[John McGillivray]

The shelling had become heavier in Authie. The village was spread along each side of the road running north and south and the orchard was to the left of the southern end. It was there that C Company men were dug in at the left hand corner. Three knocked-out Sherbrooke tanks were along the left of the fruit trees. Lt. Sutherland had his platoon between the orchard and the road, and tough Bill Gammon was his sergeant. There were grain fields all around, especially to the north and right of the village. A small wood was near the right entrance. Ahead, the fields seemed to dip and blend with the sky, this for the reason that the land fell away gently beyond Franqueville so that Carpiquet was not visible at all and the approaching German forces had ample cover from observation until they topped the rise a few hundred yards away. Some distance back toward Buron was a thick hedge, and A Company was dug in along it. Captain Fraser, feeling that the fight to come would be a hard one, salvaged the machine guns from the knocked-out tanks and placed them in position in the orchard. These Brownings were set up in a hedge that surrounded the orchard and two of the tank men helped in getting them there. The Sherbrooke men in the area were anxious to do their bit and took places beside men of C Company. Captain Fraser told Lts. Veness and Langley that things did not look too good and they must be prepared to hold on for some time.

Then the shells began to scream over in salvos, but mostly they landed among the buildings of Authie. Some civilians came running to the C Company trenches, making motions and talking rapidly in French. Lt. Veness thought that some of their friends had been wounded and they wanted help. Captain Fraser told Veness to go back in the town and examine a Cameron's carrier there that was apparently knocked out. If it were in running order he was to fetch it to the orchard, and while returning he was to look in on the French people and see what could be done for them. He was to take a stretcher bearer with him.

Lt. Veness took the stretcher bearer and started out. Lt. Graves went along with him to see if he could locate any more men of his platoon. They walked down the main street and soon were led by the French civilians into a courtyard and then to a shed at the back. Eight people were there, three of them lying on the floor wrapped in blankets. Two had arm and shoulder wounds. A six-year-old girl had an abdominal wound. All were in a state of hysteria. The little girl was given a shot of morphine and the French were advised to move everyone into cellars. One old Frenchman followed the Nova officers into the street, begging to know whether or not the Germans would be back.

When the three North Novas reached the north end of the town they found fifteen men sheltered in a small gravel pit, all wounded, some quite badly, and some about to die. They said that some of the infantry had started up on carriers but the shelling had been so bad they had to turn back. The men were Sherbrooke Fusiliers and Cameron Highlanders. Lt. Veness told the stretcher bearer to stay with them and do what he could for them. Then he located the Cameron's carrier. It was still intact with a good Vicker's gun mounted on top in perfect order. An officer and two men of the Camerons were lying beside the carrier, dead.

Lt. Veness got into the carrier and drove back through what was now a regular deluge of shell fire. He reached the orchard safely and the carrier was placed in position with a good field of fire, along the orchard hedge. Captain Fraser was trying to get a message through to the battalion on one of the tank sets. The company 18 set had been knocked out by shrapnel. Fraser finally succeeded in getting through to Sherbrooke Fusiliers HQ to Brigade HQ, and back to Lt-Col. Petch. He was told to hang on and that reinforcements would be sent him. So everyone in the orchard made their positions as ready as possible. The extra Brownings and Vickers were mounted by the hedge on the side away from town, a shoulder-high hedge that gave concealment. Lt. Veness had his platoon across the end toward the enemy and half the other side. Lt. Langley had his platoon along the rest of the side. There was a field of grass and bushes between the A Company platoon under Lt. Sutherland, and the main street, and there were two houses in the field.

As Lt. Veness was watching through his binoculars he saw a number of men moving toward the hedge in single file, in a direction that made him think they might be some of Lt. Graves' missing section or the reinforcements that were to come. He reported to Captain Fraser, telling him what he thought and then went through the hedge to wave them in. They paid him no attention and suddenly he realized they were Germans and there were lots of them. They had taken every advantage of the folds in the ground and the dip toward Carpiquet, getting quite near before being seen. They fired at Veness and he dodged back to cover.

The alarm was given and everyone went into action. There was one good Sherbrooke tank in the orchard and the crew scrambled into it and began firing its 17-pounder. Then a large section of the approaching enemy force detached from the main body and began moving in deployed formation. Soon it was seen there were Germans everywhere. They were in great numbers, hundreds and hundreds of them. Then a terrific artillery barrage fell on the orchard, and all was sound and fury and flying lead and steel.

Major Learment had finally dug in just north of Buron. It was known that the men in Authie were being attacked and Learment discussed with Lt.-Col. Petch the question of trying to rescue them; and A Company at the hedge, as no artillery support could be had, the British 3rd Division had not got up on the left and there was no sign of the 7th Brigade on the right. It was thought that a strong force on carriers should go up to Authie. So B Company and those with Major Learment were loaded, but just as they started a new and more heavy shelling began, and there was no hope of a carrier being able to reach Authie. So Lt.-Col. Petch instructed Learment to hold his prepared position just back of Buron, and to have with him all the men he could gather. This was done, and the carriers were sent back to Villons-les-Buissons where BHQ was situated. The men with Learment dug in just to the right of the entrance to Buron, using many old German slit trenches there, and Major Learment himself had his position quite near the road. C.S.M. Mackey was dug in just behind him. Brens and grenades were placed in readiness and then the little force sat and huddled under continuous shell fire, wondering when any Canadian artillery would arrive and do something to help the situation. Both flanks of the Novas were badly exposed. The battalion was up there alone and fighting without the support of artillery while the enemy had every advantage, knowing the area thoroughly and having unlimited fire power.

A tank battle was developing between Buron and Gruchy. The shelling was hotter. Everyone realized the enemy was making the first organized counter-attack and that it was supported by heavy armor.

B Company had had a hard time. When Lt.-Col. Petch saw that Major J. W. Douglas was wounded he ordered Captain A. J. Wilson, commanding Support Company, up to take command of B Company and to get it into a position along the left of the Authie road in line with A Company. Captain Wilson went up over the ground Major Douglas had explored, saw its lack of vantage and crossed over to talk with Major Rhodenizer just as Major Douglas had done. At that time A Company seemed fairly secure. The men were well dug in by the hedge and they did not realize that an enemy attack on their position was even then forming up west of Gruchy. Captain Wilson made a brief recce, decided on a spot where B Company would dig in and returned to Buron to find many of his men mounted on carriers and ready to make a dash up to Authie. This was called off as the shelling became hotter and soon it was seen that he could not take his men forward under such a sustained barrage. Then the attack on A Company began and Wilson decided to take his men back of Buron. He left Lt. Fraser Campbell and his platoon to help hold far over on the right of the road into Buron and took others, with Lts. Brown and Grieve, back to the anti-tank ditch. There he was joined by some Cameron Highlanders and he made ready to fight to the finish. Sgt. S. S. Hughes and most of his men were there, and Sgt. Crosson brought his Mortar Section to the big ditch. Sgt. Bill Baillie had been left with most of Lt. Brown's platoon to dig in near Buron, but he felt it a mistake to try and hold where there was no field of fire and, seeing enemy armor entering the village, he withdrew to the antitank ditch and joined Wilson's force. There he fought until the ammunition of his men had been expended, when he got most of the survivors on carriers while he and Cpl. May walked back, using the few rounds left in their Brens for covering fire. Pte. Chas. T. Porter had been with Baillie and May throughout the action.

Major Cy Kennedy had brought D Company up to Buron as reserve. The men rode in on tanks, and saw first the German gun that had been captured. Major Kennedy was standing in his carrier talking with Cpl. Kelly Grant of the Intelligence Section, who had just brought him two prisoners, when a sniper shot at him from an upper window of a nearby house. The tanks at once opened fire on the building, using HE, and the explosions in the street were terrific. Cpl. Grant and Pte. Harold Doucette, Intelligence Section men attached to D Company, dove to cover in the ditches and escaped injury. Then a big shell roared in and as it blasted like an earthquake, a body was seen flung high in the air. It was Pte. A. A. Gallant of D Company, and when Sgt. McInnis rushed to search the house for the sniper, he found Gallant's body in an upper room. The sniper had been killed by the tank guns.

The firing in the streets continued and enemy shells added to the din. Captain Graham Longley, second-in-command of D Company, was wounded slightly in the legs. Then came another tremendous blast and Major Kennedy was so stunned by concussion that he later found himself on the far side of the village beside the curb, and had no idea of how he got there. He recovered at once and on going to find his company learned that Captain Longley had taken it back of Buron to dig in. Some men passing through were with him and saw a house being used as a sort of First Aid post. At least there was a Red Cross sign on it. They went in and found some fully armed and very healthy Germans lying in the beds, trying to hide. These were soon on their way to the prisoners' cage.

