Operation Mallard
Encyclopedia
Operation Mallard was the codename for an airborne forces
operation which was conducted by the British Army
on 6 June 1944, as part of the Normandy landings.
The mission's objective was to airlift glider infantry
of the 6th Airlanding Brigade and divisional troops to reinforce the 6th Airborne Division on the left flank of the British invasion beaches. Using two landing zones, one to the west of the Caen canal and the other to the east of the River Orne, Mallard was the third airborne operation involving units of the division on D-Day. The first, Operation Deadstick
, had successfully captured what are now known as the Pegasus
and Horsa
bridges intact. Operation Tonga
followed, dropping the division's two parachute brigades near Caen
to the east.
Mallard proved successful with 246 of the 256 gliders towed by aircraft from No. 38
and No. 48 Groups of the Royal Air Force
, arriving safely at their designated landing zones. The landings included the first tanks to be delivered into combat by air.
, which could engage ships landing nearby at Sword beach
. To prevent German reinforcements approaching the invasion area from the east, 6th Airborne also had to destroy the bridges crossing the River Dives then dig in around Ranville and hold the left flank of the advance.
The two bridges were captured during Operation Deadstick
, a glider infantry
assault by a reinforced company from the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
. As part of Operation Tonga
, the division's secondary objectives involved its two parachute brigades. The 5th Parachute Brigade provided a defence in depth for the captured bridges, deploying to the east and west of the canal and river. The 3rd Parachute Brigade destroyed the Merville gun battery along with the bridges crossing the Dives, then fell back to form a defensive line to the east of 5th Parachute Brigade.
The strength of the airborne division's third formation, the 6th Airlanding Brigade, almost equalled that of the two parachute brigades. The constant shortage of transport aircraft meant that the airlanding brigade could not be transported to Normandy at the same time as the rest of the division. Each of the brigade's three infantry battalions consisted of 806 men in four rifle companies, made up of four platoon
s along with a support company consisting of two Anti-tank platoons both armed with four 6 pounder guns
, two mortar
platoons each with six 3 inch mortars
, and two Vickers machine gun
platoons. There was no fixed plan for troops arriving as part of Operation Mallard – all would depend on how well the preceding units of the 6th Airborne Division and those landing at Sword beach had done during the day. But if all had gone to plan they were to cross both waterways and expand the divisions position to the south.
gliders, each piloted by two men from the Glider Pilot Regiment
. With a wingspan of 88 feet (26.8 m) and a length of 67 feet (20.4 m), the Horsa had a maximum load capacity of 15750 pounds (7,144.1 kg) as well as space for two pilots, a maximum of twenty-eight troops or two jeeps
, one jeep and an artillery gun or one jeep with a trailer. The division's heavier equipment was carried in thirty General Aircraft Hamilcar
gliders. Twenty of these would carry Tetrarch light tanks and their crews belonging to 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, four more carried three Rota trailers carrying fuel supplies without crews, another three transported, Universal Carrier
s with their crews. The last three carried two Universal Carriers converted to accommodate a 3-inch mortar, one Universal Carrier equipped with a slave battery
, sixteen motorcycles and a jeep.
. Poorly equipped with a mixture of foreign weapons, the unit was manned by conscripts from Poland, Russia and France under a German officer and senior Non commissioned officers.
A second division, the 21st Panzer, moved into the area in May 1944 with its battalions positioned at Vimont just east of Caen, and at Cairon
to the west of the Caen canal bridge. The 21st Panzer Division was a new formation based on the former Africa Korps unit destroyed in North Africa. Although equipped with an assortment of older tanks and other armoured vehicles, the division's officers were veterans and 2,000 men from the old division filled its ranks. Further afield were the 12th SS Panzer Division at Lisieux
and the Panzer Lehr Division at Chartres
, both less than a day's march from the area.
of LXXXVII Army Corps that:
es. Here they linked up with the 736th Infantry Regiment, which had been defending Lion sur Mer. The German units gathered their strength on the beaches and waited for further orders from divisional commander Generalmajor Edgar Feuchtinger
.
