Battle for Hill 140
| Battle for Hill 140 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of Normandy (Operation Totalize) | |||||||
Map of Operation Totalize | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Canada | Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Don Worthington † | Max Wünsche | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Worthington Combat Group | Kampfgruppe Wünsche and reinforcements | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
232 men 47 tanks and many other vehicles | Unknown; according to Canadians – high, according to Germans – insignificant | ||||||
The Battle for Hill 140 was fought on 9 August, 1944 as part of Operation Totalize between a battle group from the 4th Canadian Division and German troops, mainly from the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend". It occurred several miles east of the village of Estrées-la-Campagne, when, during a night attack, the Canadian troops strayed east from the axis of advance, occupying the wrong area on a forward slope. The consequence of the mistake was the destruction of the Canadian combat group by a German counterattack that lasted several hours. It was an unprecedented case during the Normandy campaign and probably the entire World War II, for such a large force to lose track of the terrain, lose its way and consequently be completely wrecked.