More shells arrived as they were leaving the street and Major Kennedy's batman was wounded so badly that he died soon after, but Kennedy again escaped injury. D Company had moved back to a position some distance in front of the anti-tank ditch. Lt. J. P. McNeil's platoon was over to the right as his sergeant, Viril Bartlett, had noticed sections of yellowed grass, had removed oblongs and squares of dried sod to find good slit trenches camouflaged. So the platoon occupied the spot. Lt. Mike McTague had his platoon to the left and nearer the road. He had started to dig in on the left of the road until Major Don Forbes, Second-in-command of the Novas, Major Kennedy and Captain Longley came back from forward observation and ordered D Company to stay on the right of the road. The other platoon, commanded by Lt. Harold Murphy, was slightly in advance of the rest of the company. Company headquarters was in the centre of the position and a bit to the rear. As the company was digging in a shell killed Captain Longley but there were no other immediate casualties and presently everyone had dug well down and was making ready for what was to come. Their field of observation, however, was very limited, this due to the tall growth of wheat that extended all around.

Up in Authie hell had broken loose. The 12th S. S. Division of the enemy had sent in an attack of tanks and infantry, backed by intensive artillery fire, that was strong enough to overwhelm a full regiment. The air was filled with earth and shrapnel and bits of wood. The din was such that no voice could be heard distinctly. The tank men were firing away as fast as they could reload and the machine guns were chattering at top speed. First groups of the enemy simply melted away before the murderous hail. Then other formations appeared in the smoke and dust, more separated. The enemy had found that the opposition was tough. The North Novas opened on the new groups with rifles and as the first lines drew nearer Stens and grenades were freely used. Time and again the enemy seemed but yards from the hedge and then they were blown down or hurled back. It seemed incredible that so small a force could keep back such weight and strength, but it was being done. Finally, some screaming men pointed out that groups of the enemy were coming in from the other side of the town. It meant there were such numbers that C Company was being surrounded. Captain "Hank" Fraser sized up the situation quickly. He said he would stay and hold back the onset as long as possible and those who could, should get away.

Lt. Veness was fighting grimly and no enemy had got nearer than fifty yards to his portion of hedge when he heard shooting behind him. He swung around at once to find that Lt. Sutherland's men were being forced back by a tidal wave of the enemy too numerous to halt. Soon the horde was pouring into the field next the orchard. Lt. Veness moved back to join Lt. Langley, but found that the enemy had worked around the end of the defences there and were surrounding the position. Shells were exploding in all directions and great clouds of smoke and dust made observation difficult. Men were dashing hither and thither in the confusion and soon Veness realized that many of them were Germans. He kept dodging from one alley to another, in and out of doorways. Some men were running with him. When a German blocked the way he was battered down. At last the northern end of the town was reached. Then there were fifty yards of open ground before the first field of grain, and two hundred yards or more beyond was the hedge and A Company.

The little group used the cover of some bushes and came upon a German tank. They sprinted madly for cover of the grain but six of the twelve North Novas were shot down before they reached the wheat. Then Lt Veness and his five men burst in among A Company men and panted the news of what was happening.

Lt Langley had no time to get away. The German rush around the end of his position was too swift. He and his gallant band had fought off every frontal effort but now they had the enemy both in front and behind them. He fought on until he was killed, and three of his men stayed and died with him.

Captain Fraser kept shooting until he was killed. So did the North Novas with him, and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers and Cameron Highlanders who elected to fight to the finish. They took a dreadful toll of the fanatical S. S. troops and beat off every frontal attack on the orchard corner. Only sheer numbers overcame them. Three German tanks had been destroyed by the guns of the Sherman in the orchard.

Other enemy tanks entered by the field and smashed buildings and walls en route. The firing became wilder. Lt Sutherland had his men dash back across the main road in small groups. He dodged a German tank by sprinting across the street as a shell knocked down a house corner and raised a huge cloud of dust. He then went between houses to the far side of the village and there some of his survivors gathered around him. Taking every advantage of ground pockets and the height of the wheat, they made a wide detour, going over almost to Gruchy, and so got back safely to Villons-les-Buissons. They hid in the grain and missed the tank battle that raged as German armor struck past Authie and it could be seen that a major attack was being launched. All available tanks maneuvered from hull-down positions south of Buron and a great fight between giants took place. A large number of Sherbrooke tanks became casualties, but they drove the enemy south of Authie for the time and German tanks were burning here and there around the fields.