Back in England, 256 Operation Mallard gliders carrying the remaining men and equipment of the 6th Airborne Division took off. Fifteen squadrons
of fighter aircraft
were deployed by the RAF to escort the gliders and towing aircraft. The force crossed the English channel
unhindered, and arrived in Normandy at 21:00. As it was still daylight, previous navigation problems that had affected the earlier operations were absent. As the gliders approached the two landing areas they met with anti-aircraft fire from German defenders on the ground.
The gliders headed for two landing areas, Landing Zone 'W' (LZW) to the east of Saint-Aubin-d'Arquenay
and Landing Zone 'N' (LZN) to the north of Ranville. The remaining troops of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and 'A' Company, 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment landed at LZW. Given the limited availability of aircraft, even two lifts did not provide capacity to transport all of the Devonshire battalion, the rest of whom arrived by sea on 7 June. The 6th Airlanding Brigade headquarters, 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles
and the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment landed at LZN, the latter equipped with the Tetrarch light tank – the first time that any tank had been flown into battle by air. Watching the arriving gliders, Major-General Richard Gale later wrote:
German reaction to the second airborne landings involved mortar barrages and small arms
fire, but casualties were negligible. Generalmajor Feuchtinger of 21st Panzer Division watched the gliders descending and, believing the arriving force would threaten his lines of communication, ordered those elements of the division that had reached the beaches to withdraw to the north of Caen. The gliders' arrival had inadvertently stopped the only German armoured attack on D-Day.
Moving off LZN the 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles headed south to capture the villages of Longueval
and Sainte Honorine
. The 211th Battery, 53rd Light Regiment Royal Artillery
then arrived at LZN equipped with eight 75 mm Pack Howitzers
and were engaging German targets less than thirty minutes after landing. The 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who were the furthest away at LZW, crossed the Caen canal and River Orne bridges. These had been captured twenty-one hours earlier by their own 'D' Company who were now headed towards Herouvillette
and Escoville. By midnight, the 6th Airborne Division was the only Allied formation to have seized all of its D-Day objectives.
By 11:00 on 7 June, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry had occupied Escoville 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south of Ranville. The 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles, occupied Longueval 2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of the Bas de Ranville unopposed. Ordered to advance another 1 miles (1.6 km) to Sainte-Honorine, the battalion was caught in the open by German artillery and by mistake the guns of HMS Arethusa
. While unable to proceed, the battalion remained in control of Longueval. The 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment arrived in the evening of 7 June and took over defence of the Bas de Ranville.
D-Day had cost the 6th Airborne Division 821 dead, 2,709 wounded and 927 missing. The division remained holding the Orne bridgehead, only taking part in patrols and small scale local attacks until the 17 August when it crossed the River Dives. By 27 August, the division had reached Berville sur Mer, where it halted and remained until the beginning of September when it was withdrawn back to England.
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
operation which was conducted by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
on 6 June 1944, as part of the Normandy landings.
The mission's objective was to airlift glider infantry
Glider infantry
Glider infantry was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy controlled territory via military glider rather than parachute...
of the 6th Airlanding Brigade and divisional troops to reinforce the 6th Airborne Division on the left flank of the British invasion beaches. Using two landing zones, one to the west of the Caen canal and the other to the east of the River Orne, Mallard was the third airborne operation involving units of the division on D-Day. The first, Operation Deadstick
Operation Deadstick
Operation Deadstick was the codename for an airborne forces operation by the British Army that took place on 6 June 1944 as part of the Normandy landings. The mission's objective was to capture intact two road bridges in Normandy across the River Orne and the Caen Canal providing the only exit...
