tanks and their crews often moved around the country to various gunnery ranges, such as at Bovington Camp in Dorset and Castlemartin in Wales. The 9th finally went into action shortly after D Day, (weather conditions had not permitted them to land on the planned date). Some of the regiment was able to get on shore on 19 June, but a large part was held up for another two days. Shortly after its arrival in Normandy, 9th RTR (as part of 31st Tank Brigade), was involved in Montgomery's Operation Epsom, the push inland to secure the Normandy Beachhead and the city of Caen. The regiment was part of the right hand attack towards Grainville and Colleville, supporting 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. After Epsom, the 9th was part of Operation Jupiter, the attack on Hill 112. The Hill was defended by elements of Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502, which led to heavy losses for the regiment, although eventually the Hill was retaken from the German Forces. The next major engagement for the 9th was the Falaise pocket. The regiment supported the 1st Canadian Army for the first part of the battle. However, it was soon returned to British command for the push east across the north of France, to take bridges across a number of rivers in the area. Following the rapid push east, the 9th RTR took part in the capture of Le Havre as part of Operation Astonia. In a combined assault of land, naval and air forces, the port city of Le Havre was taken in three days, despite being considered "one of the strongest fortresses of the Atlantic Wall". Unlike previous operations, the regiment took very light casualties. The end of Operation Astonia led to a fortnight's rest for the regiment, after they had been fighting for around 100 days. After its rest period, 9th RTR moved into the Netherlands and took part in enlarging the Nijmegen Salient in support of the 51st (Highland) and 49th (West Riding) Divisions. Later on in the Dutch campaign, the 9th participated in Operations Rebound and Thruster, which led to the capture of Roosendaal and aided the clearing of the banks of the River Scheldt. Between late December 1944 and the end of January 1945, 9th RTR aided in victory in the Ardennes, acting as a defensive force near Liege, under the command of the First US Army. After the Ardennes, the 9th