Thaon (Calvados)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
Liberation: June 7, 1944
Deployed units:
Regina Rifles Regiment, 7th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division
10th Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse), 2nd Armored Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division
II/Grenadier-Regiment 736, 716. Infanterie-Division
History:
On June 7, 1944, Thaon Commune was one of the objectives of the Regina Rifles Regiment (7th Infantry Brigade) commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel F. Matheson. The area of Thaon is then occupied by soldiers belonging to the second battalion of Grenadier-Regiment 736 (716. Infantry-Division).
Indeed, Matheson must reach in the day the national road 13 connecting Caen with Bayeux at the height of Bretteville-l’Orgueilleuse. At 0715 hours, the regiment began its advance to the south and it was Company B which captured Thaon without special fighting, supported by the 10th Armored Regiments Fort Garry Horse (2nd Armored Brigade).
The municipality remained under the fire of the German artillery until 19 July 1944, when the municipality of Colombelles fell into the hands of the Allies. German artillery observers were stationed throughout the period in the ruins of the steel mill, which offered a general panorama of the Caen region.
Thaon maps:
