"The only way you can win a war is to attack and keep on attacking, and after you have done that, keep attacking some more."
- General George S. Patton Jr., January 1945
During the last hours of June 5th, 1944, as part of Operation Tonga, transport aircraft and towed gliders carried units of the 6th Airborne to Normandy where they would land just prior to the D-Day landings that took place on the morning of June 6th. They were to land behind Sword Beach and secure the eastern flank. Some of the objectives included the seizure of Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge by D Company, 2nd Ox & Bucks (commanded by Major John Howard) and the destruction of the Merville Battery by Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway's 9 PARA, both of whom were some of the first units to land and achieve their objectives. The landings proved successful, though many units were scattered across much of Normandy. The area around Pegasus and Horsa were successfully defended until they were eventually relieved, having repulsed numerous counter-attacks by the Germans, later on June 6th by Lord Lovat's 1st Special Service Brigade, followed later by elements of the British 3rd Infantry Division.
From June through August, the Division successfully defended the area to the east of the Orne river. On August 2nd, 1944, the division became part of the First Allied Airborne Army. In mid-August the division took part in the advance towards the Seine and early in September it returned to Britain to recuperate and reorganise, having suffered over 4,000 casualties (killed, wounded, and missing). Now in stock!
Release Date: September 2005 |
