12. Sword Beach
Sword Beach was one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during D Day.
The British 3rd Infantry Division was assigned to assault the 3 km long stretch of beaches.
The landings on Sword beach began at 7.25am, the infantry of 3rd Division came under heavy fire as they hit the beach.
However, many Sherman DD tanks had landed successfully and were able to lay down fire support.
The commandos were doing well, but encountering stiff resistance as they battled through the streets and bunkers at Ouistrehem.
Within 45 minutes, by 08.00am, the British had neutralized the defenses and fighting had been pushed inland.
British 1st Special Service Brigade have linked up with British 6th Airborne Division at Pegasus Bridge, who had landed earlier in the morning.
By late afternoon infantry and tanks from 3rd Division had also moved inwards to Caen canal.
The City of Caen was the main objective of the British 3rd Infantry Division .
However, the advance was latter met with heavily defended areas,
follow by the German armoured counterattack mounted by the 21st Panzer Division, which halted the advance towards Caen.
The 21st Panzer Division pushed all the way from near Caen towards the Sword Beach.
The British had constructed effective defences and the counter-attack was halted.
Despite this, one German company made it through the gaps in the defences and reached the coast at 2000 hrs.
Finding the coastal defences there intact, they set about reinforcing them.
By coincidence, 250 Gliders of the British 6th Airlanding Brigade, on their way to reinforce the inland bridgehead, flew over their positions.
Believing they would be cut off, the Germans abandoned their defence.
The day ended after 28,845 British troops having come ashore across Sword Beach.
British losses, in the Sword beach area, amounted to around 683 men.
The landings at Sword Beach are now secure, but the city of Caen had not been taken,
and would latter taken alots of precious time, manpower and materials for the Allies to capture it.
The fighting at Sword Beach was shown in the movie "The Longest Day".
[video=youtube;e5rOrWiCZRo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5rOrWiCZRo[/video]