Army Group B, which was responsible for plugging the rapidly expanding hole in Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, was now reduced to scraping together a Kampfgruppe (battle group) of the 12th SS and part of the 21st Panzer Division. The scratch formation was supposed to drive the Allies back to the beaches.

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Meyer had three Panzergrenadier battalions in the line with two companies of tanks behind each flank and artillery in support. He was also told that the 21st Panzer Division had been ordered to form up on his right flank. Watching the Canadian advance unfold from the tower of Ardenne Abbey, he could see an opportunity opening in front of him. At 10 a.m. on June 7, the 50 Mark IV tanks of the 2nd Battalion, 12th SS Panzer Regiment, arrived and moved into position. The 1st Battalion, with its powerful PzKw. Mark V Panthers, was stranded and momentarily idled east of the Orne River for want of fuel.

The Canadians continued to file across the German front. Once the lead Canadian tanks reached the ridge south of Franqueville, they spotted one of Meyer’s panzer companies waiting to advance. It was at that moment that the German youngsters could hear Meyer’s voice over the radio net, ordering them to advance. Engines roared to life and tracks squeaked as the 12th SS received its initiation. ‘It cracked and flashed around Franqueville,’ recalled a German soldier. ‘The lead enemy tanks began smoking, and I saw how the crews bailed out. Other tanks exploded in pieces in the air. A Panzer Mark IV suddenly stopped, burning, tongues of flame shooting out of the turret.’ Meyer’s sudden advance had caught the Canadians unawares, and their infantry were forced to fall back to Authie. Meyer’s 3rd Battalion pursued them doggedly. The boys overran Authie and Franqueville in their initial rush. Buron, a kilometer to the north, was the next objective. The ‘enemy forces appeared to be completely surprised,’ wrote Meyer. ‘Artillery on both sides had not fired a single round.’

Meyer’s panzers roared around Authie and headed for Buron. Canadian anti-tank guns hit four or five of the tanks, and the Hitlerjügend crews’ inexperience showed as they turned away while trying to retire. Hans Fenn’s tank was one of those hit: ‘The shell tore off the tank commander’s leg–SS Scharführer [Sergeant] Esser–but I heard he got out of the turret later,’ Fenn recalled. ‘Phosphorus shells caused the tank to instantly burst into flames all over. I was helpless….I made my way back with third degree burns, toward our grenadiers following up. They recoiled from me on sight, as if they had seen a ghoul.’ The Panzergrenadiers reached Buron but were forced out by a Canadian counterattack.

Meyer was concerned at the slowing of the attack’s momentum. The Canadians had recovered from their initial surprise, and now their artillery had found the range and was heavily shelling the area. Nevertheless, Meyer ordered his tanks to resume the attack. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd battalions were approaching Cambes. ‘Until Cambes, everything went well,’ Emil Werner remembered. ‘So far as we were concerned, the village looked fine. But on the outskirts we came under infantry fire and then all hell broke loose.’ Two men were killed, but the tankers still had not seen any enemy soldiers. Unaware of exactly what was to his front and unable to make contact with any supporting formations, the battalion commander leading the attack on Cambes decided to go onto the defensive. With his attack now slowing down, Meyer was horrified to discover that the 21st Panzer Division had not yet been able to advance, and his right flank was open and being menaced by Allied tanks.

Although their situation was now precarious, the boys of the 12th were reluctant to withdraw. A company commander described the difficulty of extricating exposed sections that, having fought their way forward, would not retire: ‘All had the will to reach the sea. It was difficult to get them back on the leash again. The order to fall back was met with disbelief, and as a result was followed only after a long delay.’ Some witnesses later said that they came across boys from the division crying over their failure to force the Allies back into the sea. That evening, the 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment arrived and moved into Putot, but was thrown out after a fierce counterattack by the 7th Canadian Brigade. With neither side able to secure complete victory, the lines on either side were solidifying and turning the battle into one of attrition around the villages.

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