivere, Warnant and Namur. It first saw action on 7 June 1944 as part of the German defensive operations at Caen against Allied Forces, and suffered great casualties during the Battle of the Falaise Pocket . In December 1944,
12352-400: The American lines with some difficulty. After the 12th SS reached the front, it was met with heavy resistance from American troops stationed on the Elsenborn Ridge . Despite repeated efforts, the division could not budge the American defenders. As a result, the division was ordered to swing left and follow the advance line of the remainder of the 1st SS Panzer Division. American troops prevented
12545-412: The American tanks to the British ones, but preferred Soviet ones most of all. While combat in the European theater often consisted of high-profile armored warfare, the mainly naval nature of the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) relegated it to secondary status for both the Allies and the Japanese. While the U.S. Army fielded 16 armored divisions and 70 separate tank battalions during the war, only
12738-430: The Ardenne Abbey soon after. Macdonald was given a copy of Jesionek's initial statement about the massacre by a third party and tracked him down in Marseilles . Jesionek was first questioned on May 28, 1945. In order to validate Jesionek's credibility, the CWCIU team questioned him in trial-like conditions, and Macdonald took him to the Abbey to reenact the events of June 8, 1944; he succeeded on both tests without issue. He
12931-430: The Army accepted a limited run of 254 M4A3E2 "Jumbo" Shermans, which had very thick hull armor and the 75 mm gun in a new, better-protected T23-style turret ("Jumbos" could mount the 76 mm M1 cannon), to assault fortifications, leading convoys, and spearhead armored columns. The M4A3 model was the first to be factory-produced with the HVSS system with wider tracks to distribute weight, beginning in August 1944. With
13124-486: The British apprehended former SS Captain Gerd von Reitzenstein in 1947, they requested evidence about the Chateau d'Audrieu killings. Officials at the Department of National Defence spent months looking for a box that was thought to contain bullets from the bodies of the murdered soldiers, live German ammunition, finger prints, and other important forensic evidence; they were ultimately unsuccessful in their search. Canadian investigators tried for almost one year to arrange
13317-507: The British tank mission in the U.S., the tank was displayed in London and is now an exhibit at The Tank Museum , Bovington, UK. In World War II, the U.S. Army ultimately fielded 16 armored divisions, along with 70 separate tank battalions, while the U.S. Marine Corps fielded six tank battalions. A third of all Army tank battalions, and all six Marine tank battalions, were deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO). Before September 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had announced
13510-418: The CWCIU would be dissolved and its investigations and trials would wrap up. The Chief of Staff claimed that this was because: ...After a year and a half of investigating, including six months by this large and expensive unit [the CWCIU], we have so far succeeded in bringing one single German to trial, and we are not all sure that we are going to be able to hang him. During the period between Meyer's trial and
13703-406: The CWCIU's dissolution, it tried three additional cases involving war crimes against Canadian airmen; all three trials resulted in convictions with six defendants. Four of them were executed, and two others served time in prison. Despite these successes, the Canadian Cabinet approved the dissolution of the CWCIU on May 6, 1946, and it was formally dissolved on May 31. Eleven of its staff members formed
13896-478: The Caen-Fontenay road, where a convoy of German tanks and half tracks was observed heading toward them. They were sent into a grassy area around 50 yards (46 m) from an intersection near the village of Fontenay-le-Pesnel , and made to sit in rows; stretcher cases were put in the middle. A few minutes passed while one of the half tracks left the convoy and drove to the prisoners in the field. The men who exited
14089-608: The Canadian War Crimes Commission (CWCC) strove to discover the details of the murders. As commander of the regiment, Kurt Meyer was the prime suspect. At Meyer's war crimes trial in December 1945, he was found guilty of inciting his troops to commit murder and of being responsible as a commander for the killings at the Abbey. He was sentenced to death on 28 December 1945; his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1946. He
14282-485: The Canadians and asked for volunteers. They refused to say what they wanted volunteers for, so nobody stepped forward. The Germans responded by choosing ten POWs at random, who were from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the Sherbrooke Highlanders, and took them away from the main group of POWs. The Germans proceeded to interrogate one POW at a time, then execute them. The first six were bludgeoned to death, and
14475-405: The Canadians were captured, Seibken received a phone call from Mohnke, who ordered him "not to send back so many prisoners." Seibken understood this as an order to kill surrendering soldiers instead of capturing them, and he informed Mohnke that he would continue to send POWs to the rear. A military police escort arrived shortly thereafter, and the 40 POWs (including two stretcher cases) set out under
14668-543: The Chateau d'Audrieu, where the Germans set up their battalion headquarters. SS Major Gerhard Bremer spoke English and conducted the interrogations with the prisoners. The first group of three POWs to be questioned included Major Frederick Hodge, who commanded the Royal Winnipeg Rifles' A Company. Shortly after 2:00 PM, the three prisoners were marched single file, with their hands raised, to a cluster of trees and shrubs on
14861-567: The Dorset's second-in-command, had served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles before the war as part of a British-Canadian military exchange program. Upon seeing the bodies, he realized that he recognized many of the victims. Horrified, he ordered some of his men to preserve the crime scene and identify the thirteen victims. The report he subsequently wrote, which confirmed what Level had told him, was read by General Bernard Montgomery , commander of land forces in Normandy. Two weeks later, British forces searched
15054-467: The German armour onslaught, preventing Meyer's and Mohnk's regiments from linking up. During the course of the battle, two Canadians in an advanced outpost became cut off from their unit by the German thrust. They were discovered by German soldiers at some point, and their comrades reported seeing them get led away with their hands raised. They were questioned by an officer, who suddenly became visibly angry and fatally shot Private Ernest Gilbank three times in
15247-480: The German rear, their captors shot at them. One of the men died, but the other two were not hit, and the Germans did not check to see if all three men were dead before leaving without them. The two survivors reached safety after a few days had passed. Many Canadian tank crews who surrendered to soldiers of the 12 SS Panzer Division suffered similar fates, with some being executed right after being captured, while others were beaten severely first. In at least one instance,
