On the evening of the 5th of June, following a day's postponement due to poor weather conditions, Commodore Oliver's J Force cast off from ports in the vicinity of Southampton. A few hours later, the troops were due to land on the Normandy beach codenamed “Juno”. Aboard HMS Hilary, Commodore Oliver was in command of over 360 vessels. They were accompanied by the naval bombardment E Force entrusted with the mission of destroying the coastal defences to facilitate Canadian progression…Juno constituted half (with Gold Beach, the British-led objective) the western section of the British sector of the landings. This book explores what happened to the Canadian troops landing at Juno, as they desperately fought their way off the beach. Taking the biggest hit in casualties of all Allied troops on D-Day, Yann Thomas brings the Canadian effort rightly to the fore.
