for the DCS: Spitfire IX

Normandy, June 1944. We have seen it set to film in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Band of Brothers’; we have read about it in the works of Ernie Pyle, Cornelius Ryan, Steven Ambrose, and thousands of others. It is a place and time so embedded in our collective culture that a set of missions flown during this period almost needs no introduction.

This campaign tells a small part of the story, following the air war from the point of view of No. 144 Wing Royal Canadian Air Force, part of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force, during the last week of June 1944. It is framed around Operation Epsom, an attempt by the British 2nd Army to establish a strong force on the high ground south of near Bretteville-sur-Laize. The forces holding this terrain would have a commanding view of the area and be positioned to strike southeast into less easily defended country. It was hoped that success could bring about an early end to fighting in . You will see this battle play out below you as you carry out the very missions flown by the Wing, sometimes against the enemy on the ground and sometimes fending off Luftwaffe attempts to affect the battle from the air.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 1 Campaign Introduction

The campaign begins on the 24th of June 1944; two weeks after the D-Day landings and two days before the start of Operation Epsom itself. This provides you, the player, two days of uncharacteristically good weather to find your way around and get a feel for the area before both foul weather and an uptick in the pace of operations sets in. It also represents the peak of Luftwaffe activity during this phase of the war. This gives a player looking for a WWII dogfighting experience at least some chance of encountering the Luftwaffe in the air although that type of encounter is not what defined the air war over Normandy. The German Air Force remined vastly outnumbered and were still reeling from the strikes on their air bases leading up to the landings.

Most missions will be of the armed reconnaissance, or ‘armed recce’ type. You will be tasked with flying a specified route scouring the countryside for enemy movement on the ground. Better to destroy them on the roads and rails before they reach the front lines. You will also fly strikes in support of the Army against pre-planned targets, fly patrols lying in wait for the Luftwaffe should they decide to appear, and participate in scramble missions, taking off in pursuit of the enemy when they make it through all other layers of defense.

You will hear calls to and from the 483 Group Control Centre, the command and control agency for 2nd Tactical Air Force’s 83 Group of which 144 Wing is a part, working under the callsign Kenway. Their task is to keep all aircraft on their frequency up to date on the latest developments such as enemy radar contacts, enemy activity gained through radio intercept, or sightings called in from other squadrons. They also serve as a liaison between your aircraft and Army forces on the ground as you will see as the campaign 483 Group Control Center, callsign ‘Kenway’, June 1944 IWM (CL 563) progresses.

The goal of the campaign design was to leave behind any assumptions about the conduct of the WWII air war and construct these missions based only on contemporary sources, mostly day to day records kept by the squadrons themselves. These ‘operations record books’ were pored over revealing mission types, number of aircraft airborne, takeoff and landing times, loadout, weather, general location flown, location and type of enemy aircraft encountered, flak locations and intensity, and in some cases exact coordinates of targets hit. Each squadron of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force was included in the search for information and if their aircraft were airborne during the time of day these missions take place and the aircraft type is available in the simulation they are represented in the air.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 2 Campaign Introduction

The ground war was reconstructed hour by hour using the unit war diary in some cases and the official history of the battle in others. The operations being conducted on the ground as you fly overhead are the operations that would by underway at that exact time and place. The entire campaign was framed around the Operation Epsom battle so as much detail was included in that area as was feasible.

The mission briefings are formatted in accordance with RAF norms at the time with visual aids based on examples from photographs where available. The intel briefings and flak maps were developed from real combat reports and overhead imagery, using the same methodology outlined in period air intel officer guides. The briefing text itself is simply a transcript of the author, a retired Airman with years of experience organizing and delivering briefings, recording the briefing for an imaginary audience with very few alterations.

A comprehensive list of reference material concerning the air war over Normandy is available on the Eagle Dynamics forums at this link: Resources for Mission Designers. We claim monopoly on neither the building of WWII campaigns nor the wisdom to interpret the data. Nothing would make us happier than to see others take on the task from a different perspective.

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How to approach the campaign as a player

Every campaign in a flight simulation is going to have a different approach to presenting information and a different experience in mind for the player. Let me cover some common questions about how these missions work and describe exactly what we had in mind when setting it all up.

The Player’s Role

The story here is not that of an individual pilot but of the air campaign over Normandy itself. The persona of the player character can be thought of as ‘you’, transported back in time and placed in command of a unit over Normandy. We chose not to write a player backstory because the experience of flying combat missions in WWII has already been described hundreds of times by the men who flew the real missions.