15440-618: The Germans held a military funeral for these two victims, which was recorded by a German cameraman. The last man known to be murdered by members of the 3rd Battalion on June 7 was army chaplain Captain Walter Brown , of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers. He set out in a jeep to visit an officer who was recovering at a field hospital in Les Buissons . He was accompanied by Lieutenant W.F. Grainger, and Lance Corporal J.H. Greenwood (who
15633-406: The Germans pulled two bodies — including that of Corporal Thomas Davidson — into the road for traffic to run over, while his comrades stopped villagers from moving the bodies out of the way. By the time a villager received permission to bury the two bodies, they were in such bad condition that he had to use a shovel to collect their remains. The corpse of another murdered Canadian was sat up, and given
15826-444: The Germans three days later. Mohnke's forces attacked shortly after 2:00 AM on June 8, achieving mixed outcomes in the initial phases of the battle. The 1st Battalion of the 26th Panzer Grenadier Regiment pushed deep into Canadian lines, but failed to flank Norrey, which remained in Canadian control. Part of the 2nd Battalion first attacked a railway bridge near Putot, but the Canadian defenders repulsed this attack. Other elements from
16019-560: The Israeli Army upgraded about 180 M4A1(76)W HVSS Shermans with the French 105 mm Modèle F1 gun, re-engined them with Cummins diesel engines, and designated the upgraded tank Sherman M-51 . The Sherman tanks, fighting alongside the 105 mm Centurion Shot Kal and M48 Patton tanks, were able to defeat the T-34-85, T-54/55/62 series, and IS-3 tanks used by the Egyptian and Syrian forces in
16212-462: The M3's 75 mm gun. This would later become the Sherman. The Sherman's reliability resulted from many features developed for U.S. light tanks during the 1930s, including vertical volute spring suspension , rubber-bushed tracks, and a rear-mounted radial engine with drive sprockets in front. The goals were to produce a fast, dependable medium tank able to support infantry, provide breakthrough striking capacity, and defeat any tank then in use by
16405-453: The M4 and Armored Force Board considered some features of the experimental tanks unsatisfactory. Continuing with M4 minimized production disruption but elements of the experimental designs were incorporated into the Sherman. Later M4A1, M4A2, and M4A3 models received the larger turret with high velocity 76 mm gun trialed on the T23 tank. The first standard-production 76 mm gun-armed Sherman
16598-465: The M4 was submitted by the Ordnance Department on 31 August 1940, but the development of a prototype was delayed while the final production designs of the M3 were finished and the M3 entered full-scale production. On 18 April 1941, the U.S. Armored Force Board chose the simplest of five designs. Known as the T6, the design was a modified M3 hull and chassis, carrying a newly designed turret mounting
16791-517: The M4A1 differed from the other variants by its fully cast upper hull, with a distinctive rounded appearance. The M4A4 had a longer engine that required a longer hull and more track blocks, and thus the most distinguishing feature of the M4A4 was the wider longitudinal spacing between the bogies. "M4A5" was an administrative placeholder designation for Canadian Ram tank . The M4A6 had a radial diesel engine as well as
16984-567: The Middle East as quickly as possible." The US considered collecting all Shermans together to be able to send the 2nd Armored Division under Patton to reinforce Egypt, but delivering the Shermans directly to the British was quicker and over 300 – mostly M4A1s, but also including M4A2s – had arrived there by September 1942. The Shermans were modified for desert warfare with shields over the tracks and another stowage. The Sherman first saw combat at
17177-590: The Normandy campaign, with the Canadian Brigadier, Harry Foster, later noting that "no use was made of the fact that the Reginas' flanks were exposed; instead, the enemy flung himself straight against the strongest points and utterly failed to exploit the undoubted weakness of his opponent's position". On the Canadian right, the 2nd Battalion attacked the Royal Winnipeg Rifles defending the village of Putot-en-Bessin at 06:30 hours. The battalion managed to break into
17370-460: The Normandy massacres did not get a good look at the perpetrators, while many SS men still felt bound by their loyalty oaths or were unapologetic altogether. This changed in August 1945, when the government passed legislation that made it a crime to be part of a unit that committed a war crime, or to be in command of soldiers who committed war crimes. Meyer told investigators that in early June 1944, he
17563-503: The Normandy massacres was Private Lorne Brown, who refused to retreat and leave a severely wounded comrade behind. The wounded man reported seeing Brown stand up in response to an order from a German soldier, only to be forced to the ground right after. The German pinned Brown with his heel, and repeatedly bayoneted him while shouting curses. The other wounded Canadian pretended to be dead, and was later captured by another SS soldier. A village resident stated that Canadian soldiers had cleared
17756-557: The North Nova Scotia Highlanders were cut off from the rest of their forces during the German assault; they salvaged three Browning machine guns from their destroyed tanks, and they lost all of their anti-armour support except for one surviving Sherman tank . Captain Fraser, who took command of the remaining Canadian forces, managed to reach headquarters and was promised reinforcements if he continued to hold on, but these reinforcements never arrived. Around two dozen Canadians attempted to escape
17949-733: The Pacific. However, the Chief of the Army's Armored Force, Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers , ordered that no diesel-engined Shermans be used by the Army outside the Zone of Interior (the continental U.S.). The Army used all types for either training or testing within the United States but intended the M4A2 and M4A4 (with the A57 Multibank engine) to be the primary Lend-Lease exports. Shermans were being issued in small numbers for familiarization to U.S. armored divisions when there
18142-513: The Sherbrooke Fusiliers that were sent to assist had been destroyed soon after arriving. Meyer spotted tanks from the Sherbrooke Fusiliers from his nearby advanced command post at the Abbaye d'Ardenne , and ordered his forces to launch their attack two hours ahead of schedule to exploit the exposed Canadian flank; himself fearing being outflanked. The Canadians managed to disable or destroy multiple German tanks, but received heavy losses after falling into
18335-476: The Sherman. Such units included the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps , the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps and the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps , amongst others. According to Soviet tanker Dmitriy Loza, the Sherman was held in good regard and viewed positively by many Soviet tank crews, with compliments given to its reliability, ease of maintenance, generally good firepower (referring especially to the 76 mm gun version) as well as an auxiliary power unit (APU) to keep
