Holding the line at Grainville- June 30th to July 3rd

As the advance of 46 Brigade came to a close the men of the 9th Cameronians began to entrench themselves in and around Grainville-sur-Odon. They were relieved by soldiers of 158 Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division on 1 July. The Cameronians moved back to a defensive position around Les Saullets. The riflemen began digging narrow slit trenches, the standard defense for British Infantry during the North-West European Campaign.

Along with the other battalions of the Brigade, the Officer Commanding, Brigadier General Barber paid a visit to the 9th. As stated in the War Diary for 2 July:

O Gp at Bn H.Q. for local defence. All weapons to be sited and dug
in by morning of 3 JULY. Coy [Commanders] to recce areas allocated. Memorial Church parade for men fallen in action. Brig C.M. Barber D.S.O was present at this service and complimented troops on their fine action during last operation. Remainder of day spent in adm and re-organising Coys and specialist Pl[atoons].

War Diary 9th Cameronians

The need for entrenchment was well warranted. From a starting strength of 36 Officers and 815 Other Ranks, the Battalion mustered 28 Officers and 669 Other Ranks by the time the order to dig in had come. Alongside the rest of the 15th (Scottish) Division, a corridor had been driven deep into the German lines held by the 12th SS Panzer Division and a foothold established on the south side of the Odon River.

As units of the 53rd (Welsh) Division took over the area, preparations for the next stage of the Anglo-Canadian drive towards Caen were already underway. The Germans meanwhile were not idling by as RAF aerial photographs identified new entrenchments awaiting the British. Operation Epsom had achieved much of its goals, wearing down the German Army in Normandy and pushing them to a minimum of reserves and supply. For a British infantry battalion, however, Normandy would be more costly even than the Battle of the Somme. The 15th Division itself lost 25% of all it’s Second World War casualties during the six days it was involved in EPSOM.

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