Formed in 1943 from Hitler Youth members born in 1926, the 12th SS Panzer Division 'Hitlerjugend' was one of the youngest divisions in the German order of battle. Despite the inexperience of its rank and file, it was stiffened by a cadre of combat-hardened veterans from the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.
The division arrived in Normandy shortly after D-Day and immediately launched aggressive counterattacks against Canadian forces near Caen. Its defence of the Caen sector throughout June and July 1944 was tenacious, and the division was directly responsible for the murder of Canadian prisoners of war at the Abbaye d'Ardenne — war crimes for which its commander, SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, was later tried and convicted.
By the time the division escaped the Falaise Pocket in August 1944 it had been reduced to a fraction of its original strength, having suffered catastrophic losses in men and equipment. Rebuilt during the autumn, it fought again in the Ardennes offensive and on the Eastern Front before surrendering in May 1945.