18528-475: The U.S. Army and about 1,114 to the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. also supplied 17,184 to United Kingdom (some of which in turn went to the Canadians and the Free Poles), while the Soviet Union received 4,102 and an estimated 812 were transferred to China . These numbers were distributed further to the respective countries' allied nations. The U.S. Marine Corps used the diesel M4A2 and gasoline powered M4A3 in
18721-458: The United States approached entry into World War II, armored employment was doctrinally governed by Field Manual 100–5, Operations (published May 1941, the month following selection of the M4 tank's final design). That field manual stated: The armored division is organized primarily to perform missions that require great mobility and firepower. It is given decisive missions. It is capable of engaging in all forms of combat, but its primary role
18914-645: The Waffen-SS division was first proposed by Artur Axmann , the leader of the Hitler Youth , to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler in early 1943. The plan for a division made up of Hitler Youth members born in 1926 was passed on to Adolf Hitler for his approval. Hitler approved the plan in February and SS- Gruppenführer Gottlob Berger was ordered to recruit the personnel. SS- Oberführer Fritz Witt of 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH)
19107-462: The advantage of Allied armor over Axis armor and was superior to the lighter German and Italian tank designs. For this reason, the US Army believed that the M4 would be adequate to win the war, and relatively little pressure was initially applied for further tank development. Logistical and transport restrictions, such as limitations imposed by roads, ports, and bridges, also complicated the introduction of
19300-557: The area more thoroughly and uncovered thirteen more bodies: Eleven were Canadian, and two were British. Throughout the coming weeks, additional graves of victims were uncovered; including a mass grave that contained almost three dozen bodies. As late as December 1945, the Canadian Government was still informing next-of-kin that their relatives had been murdered, and were not killed in action as they had previously been told. The Allies decided to convene special courts martial to address
19493-544: The atrocities at the chateau, and the British 21st Army Group was put in charge of the investigation. Despite General Montgomery reportedly being disgusted by the murders, the British did not make tangible progress on the investigation. On July 4, officers at the Canadian Military Headquarters in London (CMHQ) decided to formally protest to the 21st Army Group that the file "had been badly handled", and lobbied for
19686-402: The attacking battalion failed to coordinate effectively and suffered many casualties. Facing Canadian artillery and the supporting heavy machine guns of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa , the 1st Battalion of the 12th SS was forced to fall back. Despite their losses, the Regina Rifles stood their ground. The Hitlerjugend division was criticized for performing inadequately in the opening days of
19879-480: The battle at Putot-en-Bessin were captured at around midnight on June 9; all three were wounded and found lying in a field near the 2nd Battalion's headquarters. They were fed, received medical aid, and slept on straw beds. Mohnke caught word about the prisoners, and repeatedly ordered Seibken and his immediate subordinate, Schnabel, to execute the three men; both refused each time. Seibken called 12th SS Headquarters to confirm their attitude toward taking prisoners, and he
20072-536: The charred corpse of a machine gunner". The following two weeks was a period of relative quiet, as both sides were exhausted. What did not stop was the constant Allied artillery, naval bombardment and air attacks. Major operations for both sides began again in July, including Operation Windsor and Operation Charnwood . During Charnwood, the division was driven from its positions in Buron and nearby villages of Gruchy and Cussy and
20265-548: The column of POWs passed SS soldiers going the opposite direction, toward the front. The officer leading the oncoming SS column began to shoot into the line of POWs, and his men followed suit; nine POWs were killed in this massacre. Later, a German truck with red cross markings deliberately drove into the procession of POWs and ran over three men — two of whom died from their injuries. Some Canadian officers in captivity were later forced to sign papers falsely claiming that those two victims died from combat injuries. To reinforce this lie,
20458-448: The combination of the muddy terrain and strong Soviet resistance ground them to a halt. On 16 March, the Soviet forces counterattacked in strength, driving the entire southern front into a retreat towards Vienna . The Soviet forces took Vienna on 13 April. Retreating through Odenburg and Hirtenberg , the division reached Linz , Austria near the American lines. On 8 May 1945, 10,000 men of
20651-478: The corpses of 13 Canadians who had been executed. Some were shot in the backs of their head with a pistol, while others were shot point-blank by a machine gun. They were scattered around the same general area of the outpost; three bodies were alone, two were beside each other, and there were also two groups of four bodies. In the nearby village of Norrey , soldiers of the Regina Rifles managed to successfully repel
20844-542: The course of the battle, and after it ended, German forces executed numerous Canadians. Sergeant William Simmons' Sherman tank was disabled during the battle, and he led his surviving crew toward Canadian lines. Seeing a German tank approaching them, Simmons ordered his men to scatter then ran toward the tank to distract it. His body was later found in a ditch at the 2nd Battalion headquarters, showing signs of an execution. The remainder of his surviving crew members were captured by German soldiers, but as they were being led back to
21037-556: The court recommended that no members of the 12th SS Panzer Division be released from captivity until they were "thoroughly interrogated" about the murders. At that same time however, on April 1, 1945, the Supreme Allied Headquarters shut down the standing court so that America could investigate its own cases, due to political pressure following the Malmedy Massacre. This meant that Canada would once again need to undertake
21230-401: The date was subsequently set at January 7, 1946. Major General Christopher Vokes rejected Meyer's appeal but postponed the execution on January 5 after Field Marshall Montgomery inquired about British involvement in reviewing the appeal. The Canadian government sent a legal representative to a conference in London, where it was decided to commute Meyer's sentence to life in prison. This decision
21423-451: The defence against a British attack; the killings resumed once Bremer returned. At around 5 PM, 13 Canadians were ordered to stand in a row in an orchard, then they were killed by a volley of rifles, machine pistols, and side arms. Privates Emmanuel Bishoff, Herve Labrecqué, and Robert Mutch were not fatally wounded, and were finished off by an officer. The officer then discovered that two men had not been hit at all. Private Steve Slywchuck made
