Quentin Canal. War Against Japan. South-East Asia. Battle of Sicily. Southern Italy. Lambert-sur- Aug 44 Dives. Sahara Timor Exercises Putot-en-Bessin. D-Day on 6 June had left the three British and Canadian beachheads reasonably secure, thanks to a slow German response and lower than anticipated casualties, yet the gap between the British 3rd Division and the 3rd Canadian Division was troublesome.
There had been no counter-attack during the night of June because the Germans were simply not ready for such an enterprise. The 7th Brigade's only significant contact during the night was the capture of 19 enemy soldiers of a patrol by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.
The brigade moved off in a two battalion formation at staggered times; the Royal Winnipeg Rifles on the right stepped off at while the Regina Rifle Regiment moved out an hour later with the Canadian Scottish Regiment in reserve.
There was little resistance offered by the remnants of the th Infantry Division still in the area. By , brigade headquarters had felt there was no danger to be had and ordered the reserve in, pressing all three battalions to "go flat out for their final objectives. The 1st Hussars, whose two assault squadrons on D-Day had been depleted such that they were amalgamated into a single squadron, were not able to provide support, but resistance had been so slight, and limited to "groups of snipers" in the words of the official history that "tank support was not needed.
The Brigade was deployed for battle with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles in Putot-en-Bessin - a unit that had suffered heavy casualties the day before in the assault landings, losing men. The Regina Rifles in Bretteville, with the Canadian Scottish in Secqueville-en-Bessin, less a company that was despatched to the Cairon area to cover the gap between the 7th and 9th Brigades, along with a troop of ant-tank guns and a squadron of tanks of the 1st Hussars.