A good place to start would be the book ‘Wing Leader’ by AVM Johnnie Johnson, who in fact led two of the missions this campaign is based on. Nothing we could come up with on our own would possibly do the subject justice.

Generally speaking, you will be filling the role of the ‘winco’ or Wing Commander, Flying, responsible for the operational command, training, and flying discipline of the Wing’s three squadrons. This would always be a highly experienced and respected pilot chosen for the ability to lead both in the air and on the ground.

The winco flew on no set schedule but chose which missions he flew from day to day. These would usually be spread evenly throughout the squadrons under his charge to get a better feel for the strengths and weaknesses of each. The more dangerous missions were led by the winco more often than not. When not flying, the commander would usually sit in on mission briefings, adding a word or two on tactics or Wing Commander Johnnie Johnson, July 1944 IWM (TR 2145) some other subject, but letting the pilot leading the mission run things.

The job also came with its own callsign chosen from a list of random words, in the case of this campaign ‘Enfield’.

Your responsibility while leading a squadron in the air is to navigate along the route and make tactical decisions. How high do you fly? What RPM and throttle setting? What flak evasion actions do you

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 4 Campaign Introduction take? Do you fly above or below the clouds when looking for enemy aircraft? The decisions you make in the air dictate how the missions play out.

There are several items to keep in mind that may differ from what you are expecting based on your experience in other DCS: World campaigns:

Nothing is time sensitive.

A takeoff and set course time is included in the mission briefing based on standards from the era but they do not have to be followed. The air war is set up to play out around you for a 60-90 minute period. Your targets are still going to be there and the air plan will continue to unfold without you if you are still learning the Spitfire and would rather take your time getting airborne. You can also get airborne immediately. It does not matter one bit when it comes to how the missions play out.

You do not have to follow the planned route.

The intent here is to put you in command of a squadron over Normandy and allow you to use your own judgment. There are no trigger zones that you must fly through along the route to set events into motion so feel free to fly an entirely different mission profile. Fly the missions in whatever way you feel gives you the best chance of disrupting enemy operations while keeping your squadron alive.

There are no ‘mission goals’ or other tasks that must be carried out in order to move on in the campaign.

Can’t find the planned target? That is ok, neither could they in many cases. Those bandits got away? It happened all the time and should be considered the norm in these weather conditions. The only criteria for advancing to the next mission is that you keep your aircraft airborne for 10 minutes. You can always go back and re-fly the mission as a ‘single mission’ separate from the campaign if there were certain things you wanted to try again.

Realizing some players are looking for a more performance based measurement of how they did during a mission we offer this as an alternative. These are the results from the actual missions this campaign is based on, keeping in mind this is for the entire squadron and not just the lead aircraft:

Mission 1: Two vehicles destroyed. Mission 2: Both targets destroyed. Mission 3: Two vehicles in flames, three smoking, and six damaged. Mission 4: One enemy aircraft damaged. Mission 5: Four enemy aircraft destroyed. Mission 6: One vehicle damaged. Mission 7: Four enemy aircraft destroyed, one probably destroyed, and one damaged. Mission 8: One enemy aircraft destroyed, two damaged. Mission 9: Enemy aircraft sighted but the squadron could not close. Mission 10: Five vehicles in flames, five smoking, and three damaged.

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Mission 11: Three enemy aircraft destroyed, one damaged. Mission 12: Target damaged but not destroyed.

Not every event during the mission is meant for you.

Many radio calls will come through describing air engagements or ground target locations during these missions. The intent is not to drag the player around from place to place by the nose but to keep you up to date about what is going on in the air. Again, you are in command of the squadron so you should use your own judgement. Act if you think it best but keep in mind that may not always the best course of action. Even the calls from Kenway directing you to perform a certain task should be considered optional if you are low on fuel or ammo, or are not in a position to carry them out.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 6 Campaign Introduction

Getting the most out of the missions

This is a different experience from modern combat we are used to in DCS so these are a few things that helped us get more enjoyment out of these missions while testing them out. These mostly deal with how to control your squadron mates, keep them alive, and make sure they are still there when you need them.

- Fuel management is critical and the entire route does not have to be flown at low level and at high speed. In fact, these will be very short missions if you do because you will quickly burn through your fuel. Engine RPM settings of 1800-2400 and boost settings of no more than +2 were the norm and will allow you to stay in the air much longer.

