Battle of Verrières Ridge 1944
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 19 July 1944 – 25 July 1944 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1944 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 49.1104, -0.3324 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in Calvados, during the Second World War. The main combatants were two Canadian infantry divisions—with additional support from the Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade—against elements of three German SS Panzer divisions. The battle was part of the British and Canadian attacks south of Caen, and took place from 19 to 25 July 1944, being part of Operation Atlantic (18–21 July) and Operation Spring (25–27 July).
The immediate Allied objective was Verrières Ridge, a belt of high ground which dominates the route from Caen to Falaise. The ridge was occupied by battle-hardened German veterans, who had fallen back from Caen and entrenched to form a strong defensive position. Over the course of six days, substantial Canadian and British forces made repeated attempts to capture the ridge. Strict German adherence to defensive doctrine, as well as strong and effective counterattacks by Panzer formations, resulted in many Allied casualties for little tactical gain.
From the perspective of the First Canadian Army, the battle is remembered for its tactical and strategic miscalculations—the most notable being a controversial attack by The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada on 25 July, in…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Verrières Ridge (revision 1373024713), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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- Siege of Turjak 1943
- Smolensk operation 1943
- Third Battle of Kharkov 1943
- Action of 14 February 1944 1944
- Action of 17 July 1944 1944
- Air battle over the Ore Mountains 1944
- Allied siege of La Rochelle 1944
- Battle for Hill 140 1944
All 178 battles of the World War II →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · World War II era battles