21616-423: The demands of mass production and quick deployment. The M4 Sherman was designed to be more versatile and easier to produce than previous models, which proved vital as the United States entered World War II. It became the most-produced American tank of the conflict, with a total of 49,324 units built, including various specialized variants. Its production volume surpassed that of any other American tank, and it played
21809-555: The designers prioritized durability and maintenance ease, which ensured the tank could be quickly repaired in the field. A critical aspect of the design process was the standardization of parts, allowing for streamlined production and the efficient supply of replacement components. Additionally, the tank's size and weight were kept within moderate limits, which facilitated easier shipping and compatibility with existing logistical and engineering equipment, including bridges and transport vehicles. These design principles were essential for meeting
22002-403: The division from reaching its objective, and after the destruction of Kampfgruppe Peiper from the LSSAH, the advance of Dietrich's forces was altogether stopped. On 8 January Hitler gave the authorization to withdraw. The attack was ultimately a failure. The 12th SS had been severely mauled, with only 26 tanks and assault guns and an average of 120 men remaining in each battalion. In total during
22195-550: The division recalled: "In the Waffen-SS you couldn't do anything if an Unterfuhrer hit you during the training. The purpose of the training is to make you just as they are; it's pure sadism". In March 1944 the 12th SS was attached to the I SS Panzer Corps and transferred to Caen in Normandy. At the beginning of June, the division had over 150 tanks. The division committed its first massacre while en route to Normandy. The division executed 86 French men on 1 April 1944 in Ascq, France, in
22388-548: The division surrendered near the town of Enns to the troops of the 65th Infantry Division commanded by Major General Stanley Eric Reinhart . The organization structure of this SS formation was as follows: M4 Sherman The M4 Sherman , officially medium tank, M4 , was the medium tank most widely used by the United States and Western Allies in World War II . The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It
22581-518: The division was committed against the US Army in the Ardennes offensive . After the operation's failure, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the division was sent to Hungary to participate in fighting around Budapest . The division eventually retreated into Austria and surrendered to the 7th US Army on 8 May 1945. After the war several members of the division, including its former commander Kurt Meyer , were convicted of war crimes. The idea for
22774-549: The divisional command post in the Ardenne Abbey, which had been occupied since before D-Day, was lost. Witt was killed in action by a Royal Navy naval artillery barrage which hit the divisional command post at Venoix on 14 June 1944 and Kurt Meyer was placed in command of the division. In August, the division was involved in the fighting around Falaise against the Polish 1st Armoured Division battlegroups who were trying to close
22967-544: The elongated chassis of the M4A4, but only 75 of these were ever produced. Most Sherman sub-types ran on gasoline. The air-cooled Continental-produced Wright R-975 Whirlwind 9-cylinder radial gasoline engine in the M4 and M4A1 produced 350 or 400 horsepower (260 or 300 kW). The M4A3 used the liquid-cooled 450 hp (340 kW) Ford GAA V8 gasoline engine, and the M4A4 used the liquid-cooled 370 hp (280 kW) 30 cylinder Chrysler A57 multibank gasoline engine. There were also two diesel-engined variants. The M4A2
23160-553: The equivalent of approximately 67,000 tanks; and consequently, only about 53,500 tanks were produced during 1942 and 1943. The Army had seven main sub-designations for M4 variants during production: M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4, M4A5, and M4A6. These designations did not necessarily indicate linear improvement; in that "M4A4" did not indicate it was better than "M4A3". These sub-types indicated standardized production variations, which were often manufactured concurrently at different locations. The sub-types differed mainly in engines, although
23353-463: The first reports of the landings. Prior to this Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt had ordered over half of the division to deal with a parachute landing on the coast near Lisieux which was found to be dummies from Operation Titanic . The division's advance to the areas near the British–Canadian landing beaches of Sword and Juno proceeded slowly due to Allied air attacks. The first units of
23546-402: The first two groups were killed. The prisoners kept in the stable at the Moulin farm initially received good treatment from the 2nd Battalion of the 12th SS Panzer Division, which was commanded by SS Major Bernhard Seibken. These 40 men were kept behind while military police escorted a group of over 100 POWs toward Lieutenant Colonel Mohnke's headquarters. In the late afternoon, a few hours after
23739-440: The flow of Canadian units inland until the situation could be stabilized. The attack by the division was supposed to have been supported by the 21st Panzer Division but they could not disengage from fighting the British 3rd Infantry Division and were still at Couvre . Casualties of the 25th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment amounted to about 300 men, while 15 tanks from the 12th SS Panzer Regiment were also destroyed. Late on 7 June,
23932-569: The following month. On 6 December, near Tebourba, Tunisia , a platoon from the 2nd Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment was lost to enemy tanks and anti-tank guns. Additional M4s and M4A1s replaced M3s in U.S. tank battalions over the course of the North African campaign. The M4 and M4A1 were the main types in U.S. units until the fall of 1944 when the Army began replacing them with the preferred M4A3 with its more powerful 500 hp (370 kW) engine. Some M4s and M4A1s continued in U.S. service for
24125-473: The front during the beginning of any attack. The first production of the Sherman took place at the Lima Locomotive Works and was first used in 1941, with many early vehicles reserved for British use under Lend-Lease; the first production Sherman was given to the U.S. Army for evaluation, and the second tank of the British order went to London. Nicknamed Michael , probably after Michael Dewar, head of
24318-539: The front of the group, meaning that escape in other directions was possible. Of the 40 Canadians targeted in the field that night, only five managed to escape; two of whom were shot during their attempts. At least four additional men were killed while trying to flee. This was the single worst war crime committed against Canadians in Canada's military history, and has drawn comparisons to the December 1944 Malmedy Massacre. Three soldiers who were cut off behind German lines during
24511-404: The grounds of the chateau. They were then executed by a makeshift firing squad composed of their guards. Two of the victims turned around at the last moment to face their killers. Bremer interrogated the next group of three POWs until the execution party returned, then sent the party away with this next group at around 2:30 PM. One of the prisoners was a medic wearing a red cross armband. The group
