6th Airborne Division
Airborne troops landed in Normandy
prior to the D-Day landings in a combined parachute and glider assault,
to secure the Normandy beaches and help the seaborne invasion force as
it came ashore during the morning of June 6th.
Among their initial objectives,
the British airborne units were to destroy a German gun battery at
Merville that threatened the lives of seaborne troops, and protect the
left flank of the sea assault by seizing strategic points, which would
prevent the enemy from reaching the beaches. Critical among these
points were bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne, northeast of
the key city of Caen.
The British 6th Airborne Division
was tasked with the mission of securing the eastern flank of the
invasion area. Organized in 1943, the division was under the command of
General Richard Gale, and included glider and parachute troops from
many different regiments. The number six had been chosen to confuse the
enemy and fool them into believing that Britain already had five
airborne divisions, when in fact it had just two, the 1st and 6th.
Just past midnight on the morning
of D-Day, gliders containing Company D, 2nd Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, commanded by Major John Howard, landed
exactly on target near the bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne.
Within 10 minutes, and with the loss of only two men dead, the daring
attack placed both bridges in Allied hands. Howard's company became the
first attackers on French soil and the first unit to achieve its
objective on D-Day.
The silencing of the Merville
battery fell to Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway's 9th Battalion. The
9th, however, had a bad drop, and the attack began with only 150 men of
the 750-man force. The brave, but short-handed attack captured the
battery at a cost of half the attacking force. The defending Germans
paid a terrible price: only 22 men of the 200-man garrison were
uninjured.
The rest of the 6th Airborne
troopers continued to land throughout the night, although many were
scattered. Small parties found one another and managed to destroy five
bridges over the River Dives, which later hampered the Germans from
rushing forces westward.
By morning, as the invasion force
touched down on Sword Beach, the left flank of the area was secure. By
1300 hours, elements of the 1st Commando Brigade, under the command of
Lord Lovat linked up with Howard's glider troops at the bridges.
Despite heavy losses, the 6th Airborne Division was generally in place
on D-Day evening and had achieved its primary objectives.
For more information about the 6th Airborne Division:
6th
Airborne Re-enactor Homepage - A
great site with lots of information and history regarding the division.
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