Juno Beach Time Line

First Allied troops to land at Juno Beach: 3rd Canadian Division, led by 7th Brigade, 8th Brigade, 6th Armoured Regiment and 10th Armoured Regiment. The beach was fronted by the small villages of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernières and St. Aubin.

Canadian D-Day Objectives: To establish a beachhead, capture the three small seaside towns, advance ten miles inland, cut the Caen -Bayeux highway, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the British beachheads Sword and Gold.

23:31 (June 5) Bomber Command launches an assault against the coastal batteries in the landing zone. Bombs are dropped until 05:15; in all, 1,136 sorties, 5,268 tonnes dropped. The Royal Canadian Air Force 6 Group was part of the operation, targeting batteries at Merville, Franceville and Houlgate.

01:00 The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (part of the British 6th Air Borne Division's 3rd Brigade) are dropped east of the Orne river on the left flank of the main British assault force.

05:30 Destroyers start pounding the coastal defence positions.

07:39, the 12th Field Regiment, 13th Field Regiment, 14th Regiment and 19th Regiment fire a steady barrage for 30 minutes onto the beaches above the heads of the infantry approaching the shore in their LCAs.

07:49 - 7th and 8th Brigades begin to land. The assault is hindered by the current. The delay before landing means that the Germans partially recover.

07:49 Royal Winnipeg Rifles land at 'Mike Red' and 'Mike Green' beaches on western edge of Courseulles.

07:50 Canadian Scottish 'C' Company land west of Courseulles.

08:05 Regina Rifles land on the Nan Green sector at Courseulles, east of the river.

08:05 Queen's Own Rifles land at 'Nan White' beach near Bernières.

08:10 The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment land at 'Nan Red' beach near St. Aubin.

08:11 - DD (Duplex Drive) tanks and “funnies” (specialized tanks) land slightly late due to bad weather. The Canadians face strong opposition.

08:30 - Le Régiment de la Chaudière and Canadian Scottish Regiment reserve battalions begin to land.

08:43 - No.48 Royal Marine Commando lands at St Aubin, and heads east. Little beach clearance takes place due to high tides and rough seas. The beaches are congested and under heavy fire.

09:00 8th Brigade takes Bernières. Heavy enemy gunfire in progress.

09:10 to 09:25 The 19th and 14th Field Regiments land and position their self-propelled guns for combat. The ever-increasing number of troops and vehicles on the beach made circulation more difficult. To solve the problem, Royal Corps of Engineers personnel open up breaches in the seawall protecting the beach.

09:48 North Shore Regiment take their initial objective along the coast road and then join up with the Queens Own Rifles on the right.

10:40 – Five beach exits have now been cleared.

10:50 The 9th Brigade begins to land at Bernières. The first battalions arrive in Bernières at 1140 but a traffic jam develops on the one road leading to Beny-sur-Mer causing a critical delay for the 9th Brigade's advance.

11:12 – After heavy fighting, 7th Brigade secures the beach exit at Courseulles.

11:20 – Tailleville, Banville and Ste Croix are captured.

12:00 – Further landings. Langrune is captured.

14:00 onwards – The whole of Canadian 3rd Division is now ashore. Rapid advances inland: troops join with Gold Beach, to the west.

14:00 Fort Garry Horse Sherman tanks are on the Brigade objective at Anguerny and are mopping up enemy resistance.

17:00 Winnipeg Rifles consolidate in and around the village of Creully.

17:15 Canadian Scottish Regiment occupy the village of Camilly.

18:00 – Canadian 9th Brigade reaches Bény.

20:00 Both Fontaine-Henry and Le Fresne-Camilly are controlled by the Regina Rifles.

20:00 North Nova Scotia's reach Villons-les-Buissons, seven miles inland and run into more German resistance. Orders are to halt and begin digging in.

By midnight, 14,000 troops have landed on Juno Beach, suffering 340 killed and 574 wounded. The 3rd Canadian Division is well established on its intermediate objectives, and have progressed further inland than any of the Allies. The original aim of capturing Carpiquet airfield is not achieved. No link-up had yet been made with Sword beach to the east.