24704-515: The gun roughly aimed in the direction of the target when the tank came to a stop. This feature proved useful in ensuring the tank could quickly take aim after halting to fire, enhancing its effectiveness in combat. However, by modern standards, this system was relatively rudimentary compared to more advanced stabilizers. The development of the M4 Sherman emphasized key factors such as reliability, ease of production, and standardization. The U.S. Army and
24897-445: The half track exchanged weapons and ammunition with the escort, then 11 SS soldiers armed with automatic weapons closed in on the prisoners. All remaining hopes of mercy evaporated when Lieutenant Barker, who was sitting in the front row, instructed the other POWs: "Whoever is left after they fire the first round, go to the left [north]." The Germans stopped 30 yards (27 m) from the prisoners, one of them proclaimed "Now you die", then
25090-413: The heavier Type 4 Chi-To ; both tanks were armed with 75 mm guns, albeit of different type. Only 166 Type 3s and two Type 4s were built, and none saw combat; they were saved for the defense of the Japanese home islands , leaving 1930s era light and medium armor to do battle against 1940s-built Allied light and medium armor. During the later years of the war, general purpose high explosive ammunition
25283-410: The impending encirclement, while the remaining defenders tried to cover them. The defenders finally surrendered at shortly after 4:00 PM on June 8; the Canadians suffered 110 men killed, 195 men wounded or captured, and up to 30 tanks disabled or destroyed. The executions commenced before the Canadians had even surrendered. Elements of the SS 12th SS Panzer Division's 12th Reconnaissance Battalion, which
25476-438: The last four were shot in their heads; the Germans then executed an eleventh POW who had stayed behind because he was seriously wounded. The next day, on June 8, another group of seven POWs were executed. SS Private Jan Jesionek saw two comrades escort the prisoners into a stall adjoining the abbey. One of the troopers reported to Meyer, who angrily remarked "What do we do with these prisoners; they only eat up our rations?" He had
25669-428: The main street of civilians before digging in to fight the German attackers. This resident witnessed one Canadian walking towards German troops with his hand raised, only to be shot when he was just a few meters away. Soon after, they witnessed Private William Nichol attempt to move out of the line of fire after being shot in his right leg. A German officer ran up to Nichol, picked up his rifle, and bashed his skull in with
25862-461: The most significant changes was the relocation of the main armament—initially a 75 mm gun—into a fully traversing turret located at the center of the vehicle. This design allowed for more flexible and accurate fire control, enabling the crew to engage targets with greater precision than was possible on the M3. Additionally, the M4 featured a one-axis gyrostabilizer , which, while not precise enough to allow for accurate firing while in motion, helped keep
26055-467: The offensive the division had lost 9,870 men which included 328 officers and 1,698 NCO's. By 28 January 1945, the 12th SS, along with all the German forces, had been pushed back to its starting positions. On 14 January 1945, Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army was ordered to Hungary where it was to take part in an offensive to recapture the Hungarian oilfields and open the way to Budapest , where 45,000 men of
26248-523: The original 75 mm main gun, with 2,095 mounting the more-capable 76 mm gun. The total number of Sherman tanks sent to the USSR under Lend-Lease represented 18.6% of all Lend-Lease Shermans. The first 76 mm-armed M4A2 Shermans started to arrive in the Soviet Union in the late summer of 1944. The Soviet records reported the receiving of 3,664 tanks; the difference mainly due to deliveries being sunk on
26441-434: The original American turret design. Despite the M3's effectiveness, the tank’s unconventional layout and the limitations of its hull-mounted gun prompted the need for a more efficient and versatile design, leading to the development of the M4 Sherman. The M4 Sherman retained much of the mechanical design of the M3, but it addressed several shortcomings and incorporated improvements in mobility, firepower, and ergonomics. One of
26634-437: The original M4A2, saw extensive service in the 1948-9 war of independence. The remainder were then serviced and rearmed with 75 mm guns and components whenever these became available, composing a large part of Israeli tank forces for the next eight years. The 75 mm-armed Shermans were replaced by M4A1 (76 mm) Shermans imported from France before the 1956 Suez Crisis after it was realized that their armor penetration
26827-412: The preferred U.S. tank in the later phases of the war. It was considered more advantageous in terms of maneuverability on rough terrain and ease of maintenance due to the mechanical reliability. Because of this feature, the M4A3E8 were widely used for providing close support to infantry units, particularly during battles for high ground and mountains. From December 1951, around 20 M4A3E8s saw service with
27020-417: The prisoners, and killed them with a short burst of gunfire. The three Canadians who were separated from their mine-laying party were captured after approximately 72 hours of trying to reach Canadian lines. They were brought to an orchard where the 26th Panzer Grenadier Regiment had its headquarters. Military policemen brought them to Mohnke's headquarters, where they were inspected by Mohnke, his Adjutant, and
27213-535: The rest of the war. The first Sherman to enter combat with the 76 mm gun in July 1944 was the M4A1, then the M4A2, closely followed by the M4A3. By the end of the war, roughly half the U.S. Army Shermans in Europe had the 76 mm gun. The first HVSS-equipped Sherman to see combat was the M4A3(76)W in December 1944. Under Lend-Lease, 4,102 M4A2 medium tanks were sent to the Soviet Union. Of these, 2,007 were equipped with
27406-469: The rifle butt, before shooting one bullet into his corpse. Canadian Lance Corporal Mackay was being escorted toward a group of his fellow POWs, but suddenly got pushed into a nearby doorway by his escort. The guard briefly spoke with two other German soldiers, before heading back in the street with Mackay; the latter then witnessed the Germans order eight POWs to go to the middle of the road and take their helmets off, then proceeding to fatally shoot them. One of
27599-518: The smooth ride of the HVSS, it gained the nickname " Easy Eight " from its experimental "E8" designation. The M4 and M4A3 105 mm-armed tanks, as well as the M4A1 and M4A2 76 mm-armed tanks, were also eventually equipped with HVSS. Both the Americans and the British developed a wide array of special attachments for the Sherman, although few saw combat, remaining experimental. Those that saw action included
27792-421: The soldiers opened fire into the rows. Many of the men in the first row were killed instantly, while others were severely wounded and lay in agony. The men in the inner rows tried desperately to avoid being hit by the bullets flying around them, but none were able to escape. The men in the rear-most row had had a slightly better chance of surviving than the other prisoners. The Germans only positioned themselves at
