After years of training under Thomas's command, the 43rd Division landed in Normandy in mid-June 1944, but was not immediately involved in any major engagements. However, casualties had already been sustained, by the 43rd (Wessex) Reconnaissance Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Lane Fox−who "Von Thoma" later sacked−which suffered severe losses before it even landed in Normandy. On 24 June, the 43rd Division was reassigned from Ritchie's XII Corps to Lieutenant General Sir Richard O'Connor's VIII Corps and, days later, took part in Operation Epsom, in an attempt to capture Caen, which, although a D-Day objective for the 3rd Division, still remained in enemy hands. The division only played a relatively minor role in the operation but played a major role in Operation Jupiter, the British attempt to capture Hill 112. The operation, which commenced on 10 July and ended the following day, was ultimately a British victory, but cost Thomas's division, along with the armoured support in the shape of Brigadier Michael Carver's 4th Armoured Brigade, almost 2,000 casualties. Carver later described Thomas as "a small, fiery, very determined and grim gunner, without a spark of humour, he would bite the head off anyone who attempted to disagree with him or question his orders".