, had successfully captured what are now known as the Pegasus
Pegasus Bridge
Pegasus Bridge is a bascule bridge , built in 1934, that crossed the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham, in Normandy, France....
and Horsa
Horsa Bridge
Horsa Bridge, also known as Ranville bridge, over the Orne River, was, with Pegasus Bridge, captured during Operation Deadstick by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in a coup de main operation in the opening minutes of D Day, 6 June 1944, before the main...
bridges intact. Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the Normandy Landings during the Second World War....
followed, dropping the division's two parachute brigades near Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
to the east.
Mallard proved successful with 246 of the 256 gliders towed by aircraft from No. 38
No. 38 Group RAF
No 38 Group RAF was formed on 6 November 1943 from nine squadrons as part of Fighter Command. It was finally disbanded on 1 April 2000.-History:...
and No. 48 Groups of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, arriving safely at their designated landing zones. The landings included the first tanks to be delivered into combat by air.
Background
Plans for the Normandy invasion included five assault landings from the sea, supported by airborne landings on both flanks by British and American airborne divisions. In what would be its first action, the 6th Airborne Division was chosen to land on the left flank of the British landing zone. Its primary objective on day one was to capture intact two bridges over the Caen canal and the River Orne. The division's secondary objective was the destruction of the Merville gun batteryMerville Gun Battery
The Merville Gun Battery was a coastal fortification in Normandy, France, in use as part of the Nazis' Atlantic Wall built to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion...
, which could engage ships landing nearby at Sword beach
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord; the Allied invasion of German-occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944...
. To prevent German reinforcements approaching the invasion area from the east, 6th Airborne also had to destroy the bridges crossing the River Dives then dig in around Ranville and hold the left flank of the advance.
The two bridges were captured during Operation Deadstick
Operation Deadstick
Operation Deadstick was the codename for an airborne forces operation by the British Army that took place on 6 June 1944 as part of the Normandy landings. The mission's objective was to capture intact two road bridges in Normandy across the River Orne and the Caen Canal providing the only exit...
, a glider infantry
Glider infantry
Glider infantry was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy controlled territory via military glider rather than parachute...
assault by a reinforced company from the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
. As part of Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the Normandy Landings during the Second World War....
, the division's secondary objectives involved its two parachute brigades. The 5th Parachute Brigade provided a defence in depth for the captured bridges, deploying to the east and west of the canal and river. The 3rd Parachute Brigade destroyed the Merville gun battery along with the bridges crossing the Dives, then fell back to form a defensive line to the east of 5th Parachute Brigade.
The strength of the airborne division's third formation, the 6th Airlanding Brigade, almost equalled that of the two parachute brigades. The constant shortage of transport aircraft meant that the airlanding brigade could not be transported to Normandy at the same time as the rest of the division. Each of the brigade's three infantry battalions consisted of 806 men in four rifle companies, made up of four platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
s along with a support company consisting of two Anti-tank platoons both armed with four 6 pounder guns
Ordnance QF 6 pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, or just 6 pounder, was a British 57 mm gun, their primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II, as well as the main armament for a number of armoured fighting vehicles...
, two mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
platoons each with six 3 inch mortars
Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar
The Ordnance ML 3-inch mortar was the United Kingdom's standard mortar used by the British Army from the late 1920s to the late 1960s, superseding the Stokes Mortar.-History:...
, and two Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
platoons. There was no fixed plan for troops arriving as part of Operation Mallard – all would depend on how well the preceding units of the 6th Airborne Division and those landing at Sword beach had done during the day. But if all had gone to plan they were to cross both waterways and expand the divisions position to the south.
Gliders
Planes returning from the first missions were refuelled and repaired where required and made ready to tow the gliders that evening. The airlift included 226 Airspeed HorsaAirspeed Horsa
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British World War II troop-carrying glider built by Airspeed Limited and subcontractors and used for air assault by British and Allied armed forces...
gliders, each piloted by two men from the Glider Pilot Regiment
Glider Pilot Regiment
The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European Theatre of World War II in support of Allied airborne operations...