27985-485: The standards mandated by the Geneva Conventions . The 3rd Battalion of the 12th SS Panzer Division, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Karl Heinz Milius, committed some of the first atrocities against the Canadian prisoners of war. The SS troopers were infuriated by the number of casualties they incurred when taking the village, and that these losses were inflicted by soldiers they viewed as inferior. The first victim of
28178-463: The stomach. The officer then shot Private L.W. Lee once in the groin, but an artillery barrage struck right when the officer fired again, and his subsequent shots all missed. Lee made it back safely to Canadian lines after 36 hours, after evading a German patrol, and reported the war crime to his superiors. The next murders occurred in six separate instances on June 11, when the Canadian Army launched
28371-410: The subsequent evacuation. Six of them were killed together in the kitchen of a French home, while another two were a Canadian Army medic wearing a red cross armband (signifying his status as a noncombatant), and his patient. The executions were temporarily halted after Major Leon M. Rhodenizer, who commanded A Company of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, appealed to the SS soldiers in German. However,
28564-422: The tank's basic model number. These included stronger suspension units, safer "wet" (W) ammunition stowage, and stronger or more effective armor arrangements, such as the M4 "Composite", which had a cheaper to produce cast front hull section mated to a regular welded rear hull. British nomenclature for Shermans was by mark numbers for the different hulls with letters for differences in armament and suspension: A for
28757-683: The tank's batteries charged without having to run the main engine, as was required on the T-34. However, according to Soviet tank crews, the Sherman also had disadvantages, the greatest being its high center of gravity and the ease of hitting it by enemy fire. The Sherman’s relatively narrow-set tracks struggled to negotiate muddy terrain compared to the wider-set tracks of the T-34 or German Panther tank. David M. Glantz wrote: "[The Sherman’s] narrow treads made it much less mobile on mud than its German and Soviet counterparts, and it consumed great quantities of fuel..." Glantz noted that Soviet tankers preferred
28950-640: The tanks fielded by Nazi Germany during this period. The M4 Sherman saw widespread use across various theaters of combat, including North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe. It was instrumental in the success of several Allied offensives, particularly after 1942, when the Allies began to gain momentum following the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) and the subsequent campaigns in Italy and France. The tank’s ability to be produced in large numbers, combined with its operational flexibility and effectiveness, made it
29143-509: The time M4s reached combat in significant numbers, battlefield demands for infantry support and tank-versus-tank action far outnumbered the occasional opportunities of rear-echelon exploitation. United States doctrine held that the most critical anti-tank work – stopping massed enemy tank attacks – was primarily to be done by towed and self-propelled anti-tank guns, operated by "Tank Destroyer" battalions , with friendly tanks being used in support if possible. Speed
29336-576: The towns of Tavaux and Plomion . The units in the division that were not fit for combat were ordered to return to Germany on 8 September, leaving behind a small Kampfgruppe attached to the SS Division Das Reich . The division losses during the fighting in Normandy, in the three months from June to September, amounted to c. 8,000 men, over 80 per cent of its tanks, 70 per cent of its armored vehicles, 60 per cent of its artillery and 50 per cent of its motor vehicles. Another massacre
29529-470: The use of High-Velocity Armor Piercing ammunition, advanced optics, and better crew training gave the Sherman an advantage. The M4A3E8, using 76 mm HVAP ammunition, destroyed 41 enemy tanks from July to November 1950. The M4A3E8 had weaker anti-tank combat capability compared to the larger caliber M26 Pershing and the M46 Patton that were operated at the same time. However, the lighter M4A3E8 became
29722-400: The use of the Sherman (FM 17–33, "The Tank Battalion, Light and Medium" of September 1942) described fighting enemy tanks, when necessary, as one of the many roles of the Sherman, but devoted only one page of text and four diagrams to tank-versus-tank action out of 142 pages. This early armored doctrine was heavily influenced by the sweeping early war successes of German blitzkrieg tactics. By
29915-548: The village and surround several companies, pushing the Winnipeg Rifles out of the village by 13:00 hours and inflicting 256 casualties – of which 175 were taken prisoner. Later that day, a counter-attack by the Canadian Scottish Regiment , with artillery, tank and tank-destroyer support, re-took Putot with the SS giving up the struggle for the village and withdrawing around midnight. Oliver Haller concluded that "It
30108-521: The war, and it continued to see action even in the years following World War II in various conflicts and regions. The M4 Sherman remains one of the most iconic tanks in military history, symbolizing the industrial might and innovation of the United States during the war. When the M4 tank went into combat in North Africa with the British Army at the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942, it increased
30301-474: The way and discrepancies between the United States and Soviet Union archives The Red Army considered the M4A2 to be much less prone to catch fire due to ammunition detonation than the T-34/76 , but the M4A2 had a higher tendency to overturn in road accidents and collisions or because of rough terrain than the T-34 due to its higher center of gravity. By 1945, some Red Army armored units were equipped entirely with
30494-450: The work to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Canadian public knew about the atrocities by spring 1945, but the Canadian government did not have the capacity to undertake investigations and prosecutions at the scale that America did. The government, as well as most officers in the CMHQ, were opposed to the creation of an independent Canadian war crimes body. The prevailing view was that Canadian interests would be adequately represented in
30687-467: Was a German armoured division of the Waffen-SS during World War II . The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth , while the senior NCOs and officers were from other Waffen-SS divisions. Most of the enlisted men were teenagers , starting from the ages of 16 or even 15. The division committed several war crimes while en route to and during the early battles of
30880-492: Was a big improvement when used by the British in Africa against German forces , the placement of a 37 mm gun turret on top gave it a very high profile, and the unusual side-sponson mounted main gun, with limited traverse , could not be aimed across the other side of the tank. Though reluctant to adopt British weapons into their arsenal, the American designers were prepared to accept proven British ideas. These ideas, as embodied in
31073-628: Was a turn of events in the Western Desert campaign . On 21 June 1942, Axis forces captured Tobruk , threatening Egypt and Britain's supply line through the Suez Canal . British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was at the Second Washington Conference when news of the defeat broke; President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked what he could do to help and Churchill replied at once, "Give us as many Sherman tanks as you can spare and ship them to
