The commander of the 25th Regiment's Plitzer 1st Commando Squadron (equivalent to a Wehrmacht captain) recalled that the assault force of about 50 tanks was ready to go, and the tanks began to move towards the assembly area under the warm morning sun. In front of the pen & fun & pavilion www.biquge.info tank is an armored grenadier wearing a green, yellow, and brown spotted camouflage combat uniform.

As the Type IV tanks, camouflaged with straw and tree branches, began to approach the enemy in front, the Allied round olive green "Sherman" tanks were discernible from the tank control towers moving slowly towards the Caen-Bayeux road.

Suddenly, the Type IV tank's 75mm gun fired, and one of the "Sherman" tanks was hit, emitting a puff of smoke, and then a fire broke out, and other Allied tanks were also hit by the volley of Type IV and "Leopard", and lost their combat effectiveness.

Then the young German panzergrenadiers, hidden in the trenches, quickly and frantically entered the battle, launching a fierce attack on the British and Canadian troops.

Before you know it, the battle has been going on for a quarter of an hour, and the boys, under the cover of machine guns and grenades, are constantly storming the Allied lines.

The ensuing bombardment prevented the Germans from a possible victorious attack and inflicted considerable losses on the infantry of the 12th SS Panzer Division, and near the village of Marlon, the teenage grenadiers stubbornly held their positions.

They quietly tracked down the Allied tanks that broke through the line and wiped out most of them with deadly bazookas.

In total, the grenadiers destroyed a total of 28 Allied tanks and lost only 6 themselves, and many Allied soldiers were shocked to see the teenage children in SS uniforms, and this was the first time they encountered soldiers of the SS Panzer Division "Hitler Youth".

War correspondent Chester Wilmot later wrote:

"The 12th Panzer Division, which guarded the defensive positions, fought very tenaciously, but the tactical qualities they showed throughout the campaign were far inferior to their bravery."

A British tank officer said after the war:

"They tracked down and destroyed our tanks like a pack of wolves, and although we resisted desperately, we were still defeated by them, and we suffered heavy casualties."

Rudolf Skiev of the 17th and 16th artillery batteries said:

"The soldiers of every youth division believe that they can achieve their goals, and although they are all brave in battle, they are sometimes like girls.

The young soldiers rode to the front line in the morning to go on the offensive, and when they withdrew in the evening, they wept and wept because they could not achieve their goal. ”

By evening, after losing a large number of men and equipment, the Allies had to retreat to their bridgehead positions north of Caen, and the 12th Panzer Division did not continue its offensive to the north, and Rommel did not want them to rush to the coast.

They halted the offensive and dug trenches on the existing front to prepare for defense, and the soldiers of the 5th Panzer Company were lucky enough to find Allied rations in the abandoned Canadian tanks, and then they feasted on a lavish dinner of peanuts, chocolate, and corned beef.

From the night of the 26th to the early morning of the 27th, the Allies still tried to occupy Caen, but they were unable to return with stubborn resistance from the Germans. On the night of the 27th, "Panzer Meyer" personally commanded the tanks of the 12th SS Panzer Division to launch a counterattack, and a battle of blood and fire ensued.

The trail of tracer bullets and burning vehicles lit up the entire night sky. In the first stage, the firepower and armor of the German Leopard tanks once again overwhelmed the Allied tanks, and 22 tanks broke through the defense line of the Canadian 7th Panzer Brigade.

However, in the ensuing battle, the Canadian army destroyed six German tanks with anti-tank guns and anti-tank rocket launchers, and Meyer reluctantly gave the order to stop the offensive.

The German tanks then returned to the darkness, and in the other direction, the 25th Regiment, reinforced by the 3rd Artillery Detachment and the 2nd Panzer Detachment, was attacked by the British and Canadian forces north of Caen, and the Allied attack with the support of the tanks was met with accurate and ferocious fire from the German anti-tank guns, and after a short exchange of fire, 4 Allied tanks were destroyed.

Hans-Higuel Commando Group Leader II (equivalent to a Wehrmacht Major) reports:

"The enemy quickly retreated, we received no fire and no losses, and our tanks were suddenly under Allied fire as they retreated to the starting point. My comrade-in-arms Daubert was killed outside the tank. ”

In the following days, the soldiers of the 25th Regiment came under more intense attack, but this did not prevent the grenadiers from the defensive positions destroyed by the bombs, and the bombardment and artillery shelling became more and more intense, and the Germans had to strengthen the tank concealment into tank bunkers.

The acting regimental commander, the commander of the 1st Commando Group of Waldmeiler (equivalent to a Wehrmacht lieutenant colonel), ran from his command bunker to every German position and ordered the soldiers to hurry up and build new fortifications.

His diligence and extensive experience as a field commander saved the lives of most of the soldiers, and on 29 August Wal-Rommel awarded 30 Iron Crosses of the Second Class to those brave young soldiers.

The 12th SS Panzer Division unwaveringly continued its hard defense. The village near Ross was recaptured by the 1st Company of the 26th Panzergrenadier Regiment, and the village was shelled by the Allies for more than 12 hours.

During a break in the battle, tank driver Hanks Caspel, Deputy of the Third Class (equivalent to Wehrmacht Second Class Corporal), stopped his car near the Ross Chapel and scribbled in his diary:

"About 15 [British] Sherman tanks attacked directly in front of us, and after my tank destroyed four or five of them, the rest retreated.

In retaliation, the enemy poured a large number of heavy shells on our positions, our grenadiers suffered serious losses, and in the afternoon the enemy launched another attack on the village.

Our 3rd platoon tanks engaged Sherman head-on, while the grenadiers outflanked them from behind to cut off their retreat, and suddenly my tank tracks were blown off.

I jumped out of the tank and got two grenadiers to help me get back on the tracks, and in the face of heavy fire, they helped me to load the tracks, when I heard the commander shouting over the radio: Start up! Leaving here, enemy planes are coming soon.

Meyer often complained that some of the battles had failed solely because the troops involved in the battle were not determined, but no one heeded his muttering.

In any case, Rommel's Young Division, in the midst of brutal fighting, remained in the defensive positions around Caen that had been bombed beyond recognition. ”

In order to counter the air superiority of the Allies, the grenadiers moved to the front line at night, removing all traces of the night before dawn.

…… (To be continued.) )