- The rest of the squadron is going to run out of fuel first and this is perfectly normal. Any speed, altitude, or course change you make along the way is amplified for the aircraft trying to stay in formation. Higher throttle and RPM settings are required in order to stay in position so it is important to keep this in mind while making course changes. Fly smoothly like any good flight lead and your squadron will be able to stay airborne much longer.

- Your job is to navigate and make decisions. Your squadron’s job is to look out for targets and keep you informed. Be sure to set your radio up to receive their transmissions. Details are included in each briefing but be sure either button A, C, or D is selected on your radio panel.

- Wingmen will sometimes reply with calls like ‘two, negative’ or ‘three, unable’ in response to your radio command to attack. Do not let that frustrate you. This is always one of two things: they either do not see a valid target or they do not have the proper weapons for that target type you are telling them to attack. The weather is terrible on some missions and this has the appropriate effect on the AI’s ability to spot targets. Always wait until they give the radio call ‘contact target’ or ‘tally bandits’ before giving the command.

- Be specific when giving radio commands to your squadron and avoid the generic ‘Engage Ground Targets’ command if possible. Your flight will prioritize air defense targets and will not last long. You will want to use radio command ‘Engage Utility Vehicles’ in most cases.

- Avoid more than one attack on the same target. It was common for German flak positions not to fire and give away their position until nearby units were attacked. Many targets you will encounter can be expected to behave in this way.

- Spitfires and Mustangs will not engage armor with guns so avoid the ‘Engage Armor’ call. You can bet that other vehicle targets are around so send your squadron after those instead.

- Use the ‘Engage Air Defenses’ command sparingly. Flak positions are everywhere and your squadron’s best chance of survival comes from avoiding defended locations.

- Be careful when using the ‘cover me’ command. Your wingman will engage anything he sees as a threat to you including air defenses on the ground.

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- Listen closely to what your flight is reporting. For example, ‘Contact target, 2 o’clock for three.’ means ‘I see a vehicle or other suitable soft target, in front of me and to the right, three miles away’. This is your cue to start looking for the target yourself. Assuming your flight is flying in formation when the call is made, it should be a simple matter to scan the proper area and locate the target they have in sight.

- Follow your wingman if you cannot spot the target yourself. Give the radio command to engage the target and fly in a position to provide support, watching for flak, and calling off the attack if needed. Once your squadron begins to attack, you can easily roll in on the right location.

- There are many, many targets behind the front lines and it is very easy for your squadron to go after one you did not intend them to. When in doubt, give the command to ‘rejoin formation’. Better to reform and try again than to lose everybody on an attack you did not intend to happen.

- Do not rush into air engagements. Use the sun or clouds to mask your approach and try to maneuver behind the enemy. The real WWII tactics described in the mission briefings work. It takes practice to get the timing right but you and your squadron can easily down several aircraft before they know you are there.

- Don’t forget about the other squadrons. You can always turn and run for one of the standing patrols if you find yourself outnumbered.

- Mission 2 and 12 task your squadron with destroying a specific target on the ground. The keyboard command LWin-R may be used to ensure the lead section attacks the planned target. The lead section will fly directly to the target and attack immediately when the command is given so only give the command when in position at the desired approach heading. The aircraft will not rejoin automatically so give the command to rejoin formation when the attack is complete through either the normal communications menu or keyboard LWin-Y.

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- Orders to the second section of four aircraft are given by selecting F10 (Other) from the communications menu then selecting the appropriate command. The command 'attack primary target' will ensure the second section attacks the planned target on mission 2 and 12.

- A radio communications menu option is available that can increase game performance by removing some historical aspects of the mission and reducing the unit count. It is intended to be used as a last resort by players who are unable to fly the mission even after reducing all graphics settings. Access it by selecting F10 (Other) from the comms menu and selecting the text that is presented. This option is removed after the player aircraft taxis.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 9 Campaign Introduction

Historical Background

As mentioned earlier, a comprehensive list of reference material concerning the air war over Normandy is available on the Eagle Dynamics forums at this link: Resources for Mission Designers.

