page_title: Juno Beach
section_title: German defences
hierarchical_section_title: Juno Beach / Planning and preparation / German defences
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.English: France,Belgium - Field Marshal Erwin Rommel with officers on inspection of wooden barriers on the beach before the Atlantic Wall, April 1944.
context_page_description: Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold, to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, and just west of the British beach Sword. Taking Juno was the responsibility of the Canadian Army, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the Royal Canadian Navy and the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Free French, Norwegian, and other Allied navies. The objectives of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day were to cut the Caen-Bayeux road, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the two British beaches on either flank.
  The beach was defended by two battalions of the German 716th Infantry Division, with elements of the 21st Panzer Division held in reserve near Caen.
  The invasion plan called for two brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division to land on two beach sectors—Mike and Nan—focusing on Courseulles, Bernières and Saint-Aubin.
context_section_description: While the German army had seen its strength and morale heavily depleted by campaigns in Russia, North Africa and Italy, it remained a powerful fighting force. Despite this, most of the German divisions along the French coast in late 1943 were composed of either new recruits or veteran units resting and rebuilding from the Eastern Front; altogether some 856,000 soldiers were stationed in France, predominantly on the coast.  An additional 60,000 Hilfswillige (voluntary helpers), USSR and Polish members of the German army, served on the French coast. Under the command of Field Marshals Erwin Rommel and Gerd von Rundstedt, the defences of the Atlantic Wall—a line of coastal gun emplacements, machine-gun nests, minefields and beach obstacles along the French coast—were increased; in the first six months of 1944, the Germans laid 1,200,000 long tons (1,200,000 t) of steel and 17,300,000 cu yd (13,200,000 m³) of concrete. Rommel also surrounded the coast with four million anti-tank and anti-personnel mines and 500,000 beach obstacles.
  On Juno, the defences of the Atlantic Wall were greater than at many other landing sectors. The Germans assumed that the Allies would land during high tide, to minimize the distance during which they would be exposed on the beaches and created "a 'devil's garden' of beach obstacles ... deployed in rows between 12–17 ft (3.7–5.2 m) above the low-tide mark". Strongpoints of machine-gun positions, antitank and anti-personnel artillery and bunkers were located every 1,000 yards (910 m), manned by several platoons with mortars. Minefields were deployed surrounding these strongpoints, and additional defences were present in the Courseulles harbour.
  The Calvados beaches of Normandy were defended by the 716th Static and 352nd Infantry divisions, with the Canadian landing zone defended by elements of the 716th. It was formed mostly from soldiers under 18 or over 35, comprising 7,771 combat troops in six battalions (as opposed to 9 or 12 battalions of Allied divisions). While the 352nd was considered a first-rate division, the 716th was "accounted a better-than-average static division"; these divisions generally had very few vehicles or tanks and had to rely on infantry and field regiments. On Juno the 736th Grenadier Regiment deployed four infantry companies, 7 Kompanie held what was to become "Mike Sector", the 6th was stationed in Courseulles, the 5th was at Bernières and the 9th held Nan sector and Saint-Aubin. A second line of four infantry companies and one panzer company was stationed 1 mi (1.6 km) inland. The 21st Panzer Division was deployed south-east of Caen and two battalions of Polish and Russian conscripts were stationed on the flanks of Juno adjacent to Sword and Gold.
caption: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel inspecting Atlantic Wall defences, April 1944
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