Armored Thunder

The Canadian armored unit, the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment, fought from D-Day through four European counties and engaged in major tank battles until VE-Day.

The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment was a Canadian armoured regiment attached to the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade which landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in support of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and then fought through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany until VE-Day. As an independent armoured regiment, it was assigned to support various infantry formations. As such, it fought the first major tank battle on European soil when it went up against the panzers and panzergrenadiers of the 12.SS-Panzerdivision (Hitlerjugend) on 7 June 1944. Its tanks entered Caen on 9 July and then took part in the advance to and the clearing of the town of Falaise. From there, the regiment pursued the retreating German forces towards the Seine River at Rouen. In a subsequent book, the author will explore the regiment's battles through Antwerp, the Scheldt, the Rhine River and the Hochwald Gap.