Following the total destruction of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers last turn, the pursuing German reserve garrison found itself cut off from the rest of its forces. Trapped between the British on Sword Beach and a platoon from the Canadian 7th, the Germans had to fight their way through the lines in hex C6. Without appreciating the gravity of the situation (that he was surrounded on all sides) the German Leutnant tried to conserve his forces, but was eventually forced to surrender to the Canucks. The reserves, which had fought so hard and won several battles in the vicinity of Mathieu are now lost to the Germans. After defeating the Sherbrookes in the previous turn, this is a huge loss, which will probably sway the battle back in favour of the Canadians.

Further south, the Germans set up a perimeter defence running between Mathieu and Caen, ready to counter-attack. Between bursts of sporadic gunfire, the rumble of heavy tanks can be heard in the distance. Allied pilots have reported a mass movement of tanks in the Caen area. Will the SS arrive in time to retake Carpiquet?

Revenge is sweet...

The tabletop battle was pretty fierce, with the Germans taking out my Sherman early on, but I just kept them penned back. Eventually, the German commander was forced to surrender his forces so we took 38 prisoners and counted 7 killed amongst the enemy. Our own losses were 17 casualties, plus the crew of the Sherman. Early indications are that we have suffered 6 killed and a number of seriously wounded.

The airfield is ours! Element B of 9th Bde advanced to capture the Carpiquet airfield. With the objective secured, we can now complete the destruction of the bedraggled German forces in the area in time to resist any attempted counterattack by mechanised reserves.

Total losses (killed, wounded, captured or missing) for the Canadians in the campaign so far: 184