Comes with C.O.A.

This incredible special print assault map was used during Operation Wellhit and the attack on the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. As Allied armies advanced out of the Normandy bridgehead after three months of deadly combat in the hedgerows of the Cherbourg peninsula and the farmland south of Caen the need to establish new logistics bases became more and more acute. In mid-September of 1944, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division found itself outside the fortified port of Dunkirk while the 3rd Division arrived at Boulogne. The Germans would prove themselves adept at holding on to these vital port facilities for extended periods, some of them withstanding sieges until the end of the war in May 1945. Dunkirk would be one of them, and the Allies were required to “mask” the port with artillery units deep in the rear of 1st Canadian Army while the war passed them by. Boulogne was to be a different story. The 3rd Division, battered during the long campaign in Normandy, was to fight through the tough ring of defenses which included the heavily fortified heights of Mont Lambert and seize the port facilities of Boulogne. To assist them, a full array of specialized armor and engineering vehicles were made available to them, including the newly created armored personnel carriers of the 1st Canadian APC Squadron (soon to be expanded to regimental status). With flail tanks to clear the way through the minefields, AVsRE to blast German bunkers, and flame tanks to eliminate strongpoints, The North Nova Scotia Highlanders were ordered forward in the wake of a massive aerial bombardment by almost 700 four-engine bombers. Despite the lower than expected level of material damage by the bombardments, the high degree of coordination between artillery, air force, armor, and infantry greatly aided the success of the operation. The operation took from 17 to 22 September 1944.

The Assault:

The outline of the attack was that the northern and southern defences would be contained or diverted while the main attack would drive into Boulogne from the east. Since German artillery at La Tresorerie posed a threat to the main assault, an attack by North Shore Regiment of the 8th Brigade would go in here earlier than the main attack. In the main attack, two infantry brigades would advance parallel to the main road from La Capelle to the east; the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade (comprising Le Régiment de la Chaudière and Queen's Own Rifles of Canada) would be north of the road while the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders and North Nova Scotia Highlanders) would be south of it. Once the main urban area had been captured, 8th Brigade would clear the area around Wimille, Wimereux and Fort de la Crèche and 9th Brigade would clear the Outreau peninsula.