Raid on La Caine

RAF raid on La Caine (1944)
	Part of the Battle of Normandy
	; Modern photograph of the château (Panzergruppe West HQ, 1944)
Date	10 June 1944
Location	La Caine, France49°02′07″N 0°31′08″W / 49.03528°N 0.51889°W
Result	Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Arthur Coningham	Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg (WIA); Sigismund-Helmut von Dawans †;
Units involved
RAF Second Tactical Air Force No. 121 Wing RAF–No. 124 Wing RAF (Hawker Typhoon) ; 181 Squadron ; 182 Squadron ; 245 Squadron ; 247 Squadron ; No. 137 Wing RAF–No. 139 Wing RAF (B-25 Mitchell) ; 98 Squadron ; 180 Squadron ; 226 Squadron ; 320 (Netherlands) Squadron ;	Panzergruppe West
Strength
	42 Typhoon fighter-bombers; 72 B-25 Mitchell medium bombers;
Casualties and losses
	Killed: Chief of Staff and 17 staff officers; Wounded: Geyr von Schweppenburg;

On 10 June 1944, during Operation Overlord, aircraft of the Royal Air Force attacked the headquarters of Panzergruppe West in the château at La Caine, about 12 mi (19 km) to the south-west of the city of Caen, north of Thury-Harcourt.

Squadrons of B-25 Mitchell medium bombers and Typhoon fighter-bombers of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force attacked the château and its grounds with bombs and air-to-ground rockets. Eighteen staff officers were killed in the attack and the commander, General der Panzertruppen Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg was wounded.

A German armoured counter-offensive by Panzergruppe West against the Allied beachhead was postponed and then cancelled after the destruction of the headquarters. Command of Panzer divisions in the area was transferred to the I SS Panzer Corps headquarters; the remnants of the Panzergruppe West HQ was withdrawn to Paris and did not return to action until 28 June.