Operation Astonia
| Operation Astonia | |||||||
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| Part of Western Front, World War II | |||||||
 Churchill bridgelayers, Sherman flail tanks and infantry following the assault on Le Havre, 13 September 1944 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom Canada
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 Germany
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Harry Crerar Evelyn H. Barker Tom G. Rennie
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Hermann-Eberhard Wildermuth 
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| Strength | |||||||
| 45,000 troops including specialised AVRE vehicles | at least 12,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| less than 500, including 35 armoured vehicles | 600 killed 11,300 captured |
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Operation Astonia was the codename for the Allied effort to capture the German-held Channel port of Le Havre, France, during World War II. Fought from 10–12 September 1944, its objective was to secure the fortress city's harbor facilities intact to aid the Allied supply system on the Continental Europe. However, due to extensive damage the port was not ready for use until mid October 1944.
The attack was carried out by the British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, aided by elements of Canadian forces and action from naval and aviation units. After a substantial softening up Royal Navy bombardment ships and heavy raids by the Royal Air Force the city fell within three days of the first infantry assault.
On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Allied troops landed at beaches in the Normandy area of the north coast of France in Operation Overlord to begin the liberation of France. Plans for the invasion required four ports on the French coast to be captured to allow Allied forces to be reinforced and supplied: Le Havre, Dieppe, Calais, and Dunkirk.
After crossing the river Seine British I Corps and II Canadian Corps, under First Canadian Army and forming the left flank of Montgomery's 21st Army Group, were tasked to fan out and capture respectively the ports of Le Havre and Dieppe and then clear the coastal belt as far as Bruges. Dieppe was evacuated by the Germans and occupied by the 2nd Canadian Division on 1 September 1944.
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