For a brief overview of Normandy air operations, I would recommend ‘D-Day 1944: Air Power over the Normandy Beaches and Beyond’ by Dr. Richard Hallion. It is available free of charge at this link:

For the Operation Epsom ground battle itself, a description of the events is included with each mission in the form of a briefing from the Army Liaison Officer. These are delivered as if the events are happening in real time. If you would rather read the entire description of the operation in one place, I present it below in its entirety.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 10 Campaign Introduction

Operation Epsom

The Operation Epsom concept was developed starting on June 18th when General Montgomery, commander of all ground forces during the invasion, issued a directive ordering British 2nd Army to launch an attack to establish a strong force on the high ground south of Caen near Bretteville-sur-Laize.

The forces holding this terrain would have a commanding view of the area and be positioned to strike either northeast enveloping Caen or southeast into less easily defended country and a possible breakout to the . There was also to be a large attack launched on the British left north of Caen but it was later decided that the small bridgehead to the east of the river did not provide enough room to mount an effective attack. The British would only undertake a minor operation in that area to extend the bridgehead southwards; the main attack being made by units of the newly arrived VIII Corps on the right, west of Caen, beginning on June 22nd.

Unfortunately for these plans, a three-day storm welled up in the , disrupting shipping, heavily damaging the Mulberry harbors, and postponing the Epsom battle plans. Provisions had been made so that reserves of supplies were available to tide the forces over until normal cross-channel shipping could resume but the overall scale of the offensive was reduced and execution was delayed for several days. The storm also interfered with execution of the air plan by the RAF and USAAF giving the enemy several days of grace to move further reinforcements and supplies in along the roads relatively unimpeded.

24 June 1944

Our DCS: World campaign picks up on the 24th of June, the day prior to commencement of major operations that would involve units of both XXX and VIII Corps. The XXX Corps forces that were to participate included the 49th Division who had seen continuous combat since the D-Day landings. The forces belonging to VIII Corps, the 11th Armoured, 15th Infantry, and 43rd Infantry Divisions, had only just arrived from England and were not yet up to strength. It was decided to reinforce the Corps with the addition of the 31st Tank and 4th Armoured Brigades, bringing its total tank strength up to over six hundred. The total strength of VIII Corps when the battle opened was some sixty thousand personnel with the artillery of XXX Corps on its right, of on its left, and the naval guns of four ships were to bring the total number of guns available for support the battle up to over seven hundred.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 11 Campaign Introduction

Opposite the British stood the 12th SS Panzer, 21st Panzer, and Panzer Lehr Divisions. These units had been in place for nearly three weeks, were intimately familiar with the terrain and had prepared it thoroughly for any incursion when the British attack opened. Infantry and machine-gun positions were strengthened by wire, minefields were laid, and armor and '88's were sited in hidden positions but able to move to others if detected.

A full program of air missions was flown by 2nd Tactical Air Force this day as 49th Division prepared for the next day’s attack and VIII Corps continued to move forward into their staging areas northeast of Tilly-sur-Suelles. Weather was excellent over England and very good over the various target areas.

25 June 1944

Early in the morning of the 25th, a preliminary attack called Operation Martlet kicked off with the goal of securing the Rauray spur. This high ground to the west of the Epsom main advance provided the enemy with a perfect vantage point and flanking position against VIII Corps who were to advance the next day.

The XXX Corp’s 49th Division advanced on a two-brigade front through a heavy ground mist. Their 146th Brigade attacked and captured Bas de Fontenay against heavy opposition, going on to reach the beginnings of high ground north of Vendes by early that afternoon. The 147th Brigade, attacking into the Rauray spur, were unable to advance beyond the northern outskirts of the main village of Fontenay. Fighting continued there well into the night but even after committing a second battalion to the attack, the village was not cleared of the enemy. Heavy opposition and more wet weather slowed the advance and the Rauray spur on the flank of VIII Corps was still in enemy possession when that Corps attacked the next morning.

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 12 Campaign Introduction

From the air, gun positions and strongpoints in the Epsom intended line of advance were selected and attacked by fighter-bombers, all operating under the direction of the 483 Group Control Centre. The Group Control Centre was in turn communicating directly with VIII Corps headquarters, the agency responsible for all air support requests in the area, and coordinating actions in the air with those forces on the ground. Air strikes continued to harass the enemy until clouds and rain set in once again later in the evening.

26 June 1944

Dawn on the 26th broke with weather so bad in England that the original air plan had to be cancelled and operations improvised from the continent by whatever units could make it into the air. The Luftwaffe however, flying from bases further inland and recognizing that allied air activity would be light, put up more sorties than usual. Second TAF still managed to generate 524 sorties despite the low clouds and soggy airstrips but most of these were defensive due to the sudden increase in Luftwaffe activity. These efforts by the enemy were easily fended off but the combination of poor weather and distractions in the air handicapped the RAF’s effort to support the VIII Corps advance on the ground.

