Michael Taylor

6th Airborne Division ~ Red Devil

During the last hours of 5 June 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 6 June. They were to land behind Sword Beach and secure the eastern flank. Some of the objectives included the seizure of the Pegasus bridge over the Caen Canal and the Horsa bridge over the Orne River by D Company, 2nd Ox & Bucks. And also the destruction of the Merville Battery by 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 6 June by 1 Special Service Brigade, followed later by elements of the British 3rd Infantry Division.