by imprisoned SS deserters. War crimes trial Meyer was held as a prisoner of war until December 1945, when he was tried for war crimes (the murder of unarmed Allied prisoners of war in Normandy) in the German town of Aurich. Indictment Meyer's charges were: Prior to 7 June 1944, Meyer had incited troops under his command to deny quarter to surrendering Allied soldiers. On or around 7 June 1944, Meyer was responsible for his troops killing twenty-three prisoners of war at Buron and Authie. On or around 8 June 1944, Meyer ordered his troops to kill seven prisoners of war at his headquarters at the Abbaye Ardenne. On or around 8 June 1944, Meyer was responsible for his troops killing seven prisoners of war, as above. On or around 8 June 1944, Meyer was responsible for his troops killing eleven prisoners of war, as above. The third and fourth charges referred to the same event; the fourth charge was an alternative to the third, if the killings were found to be a war crime but he was found not to have ordered them. The fifth charge was related to a separate group of prisoners; in this case, the prosecution did not allege that Meyer had directly ordered their deaths. He was charged with responsibility for the deaths of twenty-three prisoners on 7June, and eighteen more the following day. Meyer pleaded not guilty to all five charges. A second charge sheet accusing him of responsibility for the deaths of seven Canadian prisoners of war in Mouen on 8June 1944 was prepared; after the successful conclusion of the first trial, however, it was decided not to try the second set of charges. No charges were laid against him for alleged previous war crimes in Poland or Ukraine; the Canadian court was constituted to deal only with crimes committed against Canadian nationals. Proceedings The court, the first major Canadian war-crimes trial, faced a number of problems before it could be convened. Chief among them was the fact that since the accused was a general, he had to be tried by soldiers of equal rank; finding enough available Canadian generals was difficult. The court as eventually constituted had four brigadiers – one, Ian Johnston, was a lawyer in civilian life – and was presided over by Major General H. W. Foster, who had commanded the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade in Normandy. In accordance