The 15th Division set out on a push to the south at 7:30 in the morning behind a rolling artillery . Their goal for the day was to capture bridges over the five miles away near the villages of Tourmauville and . Heavy rain during the night made the ground soggy slowing the pace of operations. The village of La Gaule was taken quickly but St. Mauvieu, Cheux and le Haut du Bosq were defended by a well dug in enemy and only fell after several hours of heavy fighting that included two counterattacks by 12th SS Panzer Division and a tank company of the 21st Panzer Division. By noon, the division had only advanced as far as this line of villages and still faced dug in tanks and infantry covered by machine guns, mortars and minefields between them and their objective.

The 11th Armoured Division, who had been following closely behind in preparation for passing over the bridges seized by 15th Division, was ordered to push through and seize the Odon bridges 15th division was unable to reach. Their attempts early in the afternoon met the same heavy resistance as before but were further hampered by the ruinous state the villages, particularly Cheux, that were made impassable after constant shelling by both friendly and enemy mortars and artillery. After several hours, it was determined that the bridges could not be reached by tanks that night and the 11th Armoured Division’s advance was halted.

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Further west in the XXX Corps area, 49th Division had been fighting all day to gain possession of the Rauray spur, but the main artillery support was being given to the Epsom attack on their left. They only succeeded in capturing the northern part of it and only after heavy losses.

The 15th Division resumed their attack at 6:00 PM in torrential rain but the enemy, holding the high ground in the line of advance, showed no signs of weakening. By the end of the day, the Odon was not reached and crossed as planned but this was not seen as a complete failure. Leading troops were within striking distance and the 43rd Division had begun taking over the ground already won so that the 15th Division could be ready to attack early the next morning.

27 June 1944

Weather on the morning of the 27th was still bad enough to ground aircraft operating from England until around dusk. The Luftwaffe continued to take advantage of this and although the total number of sorties put up was actually lower than before, in the 150-200 range, more aircraft were dedicated to covering German movements in the battle area. RAF pilots of 2nd TAF operating from reported that enemy fighters were more active than of late and claimed 11 aircraft destroyed with a loss of five of their own.

The 15th Division started early in the morning with attacks to the south along two roads: one to the west running through Grainville in the direction of the Odon bridge at Gavrus and one to the east, in the

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 14 Campaign Introduction direction of the bridge at Tourmauville. No progress was made on the west road with fighting all day in the le Haut du Bosque area but the villages of Colleville, Tourville, and Mondrainville were taken on the eastern road in quick succession. The division paused to briefly to regroup in preparation for an attack on the bridge then overcame light resistance to establish a small bridgehead over the Odon.

Soon afterwards, tanks of the 11th Armoured Division crossed the Odon and moved out in the direction of Hill 112, prominent high ground with a commanding view of the surrounding area. This hill would be the scene of much fighting in the days and weeks to come.

Meanwhile, the 43rd Division who had taken over ground already secured by 15th Division the previous day fought off a series of probing attacks by the German I SS Panzer Corps. The most serious of these reached Cheux before being defeated and the ground retaken late in the morning.

Late that afternoon XXX Corps had finally captured Rauray but the high ground south of it was still strongly held. The entire Rauray spur, the objective of the XXX Corps effort, would not be taken until the following day. The 15th Division, now holding the eastern road to the river, set out from Colleville to cut the enemy's possession of the western road by attacking Grainville from the east. The outskirts of the town were reached but too late to attack that night.

28 June 1944

One source of constant worry for VIII Corps was the increasing pressure building up on both sides of the narrow salient they occupied. Reports from the air indicated movement of new German units into the

Operation Epsom for the Spitfire IX 15 Campaign Introduction area and massing for a counterattack. A large buildup of armor belonging to 21st Panzer Division at both the Verson village and airfield was attacked repeatedly from the air and broken up over the following days. Additional forces were risking movement by daylight from the direction of Villers- Bocage under a heavy umbrella of flak. This was enough to give British commanders pause and direct that no attempt to reach the Orne river until the 15th and 43rd Divisions had cleared and solidified their hold on the area between Cheux and the Odon.

