RAF raid on La Caine (1944)
The headquarters had recently taken over the château at La Caine, about 12 mi (19 km) to the south-west of the city of Caen, north of Thury-Harcourt.Eighteen staff officers were killed in the attack and the commander, General der Panzertruppen Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg was wounded.On 9 June 1944, three days after the beginning of Operation Overlord, the invasion of France by the Western Allies, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, commander of Heeresgruppe B (Army Group B) with responsibility for the defence of northern France, drove to the HQ of Panzergruppe West and gave orders for a counter-offensive against the Allied landings in Normandy.The site of the source was identified by High-frequency direction finding (huff-duff) as the château in the commune of La Caine, about 12 mi (19 km) to the south-west of the city of Caen.The officers hurried outside to see and watched the Typhoons through binoculars, not aware that they were the target until the last minute; Schweppenburg arrived by car just before the attack.[12] The attack destroyed the only German army organisation in the western theatre capable of handling a large number of mobile divisions; the survivors of Panzergruppe West were withdrawn to Paris and were not ready to resume operations until 28 June.In the 2009 edition of a history of the use of Ultra information, Ralph Bennett wrote that an armoured counter-attack against the Allied beachhead planned for 10 June, was postponed for 24 hours and then cancelled.The appointment of new staff commanded by General Heinrich Eberbach, delayed the plans for the German armoured counter-offensive by three weeks when it was overtaken by events.
The Typhoon could carry eight 3-inch RP rockets, seen being loaded, with its four 20 mm cannon
A 98 Squadron Mitchell Mark II attacking a V-1 flying bomb site
La Cambe German war cemetery
Battle of NormandyLa CaineUnited KingdomGermanyArthur ConinghamLeo Geyr von SchweppenburgSigismund-Helmut von DawansRAF Second Tactical Air ForceNo. 121 Wing RAFNo. 124 Wing RAFHawker Typhoon245 Squadron181 Squadron182 Squadron247 SquadronNo. 137 Wing RAFNo. 139 Wing RAFB-25 Mitchell226 Squadron98 Squadron180 Squadron320 (Netherlands) SquadronPanzergruppe WestOperation OverlordAtlantic WallBodyguardFortitudeZeppelinTitanicTaxable, Glimmer & Big DrumCombined Bomber OffensivePointblankTransport PlanPostage AbleTarbrushFabiusCaen canal and Orne river bridgesMerville BatteryMallardAmerican SectorAlbanyBostonChicagoDetroitElmiraNormandy landingsPointe du HocGambitPort-en-BessinAmericanOperation ChastityBritishMulberryBrécourt ManorGraignesLa Haye-du-PuitsSaint-LôCarentanHill 30CherbourgBrévilleVillers-BocageLe Mesnil-PatryNormandy massacresArdenne AbbeyDouvresMartletWindsorCharnwoodJupiter2nd OdonAtlanticGoodwoodVerrières RidgeSpringBluecoatTotalizeHill 140LüttichTractableHill 262ChamboisFalaiseSaint-MaloMantes-GassicourtLa RochelleUshantPierres NoiresAudierne BayJedburghDingsonSamwestCooneyBulbasketHoundsworthLoytonKiplingDragoonWallace & HardyCemeteriesRoyal Air ForcePanzer divisionsThury-HarcourtNorth American B-25 MitchellI SS Panzer CorpsGerd von RundstedtOberbefehlshaber WestErwin RommelHeeresgruppe BGovernment Code and Cypher SchoolBletchley ParkEnigmatraffic analysis17th SS Panzergrenadier DivisionHigh-frequency direction findingcommuneSupreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force124 WingRAF Hurn121 WingRAF Holmsley South139 WingRAF DunsfoldRAF Hartford BridgeflightsSelsey Bill