31266-437: Was able to fight on with the help of considerable numerical superiority, greater mechanical reliability, better logistical support, and support from growing numbers of fighter-bombers and artillery pieces. Later in the war, a more effective armor-piercing gun, the 76 mm gun M1 , was incorporated into production vehicles. For anti-tank work, the British refitted Shermans with a 76.2 mm Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun (as
31459-475: Was adamant that they had specifically seen Canadian soldiers executed in these instances. Allied High Command received word about the atrocities on June 8, 1944, when soldiers from the British Dorset Regiment set up their headquarters at the Chateau d'Audrieu. They met Monique Level, the daughter of the chateau's proprietor, who informed them about the massacre that occurred there. Major Lloyd Sneath,
31652-417: Was also able to identify where the seven bodies were buried. The next challenge for Macdonald was to establish a link between Meyer's incitement of murder and the murders that actually took place. On June 24, 1945, Macdonald and his team traveled to POW camps across Canada and the United States, interviewing 99 German witnesses and 15 Canadian witnesses. These interviews were of limited value; many survivors of
31845-640: Was also the basis of several other armored fighting vehicles including self-propelled artillery , tank destroyers , and armored recovery vehicles . Tens of thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth , Soviet Union , and other Allied Nations . The tank was named by the British after the American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman . The M4 Sherman tank evolved from
32038-504: Was among the first Hitler Youth units to reach the front. Meyer was a fanatical believer in the Nazi ideology. In the East, his regiment had razed multiple villages to the ground — slaughtering their inhabitants in the process. Meyer set up his headquarters in a chateau near Caen on the night of June 6. By this time, the 716th division had been almost entirely decimated, and could no longer function as
32231-453: Was an M4A1, accepted in January 1944, which first saw combat in July 1944 during Operation Cobra . Variants of the M4 and M4A3 were factory-produced with a 105 mm howitzer and a distinctive rounded gun mantlet , which surrounded the main gun, on the turret. The first Sherman variant to be armed with the 105 mm howitzer was the M4, first accepted in February 1944. From May to July 1944,
32424-594: Was appointed the divisional commander. Personnel from the LSSAH provided the regimental, battalion and most of the company commanders for the division. About 2,000 personnel were transferred from the LSSAH and in September 1943, the division had over 16,000 recruits on its roster, undergoing training in Beverloo Camp in Leopoldsburg , Belgium. The indoctrination was often brutal; while in Allied captivity, an SS man from
32617-561: Was before all of the atrocities had been reported, and more bodies were found. The court further recommended that due to the criminal behaviour that was common among the 12th SS Panzer Division's officers, Kurt Meyer, Wilhelm Mohnke, Gerhard Bremer, Karl-Heinz Milius, and Siegfried Muller be charged with denying quarter to the enemy, and failing to prevent violations against prisoners by the men under their command. It also recommended that several officers and non-commissioned men be charged with committing murder or being accessories to murder. Lastly,
32810-420: Was commanded by SS Sturmbannführer Gerhard Bremer, set up fortifications at the front on the night of June 7. The 26th Panzer Grenadier Regiment arrived on the line at around the same time. One of its officers was SS Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Mohnke , who had a highly volatile temper and previously ordered the execution of over 100 POWs during the Battle of France in 1940. The Germans were facing forces from
33003-490: Was committed by the division on its second day of operations during Operation Overlord , the Allied invasion of France. During the evening of 7 June, 11 Canadian prisoners of war from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders , the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders and the 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment) , were shot in the back of the head. After a year of investigations from August 1944 to August 1945,
33196-541: Was divided between supporters of clemency who felt that Meyer could play an important role in a new German or European military to counter the Soviet Union, or questioned the fairness of his trial, and opponents who did not want him let off the hook for the Ardenne Abbey murders. The German government voiced its desire to grant him clemency, and the Canadian Cabinet gave its approval in January 1954. Meyer officially gained his freedom on September 7, 1954, nine years after he
33389-530: Was driving). They left for the hospital at 11:30 PM on June 7, and soon became lost. They stopped near the village of Galmanche to try and get their bearings, and were shot at by an SS patrol while disembarking from their jeep to surrender. Greenwood was killed by the initial volley, while Grainger was wounded. Grainger saw Brown walk toward the SS patrol with his hands raised, but passed out before seeing what became of him. Grainger came to some time later, and managed to drive himself back to friendly lines. Brown's body
33582-404: Was essential to bring the tank destroyers from the rear to destroy incoming tanks. This doctrine was rarely followed in combat, as it was found to be impractical. Commanders were reluctant to leave tank destroyers in reserve; if they were, it was also easier for an opposing armored force to achieve a breakthrough against an American tank battalion, which would not have all of its anti-tank weapons at
33775-477: Was found several weeks later, close to where the trio had initially stopped; a single stab wound from a bayonet pierced his heart. The column of Canadian POWs continued their journey into captivity, eventually being herded into the courtyard of the Ardenne Abbey, where Meyer had an advanced command post. After being searched, they were allowed to put their hands down, smoke, and walk around the courtyard. After around 30 minutes, some military police officers approached
33968-610: Was imprisoned. He was met in his home town of Niederkruchten by a crowd of 5,000 SS veterans and supporters who lined the town's main street — many holding burning torches. He joined the Waffen SS Veterans Association, found a job selling beer to Canadian soldiers stationed in Germany, and remained unrepentant for the crimes that he and his men committed. 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend The SS Division Hitlerjugend or 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" ( German : 12. SS-Panzerdivision "Hitlerjugend" )
34161-404: Was informed by two officers that the bodies of 18 or 19 Canadians lay unburied in the abbey's garden. After a subordinate confirmed their presence, he looked for himself and relieved his subordinate for allowing those killings to happen. Finally, he reported the killings to his superior, SS Brigadier General Witt, who ordered him to identify the killers. Meyer claimed that he did not disclose this in
