to the north and west of the city. Field defences on the River Orne and the vicinity of Carpiquet, north-west of the Caen town centre, obstructed an advance toward Caen from the north. The village was made an objective of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, under the command of Major-General R. F. L. Keller. The Allied need for additional airfields on the Normandy mainland, ensured that the capture of the Carpiquet area was a priority for the Allies and an equally important defensive position for the Germans. Prelude German defences Carpiquet airfield was on a expanse of level ground, which offered a "killing ground" for the defenders. The airfield had been fortified with minefields, field gun and machine gun emplacements, manned by I Battalion, SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 26, an anti-aircraft battery and fifteen tanks. Allied forces Keller selected the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, comprising The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (QOR), Le Régiment de la Chaudière and The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment; The Royal Winnipeg Rifles (RWR) were attached from the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade to lead the assault. Tank and machine-gun support was to be provided by Canadian 10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse), The Sherbrooke Fusiliers and the Cameron Highlanders Support Battalion. Two squadrons of Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers and three squadrons of specialized tanks from the British 79th Armoured Division were added later. On the evening of 3 July, the battleship bombarded the buildings around Carpiquet from the Bay of the Seine at range, with fifteen shells from its guns. Operation Windsor was planned to commence at 05:00 on 4 July, following a bombardment by 21 artillery regiments, with Le Régiment de la Chaudière and The North Shore Regiment attacking Carpiquet, as a squadron of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers protected the northern flank with a diversionary attack on Franqueville. To the south, the RWR was to advance and seize the hangars of Carpiquet airfield. At the same time as the Canadian attack, the 43rd Division was to attack further south down the north side of the Odon to capture Verson. Once the regiments had captured Carpiquet, the QOR would push through and take control of the airfield control buildings. The capture of the airfield would enable further Anglo-Canadian attacks against Caen. Battle 4 July As dawn broke on 4 July the artillery regiments opened fire on German positions in and around Carpiquet, firing a creeping barrage wide and