. With a wingspan of 88 feet (26.8 m) and a length of 67 feet (20.4 m), the Horsa had a maximum load capacity of 15750 pounds (7,144.1 kg) as well as space for two pilots, a maximum of twenty-eight troops or two jeeps
Willys MB
The Willys MB US Army Jeep and the Ford GPW, were manufactured from 1941 to 1945. These small four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the iconic World War II Jeep, and inspired many similar light utility vehicles. Over the years, the World War II Jeep later evolved into the "CJ" civilian...
, one jeep and an artillery gun or one jeep with a trailer. The division's heavier equipment was carried in thirty General Aircraft Hamilcar
General Aircraft Hamilcar
The General Aircraft Limited GAL. 49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mark I was a large British military glider produced during the Second World War, which was designed to carry heavy cargo, such as the Tetrarch or M22 Locust light tank...
gliders. Twenty of these would carry Tetrarch light tanks and their crews belonging to 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, four more carried three Rota trailers carrying fuel supplies without crews, another three transported, Universal Carrier
Universal Carrier
The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong. Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War...
s with their crews. The last three carried two Universal Carriers converted to accommodate a 3-inch mortar, one Universal Carrier equipped with a slave battery
Jump start (vehicle)
A jump start, also called a boost, is a method of starting an automobile or other vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine when the vehicle's battery has been discharged. A second battery is temporarily connected to provide starting power to the disabled vehicle...
, sixteen motorcycles and a jeep.
German forces
The coastal area was guarded by the 716th Infantry Division. comprising eight infantry battalions deployed to defend 21 miles (33.8 km) of the Atlantic wallAtlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
. Poorly equipped with a mixture of foreign weapons, the unit was manned by conscripts from Poland, Russia and France under a German officer and senior Non commissioned officers.
A second division, the 21st Panzer, moved into the area in May 1944 with its battalions positioned at Vimont just east of Caen, and at Cairon
Cairon
Cairon is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:...
to the west of the Caen canal bridge. The 21st Panzer Division was a new formation based on the former Africa Korps unit destroyed in North Africa. Although equipped with an assortment of older tanks and other armoured vehicles, the division's officers were veterans and 2,000 men from the old division filled its ranks. Further afield were the 12th SS Panzer Division at Lisieux
Lisieux
Lisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...
and the Panzer Lehr Division at Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
, both less than a day's march from the area.
Mallard
In response to the initial airborne and naval landings, just after noon on 6 June, 21st Panzer Division received permission to attack. The commanders were informed by General Erich MarcksErich Marcks
Erich Marcks was a German general of artillery in World War II.-Biography:Born in Schöneberg, Marcks was the son of the German historian Erich Marcks. He began advanced studies in philosophy in Freiburg in 1909. He broke off his studies after only three semesters and became a career officer of...
of LXXXVII Army Corps that:
"if you don't succeed in throwing the British back into the sea, we shall have lost the war."East of the River Orne, the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment headed towards the captured bridges. The column was quickly spotted and engaged for the next two hours by Allied artillery and aircraft causing heavy losses. At 16:00, to the west of the Caen canal, 1st Battalion, 192nd Panzergrenadier Regiment and the 100th Panzer Regiment successfully reached the coast between the British Sword and the Canadian Juno Beach
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The sector spanned from Saint-Aubin, a village just east of the British Gold sector, to Courseulles, just west of the British Sword sector...
es. Here they linked up with the 736th Infantry Regiment, which had been defending Lion sur Mer. The German units gathered their strength on the beaches and waited for further orders from divisional commander Generalmajor Edgar Feuchtinger
Edgar Feuchtinger
Edgar Feuchtinger was a German General during the Second World War.-Biography:Born in Metz , Feuchtinger joined a cadet school in Karlsruhe in 1907. During the First World War, he fought as lieutenant in Russia and France...