Sgt. Bill Gammon had become separated from Lt. Sutherland in Authie as he stayed and shot at the enemy until some of them were no more than ten yards away. Then he made his way back as the men nearest him ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender. Gammon was able to dodge the Germans in the clouds of dust and smoke hanging over the main road, but he met two of the enemy in a lane. He shot the first with his Sten and then it would not fire, so he hit the other German in the face with the gun and at last got into the wheat at the far side of the village. By night he had worked his way back alone and reached the battalion.

George Stewart, later C.S.M. of C Company, was a shoemaker until D Day. He went over with C Company and rode up to Authie on the carriers. He was in Captain Fraser's party and stayed at the hedge, shooting, until he had no more ammunition. Then he started back and after evading capture a dozen times in and around Authie finally killed a last German who barred his way and found a route to the grain. He got back to the unit that night.

Cpl. Douglas Wild was with Lt. Sutherland when two German tanks came at the corner his section was holding. His men fought valiantly for a moment but they could not cope with armor. Pte. G. E. Jordan was killed close beside Wild. Then Ptes. A. N. Levy and J. W. MacKinnon. Cpl. Wild ran to a hedge and jumped over it to escape fire from one of the tanks. Cpl. G. T. Holm was ahead of him and he was killed. A great cloud of dust rose as a building collapsed under shell fire and when Cpl. Wild staggered around in the dust on the road a German tank was there, quite lost. He bumped into it, then passed by its rear and raced into a lane only to meet three Germans in file. The leader lunged at him with a bayonet, but Wild used his rifle butt and knocked the man aside, then shot the other pair before they could attack him. He had two smoke bombs and threw them ahead of him, used the resulting screen and got safely across the street. As the smoke lifted he saw two Germans shooting from a window and a North Nova shooting at them with a Sten. Wild reached the grain and followed the trail Sutherland had made, getting back to the battalion.

There never was a wilder melee than that in Authie amid the smoke and dust and shooting. In ones and twos the Novas who survived fought their way through. Pte. Freeman Wallace was fighting near Sgt. Freddie Paynter when they were surrounded. Both men shot their way from the orchard, but were forced to separate as they got into the village. Sgt. Paynter was mixed up with a trio of the enemy, but killed them and got away. Wallace had ducked up the nearest alley with seven of the enemy just ahead of him. A salvo of shells alighted and Wallace dove through the smoke and dust that ensued to see another North Nova running into a passageway. Wallace followed after him and saw two of the enemy cut down by a blast from a Sten. Then he reached the grain field and joined up with one of Sutherland's men. It took them six hours to get back through the wheat to the battalion.

There were some others getting back through the grain. Cpl. Walter McKillop had been a mess corporal in England. He landed with A Company on D Day and then joined C Company during the morning's confusion, as his brother, Earl, was a Sergeant in it. He rode up with the carriers in his brother's platoon and the carrier he was in kept going through Authie and reached a spot beyond where they were told to dig in. Soon the shelling was very heavy and they saw the enemy advancing toward them in regimental strength. Cpl. McKillop's brother had five men in an advanced position and they were captured at once. Then a great burst of firing from the machine guns at the hedge pinned the enemy down for a few moments. The McKillop brothers and two other Novas who had been prisoners took advantage of the situation and bolted from the scene, escaping in the tall wheat. They by-passed Buron and got back to the battalion after dark.

Pte. Arthur Gould had been in the same carrier with Sgt. Earl McKillop as they went forward to the small rise beyond Authie and dug in. He and another had a slit trench by themselves and saw McKillop and his five men captured. Two German tanks passed very near Gould's trench, then were driven back by the hot fire from the orchard. A Nova stood up and shouted for the section to get back into Authie, but Gould and his companion were surrounded before they could move. They saw McKillop and the others duck away in the grain but the captors with Gould made sure of him and he was taken back to Caen as a prisoner.

Soon the last fighting in Authie was nearly over. Most of the Novas who had not got away had been captured. L/Cpl W. L. MacKay had been fighting in Lt. Sutherland's platoon, well dug in between the road and orchard. Two others stayed with him and they fought to the last. MacKay received a bullet through the face and was bleeding badly when the enemy swarmed over the position and took the Novas prisoners. The Germans were teen-aged fanatics and they screamed their hatred of the Canadians. They had thought to win through by sheer weight and ferocity, and it was incredible to them that so few men had been able to hold them back so long.