By daybreak, the bridgehead south of the Odon was being strengthened and enlarged as more of the 11th Armoured Division passed over the river and continued their attack on Hill 112, seizing its northern slopes. This was met with stiff opposition from the Germans who were well dug in on the slopes and who had forces in the hills to the southwest near Evercy and woods to the northeast near Baron. Fighting was inconclusive until midday when the division was ordered to slow their advance while maintain the bridgehead. The 29th Armoured Brigade has had to fight hard to retain their hold on the northern part of Hill 112 and the Baron area. Enemy tanks covered by a heavy mortar barrage had counter-attacked in the afternoon in an effort to drive them off the hill, but were promptly driven off.

Relieved of the eastern bridge by the armored forces, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, part of 15th Division’s 227th Brigade, moved west along the south bank of the Orne and captured the village of Gavrus and its bridge intact. The 15th Division’s 46th Brigade attacking from the northeast managed to clear the ground between Colleville and Grainville that afternoon, cross the Caen road, and capture le Valtru. Unfortunately, the ground south of le Valtru and the road to the bridge at Gavrus were still firmly held by the enemy. This left the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who had taken the bridge from the east isolated until that ground could be taken.

On the east side of the salient, 43rd Division took but lost it following a strong counter attack by 21st Panzer Division. On the west side, 15th Division with tank support attacked southwards in another attempt to clear the western road to the Odon bridges. They met stiff opposition as they approached the rail line west of Grainville and made it no further in that direction.

Although no further advance of note was made, the ground taken by VIII Corps was in a much better position to fend off the largest counterattack yet which seemed to be imminent. The salient was five miles deep but only two miles wide. No further advance was considered until the salient could be widened and the risk of having the entire Corps cut off and surrounded lessened. A planned attack by I Corps on VIII Corps’ left to take Carpiquet airfield and open the route to Caen was also postponed pending the outcome of the Epsom battle.

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29 June 1944

The morning saw no immediate signs of the German counterattack that must surely come therefore VIII Corps set about strengthening their position and taking whatever additional ground they could. In the east, 43rd Division re-took Mouen, cleared the ground southwards to the Odon, and crossed with one battalion. In the west, 15th Division resumed their attack to the south along the road to the isolated Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders holding the bridge at Gavrus. Strong opposition was again met as they reached the rail line near Grainville and they were driven back into more or less the positions where they started the day. South of the Odon, 11th Armoured Division had extended the bridgehead slightly north into the Baron area, pushed south as far as the Esquay road, and taken the southern slopes of Hill 112.

Then just before 6:00 in the evening, two main German counterattacks began. The first was with tanks and infantry attacking from the southwest on either side of the Noyers-Cheux road. Tanks managed to break through and got as far as Cheux before they were knocked out. At that same time another counterattack was in progress against le Valtru further to the south. Again, it made early progress but was driven back and the line restored. Artillery played a large part in driving these enemy forces back as the defending forces reorganized. Later, a regiment of the 4th Armoured Brigade swept the country between Grainville and the Noyers road eliminating pockets of the enemy who continued to hold out.

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A third counterattack came south of the Odon from the direction of Bougy that forced 11th Armoured Division to withdraw from positions facing Esquay and Gavrus. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders still held their position covering the nearby bridge, often under heavy shell and mortar fire.

30 June 1944

Convinced that a larger counterattack was still to come and that the goal of seizing the Orne bridges south of Caen was no longer in reach, VIII Corps pulled back and consolidated their position. The bridgehead south of the Odon was further reinforced but 11th Armoured Division was forced to withdraw its armor from advanced positions in the Baron area and on Hill 112 to be stationed in the salient ready to meet the expected attack.

Heavy bombers dropped over 1,000 tons of bombs where enemy armor was concentrating in the Villers-Bocage area overnight and largely for this reason the Germans made no move.

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This is where our Operation Epsom campaign ends with actions of the first of July and onwards being covered in future campaigns.

We would like to thank the voice actors who provided their valuable assistance in making these missions come alive:

Kirk “[DOW]dOoOm” Lang 355th Slysi Tyco Carl "5eEVC Pluie" Gravel Cen "DarkFire" Blackwell Dominic "Buckram" Burjak John "Brixmis" Dixon Norm 'SiThSpAwN' Loewen

There are twelve missions in total providing what we believe will be both a fun and authentic experience. We hope you have as much fun flying these missions as we did putting them together.

Wags and Bunyap

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