.
Back in England, 256 Operation Mallard gliders carrying the remaining men and equipment of the 6th Airborne Division took off. Fifteen squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
of fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
were deployed by the RAF to escort the gliders and towing aircraft. The force crossed the English channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
unhindered, and arrived in Normandy at 21:00. As it was still daylight, previous navigation problems that had affected the earlier operations were absent. As the gliders approached the two landing areas they met with anti-aircraft fire from German defenders on the ground.
The gliders headed for two landing areas, Landing Zone 'W' (LZW) to the east of Saint-Aubin-d'Arquenay
Saint-Aubin-d'Arquenay
Saint-Aubin-d'Arquenay is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
and Landing Zone 'N' (LZN) to the north of Ranville. The remaining troops of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and 'A' Company, 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment landed at LZW. Given the limited availability of aircraft, even two lifts did not provide capacity to transport all of the Devonshire battalion, the rest of whom arrived by sea on 7 June. The 6th Airlanding Brigade headquarters, 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles
Royal Ulster Rifles
The Royal Ulster Rifles was a British Army infantry regiment. It saw service in the Second Boer War, Great War, the Second World War and the Korean War, before being amalgamated into the Royal Irish Rangers in 1968.-History:...
and the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment landed at LZN, the latter equipped with the Tetrarch light tank – the first time that any tank had been flown into battle by air. Watching the arriving gliders, Major-General Richard Gale later wrote:
"It is impossible to say with what relief we watched this reinforcement arrive."
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
fire, but casualties were negligible. Generalmajor Feuchtinger of 21st Panzer Division watched the gliders descending and, believing the arriving force would threaten his lines of communication, ordered those elements of the division that had reached the beaches to withdraw to the north of Caen. The gliders' arrival had inadvertently stopped the only German armoured attack on D-Day.
Moving off LZN the 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles headed south to capture the villages of Longueval
Longueval
Longueval is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Longueval is located 24 miles northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8....
and Sainte Honorine
Sainte-Honorine-du-Fay
Sainte-Honorine-du-Fay is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
. The 211th Battery, 53rd Light Regiment Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
then arrived at LZN equipped with eight 75 mm Pack Howitzers
M116 howitzer
The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was designed in the United States in 1920s to meet a need for an artillery piece that could be moved across difficult terrain. The gun and carriage was designed so that it could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals...
and were engaging German targets less than thirty minutes after landing. The 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who were the furthest away at LZW, crossed the Caen canal and River Orne bridges. These had been captured twenty-one hours earlier by their own 'D' Company who were now headed towards Herouvillette
Hérouvillette
-References:*...
and Escoville. By midnight, the 6th Airborne Division was the only Allied formation to have seized all of its D-Day objectives.
Aftermath
Reinforcement by the 6th Airlanding Brigade strengthened the 6th Airborne Division's weak position. Most of the parachute battalions, because of their scattered parachute drops, were well under strength.By 11:00 on 7 June, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry had occupied Escoville 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south of Ranville. The 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles, occupied Longueval 2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of the Bas de Ranville unopposed. Ordered to advance another 1 miles (1.6 km) to Sainte-Honorine, the battalion was caught in the open by German artillery and by mistake the guns of HMS Arethusa
HMS Arethusa (26)
HMS Arethusa was the name ship of her class of light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. She was built by Chatham Dockyard , with the keel being laid down on 25 January 1933...
. While unable to proceed, the battalion remained in control of Longueval. The 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment arrived in the evening of 7 June and took over defence of the Bas de Ranville.
D-Day had cost the 6th Airborne Division 821 dead, 2,709 wounded and 927 missing. The division remained holding the Orne bridgehead, only taking part in patrols and small scale local attacks until the 17 August when it crossed the River Dives. By 27 August, the division had reached Berville sur Mer, where it halted and remained until the beginning of September when it was withdrawn back to England.