[Mark W. Tonner]

Putot - 8 Jun 44:

Source: Blood and Honor: The History of the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hilter Youth", 1943-1945, by Craig W.H. Luther, Ph.D., p. 157:

"The 2nd Battalion of the 26th Regiment had reached the battlefield too late to go forward together with the 1st; commanded by SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Bernhard Siebken, it attacked from its positions in and around le Mesnil-Patry shortly after dawn. Although hammered by enemy artillery and machine gun fire, the grenadiers of the 2nd Battalion pressed their assault with vigor, inflitrating into Putot-en-Bessin and taking many prisoners. Assisted by numerous snipers in Putot, the German infantry brought the defenders, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, under steadily increasing pressure; by noon, more grenadiers had worked their way into the town and around the Canadian light machine gun posts and slit trenches, which were now under direct German artillery and mortar fire. By 1:30 pm, "A", "B" and "C" Companies of the Winnipegs were completed surrounded, with most of their automatic weapons knocked out and ammunition running low; immediate tank support was not available. The beleaguered companies attempted to pull back under cover of artifical smoke, but few men escaped to battalion headquarters, located due east of Putot, where the nearly intact "D" Company established a defensive position.

Having lost Putot the commander of the Canadian 7th Brigade, Brigadier H.W. Foster, set about to get it back. Foster, as soon as he became aware that things were going badly for the Winnipegs, had warned the commander of the 1st Battalion, The Canadian Scottish Regiment to be ready for action; at 8:30 pm, the battalion mounted a violent counterattack supported by a squadron of tanks from the 6th Armored Regiment and a portion of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (medium machine guns). The assault went in behind a creeping barrage laid down by the 12th and 13th Field Regiments. The SS defenders resisted furiously, but were unable to maintain their positions in the face of a numerically superior opponent. Siebken's companies had already suffered heavy losses, and they lacked anti-tank weapons in sufficient numbers with which to contest the enemy armor. By 9:30 pm, Putot was once again in Canadian hands, the Germans having retired to the rail line on the southern fringe of the village. Later that night, Siebken pulled back his infantry an additional 200-300 yards to gain a more effective field of fire and dug in. The Canadian Scottish took over the defense of Putot, while the remnants of the Winnipegs were moved into brigade reserve."

on p. 160, it goes on to say:

"The Royal Winnipeg Rifles alone suffered 256 casualties, including 105 dead, in their unsuccessful defense of Putot."

in the notes at the bottom of the page, it states that:

"The losses of the 26th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment - 2nd Battalion were - 19 dead, 58 wounded and 21 missing."