As this desperate battle was taking place, the 40th Canadian Armoured Regiment, along with a commando unit, was launched against the village of Rots, which was at that point held by a composite kampfgruppe of divisional escort troops and a company of Panthers. Although more than 15 Shermans were knocked out, ultimately the attackers were far too strong for the defenders. They slowly fell back through the streets of the village, inflicting more than 100 casualties on the Allies as they went.

By nightfall, the Canadians were in complete control of the village. During the fighting, just under 70 Germans were killed or wounded, and 1 Panther tank was knocked out.

SS war crimes

The fighting that took place in the fields and villages to the northwest of Caen was some of the most violent and brutal to be seen during the Normandy campaign. The Hitlerjugend Division lost more than 1000 dead, wounded or missing in these engagements, while the Canadians alone lost nearly 3000 of their men. Equipment losses were equally heavy on both sides. In those violent first engagements between the Hitlerjugend and Canadian troops, little quarter was ever given.

Meyer and a number of his officers were charged with war crimes after the conflicy had ended. Meyer was charged with being responsible for five incidents on 7 and 8 June that involved the deaths of 41 Canadian prisoners. He was also charged with issuing orders to his division to give no quarter to prisoners. After long trials, Meyer and two others were found guilty of all or some of the charges and sentenced to death. Meyer later had his death sentence stayed, but his two comrades were not so lucky and they faced the hangman's noose in 1948. On his release, Meyer launched a campaign to clear his reputation as well as redeem that of his beloved Hitlerjugend.

On the German side, men of the Hitlerjugend claimed that they had executed three Canadians in reprisal for the deaths of ten German soldiers tied to a British armoured car and machine-gunned. Sadly, the truth of these events will never be known.

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