34354-448: Was instructed by Chief of Staff Hubert Meyer to take as many POWs as possible because of their intelligence value. Despite this directive, Mohnke continued to harass 2nd Battalion headquarters staff about the prisoners. Finally, Mohnke found Schnabel and ordered him at gunpoint to kill the prisoners. One man was able to make his way outside on his own, while another had to be supported by the third prisoner. Three SS men lined up across from
34547-662: Was insufficient for combat against newer tanks such as the IDF Centurions as well as the T-34-85s being delivered to Egyptian forces. During further upgrades, the French military helped develop a conversion kit to upgrade about 300 Shermans to the long high-velocity 75 mm gun CN 75-50 used in the AMX-13 . These were designated Sherman M-50 by the Israelis. Before the Six-Day War in 1967,
34740-580: Was involved with the murders of at least 41 Canadian POWs — more than any other senior officer in the 12th SS Panzer Division. The murders of the 36 other Canadian prisoners occurred in smaller-scale incidents than some of the preceding atrocities. During a ferocious battle in Bretteville-sur-Odon , on June 8, elements of the Regina Rifles and Cameron Highlanders were overrun after defending their outpost for half an hour. When soldiers from their units reached that outpost on June 10, Canadian soldiers found
34933-480: Was later commuted to life imprisonment. He was freed in 1957 after a further sentence reduction. On 6 June 1944, the division, along with the 21st Panzer Division , were the closest Panzer divisions to the landing beaches but they were unable to move until ordered by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW, armed forces high command). The division was ordered to the front at 14:30 hours on 6 June, over twelve hours after
35126-610: Was met by outrage in Canada, as members of the public, Canadian Legion branches, the media, and the Conservative opposition ridiculed Prime Minister William Mackenzie King's government about the verdict. Vokes, who ordered the razing of the German town of Friesoythe in 1945, justified the reduction in Meyer's sentence by writing: There isn't a general or colonel on the Allied side that I know of who hasn't said, 'Well, this time we don't want any prisoners.' No other Germans would be tried by
35319-419: Was newer by five years. By 1943, the IJA still used the Type 95 and Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tanks, while Allied forces were quickly replacing their light tanks with 75 mm-armed M4s. The Chinese in India received 100 M4 Shermans and used them to great effect in the subsequent 1944 and 1945 offensives in the China Burma India Theater . To counter the Sherman, the Japanese developed the Type 3 Chi-Nu and
35512-458: Was one of three German armoured divisions that were in reserve relatively close to the Allied beachheads. The division did not deploy to counter the Allied attack until after 3:00 PM on June 6 when orders were finally issued by German dictator Adolf Hitler . The 12 SS Panzer Division was ordered to halt the advance near the Orne River , and force the Allies back into the Atlantic Ocean. The 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, led by Colonel Kurt Meyer,
35705-423: Was poorly suited to armored warfare. For this type of terrain, the Japanese and the Allies found light tanks easier to transport and deploy. During the early stages of combat in the Pacific, specifically, the Guadalcanal Campaign , the U.S. Marine Corps' M2A4 light tank fought against the equally matched Type 95 Ha-Go light tank; both were armed with a 37 mm main gun. However, the M2 (produced in 1940)
35898-423: Was powered by a pair of liquid-cooled GMC Detroit Diesel 6–71 two-stroke inline engines, that produced a total of 375 hp (280 kW), while the M4A6 used an RD-1820 (a redesigned Caterpillar D-200A air-cooled radial diesel engine, adapted from Wright Aeronautical 's Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine. ) that produced 450 hp (340 kW). A 24-volt electrical system
36091-484: Was preferred for fighting Japanese tanks because armor-piercing rounds, which had been designed for penetrating thicker steel, often went through the thin armor of the Type 95 Ha-Go (the most commonly encountered Japanese tank) and out the other side without stopping . Although the high-velocity guns of tank destroyers were useful for penetrating fortifications, M4s armed with flamethrowers were often deployed, as direct fire seldom destroyed Japanese fortifications. During
36284-408: Was released in 1954. In September, SS- Obersturmbannführer Hubert Meyer was placed in command of the division. In November 1944, the division was sent to Nienburg in Germany, where it was to be reformed. The majority of reinforcements were transferred from Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine personnel. Hubert Meyer was replaced by SS- Obersturmbannführer Hugo Kraas , and the division was attached to
36477-451: Was released without charge as a result. This marked the end of contemporary efforts to bring the perpetrators of the Normandy massacres to justice. Meyer was the last German war criminal to be imprisoned outside of Germany by 1951, and the German government wanted him returned to Germany. The Canadian government repatriated Meyer to a military prison in Werl on October 19, 1951, in order to improve its relations with Germany. Canadian society
36670-471: Was standardized as the M4, and first production completed in February 1942. The cast-hull models would later be re-standardized as M4A1, with the first welded-hull models receiving the designation M4. In August 1942, a variant of the M4 was put forth by the Detroit Arsenal to have angled, rather than rounded hull and turret armor. The changes were intended to improve the tank's protection without increasing weight or degrading other technical characteristics. As
36863-517: Was still ongoing, bodies from additional incidents were being discovered, further adding to the pressure to uncover the perpetrators. On August 20, 1944, General Eisenhower approved the creation of a permanent standing court of inquiry to investigate the atrocities, after it became clear that these executions were not isolated and unrelated from one-another. The court investigated 25 instances of war crimes during its seven months of existence; five cases involved Canadian victims, and three of these entailed
37056-419: Was taken to a clearing close to the site of the first murders, but ordered to lie on their stomachs in order to avoid another show of defiance. The men were then ordered to prop their heads in their hands while resting their arms on their elbows, then each man was shot in the head at point-blank range by a German standing above them. The remaining 18 Canadian and two British POWs were left alone while Bremer led
37249-403: Was used in the M4. The M4A2 and M4A4 were mostly supplied to other Allied countries under Lend-Lease . The term "M4" can refer specifically to the initial sub-type with its Continental radial engine, or generically, to the entire family of seven Sherman sub-types, depending on context. Many details of production, shape, strength, and performance improved while in production, without a change to
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