Guest Post by M. Raoul Boyer

Video Description: The machine-gunner/assistant driver of a Sherman tank belonging to the 22nd Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards) is given a glass of wine to drink by a Frenchwoman during a pause in the advance. FFI volunteers and townspeople gather in small groups in the rain to greet the crews of Shermans from the same regiment as they motor through Broglie; all the tanks seen here have spare track links (including some ‘borrowed’ from a Panther or Tiger tank) draped over their bow armour and turrets. Elements of the 22nd Armoured Regiment’s headquarters in the form of Humber and Ford Lynx scout cars, a DR (despatch rider) and a CMP 15-cwt truck drive past; civilians greet the crew of a Stuart V (Honey) tank from the regiment’s recce troop (note the Priest ‘Kangaroo’ APC partly visible in the background).

On August 24, 1944, the small Norman town of Broglie, France, was witness to a pivotal moment in its long history: liberation from four years of Nazi tyranny and occupation. This victory was part of a larger Allied effort to drive German forces out of France after the success of the Normandy landings on June 6.. The 4th Canadian Armoured Division’s role in this campaign was vital as they spearheaded the advance of the 2nd Canadian Corps toward the lower Seine. When they arrived in Broglie, a significant strategic military achievement, it was a profoundly emotional time for the town’s residents, who were relieved that their Canadian liberators had arrived.