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RAF raid on La Caine (1944)

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Attack on Panzer Group West's HQ
Part of Battle of Normandy
Date10 June 1944
LocationLa Caine, France
Result HQ rendered non-operational
Belligerents
Aircraft of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force HQ of Panzer Group West
Strength
40 Typhoons
61 Mitchells
Casualties and losses
None recorded Killed: Sigismund-Helmut von Dawans and 17 other staff officers
Wounded: Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg

The Attack on Panzer Group West's headquarters at La Caine in Normandy was carried out by aircraft of the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force on 10 June 1944.

During the Battle of Normandy, the headquarters of Panzer Group West was established in the Chateau at La Caine. On 9 June 1944, only three days after the Normandy landings, the headquarters' new location was revealed to the British Intelligence by Ultra's decyphering of German signals traffic. On 10 June 1944, 40 rocket-armed Typhoons and 61 Mitchells of the Second Tactical Air Force bombed the village..

Casualties and damage

Eighteen members of the HQ staff were known to have died in the raid, including the chief of staff, Generalmajor Sigismund-Helmut von Dawans, the most senior officer to be killed. The Panzer Group's commander, Generalleutnant Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, was wounded in the raid.

German communications equipment and vehicles were also destroyed.

Effects

The HQ was rendered non-operational and it was withdrawn to Paris.

References

  1. ^ "Day 1944 Air Power Over the Normandy Beaches and Beyond" (HTML). HyperWar Foundation. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  2. "Liste des généraux morts durant la bataille de Normandie" (HTML) (in French). debarquement.com. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  3. RAF Air Historical Branch Records (typed manuscript), The Liberation of North-West Europe - Operation "Overlord", Volume 3 - The Landings in Normandy, pages 129 and 130.
  4. "New Zealanders with the Royal Air Force – (Vol. II) - Chapter 10 Normandy" (HTML). New Zealand Electronic Text Service. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  5. Wilmot, C.: "The Struggle for Europe", pages 331 and 332. The Reprint Society, 1954
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