Sword Beach

Sword Beach. Liberation Pointe. , The British 3rd Infantry Division and French Marines were assigned to Sword Beach, the easternmost beach. Their objective was to secure the beach, while linking with Gold in the west and the 6th British Airborne Division in the east. Sword was divided into four sectors: "Oboe," "Peter," "Queen," and "Roger.", Paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines to secure the eastern flank. They secured bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne, and destroyed bridges over the River Dives to prevent Nazi reinforcement. By the end of the day, the 3rd Infantry Division landed some 28,845 men, while sustaining 630 casualties. They secured the beach and moved inland, but failed to secure Caen.,

Sword Combatant Forces , Allied Units. 3rd Infantry Division . 27th Independent Armoured Brigade . 1st Special Service Brigade (contained Free French Commandos) . No. 41 Royal Marine Commando . 79th Armoured Division, Axis Units. 716th Infantry Division . 21st Panzer Division, "We were all so seasick. I didn't care whether I got shot or not. I just wanted to get off that landing craft and get my feet on the ground. The Navy boys brought us as close to the beach as they could and then we waded to shore with water up to our armpits." , Robert Coupe, 5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, British 3rd Infantry Division

, Robert Coupe, 18, , British 3rd Infantry Division , Robert Coupe landed on Sword Beach with the British 3rd Infantry Division. His memoirs reveal, "one hundred of us set off, but only eighteen of us arrived," on his trek from Sword to Caen, with German resistance from the 1st and 12th Panzer Divisions. Coupe's unit would eventually be one of the first to reach Caen, one of D-Day's key objectives., Philippe Kieffer , Free French 1st Battalion, Fusilier , Marine Commando Battalion , Philippe Kieffer made his way to England during the German occupation of France. Leading other Free French Commandos onto Sword Beach during the invasion, he fought valiantly and sustained wounds. Instead of withdrawing to receive medical attention, he fought with his other commandos for two days, until they could rest and let other units come in., Ivor Andersen, 20, , 591 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers , Andersen began his military career as an apprentice with the Royal Engineers in 1938 at age 14. On June 5, 1944, Andersen was dropped overnight with his squadron to deter Germans from reinforcing Sword Beach and to protect the glider landing area from Nazi attacks. The airborne forces held until reinforcements arrived., The mad Piper of Sword Beach. Simon Fraser, 15th Chief of the Frasers from Lovat, known as Lord Lovat, commanded 1st Special Services Brigade, one of the first units on Sword Beach. Bill Millin, Lovat's personal bagpiper, played his pipes on the beach during the invasion. He was the only bagpiper on any of the Normandy beaches. The Germans did not shoot him because they thought he was insane., [Caption:] , The greatest invasion in history relied on an intricate multipart attack. A prolonged aerial bombardment in the weeks leading up to D-day was followed by further air attacks on German positions in the early hours of June 6. Beginning around 0500 hours, Navy guns again hammered the Germans; the amphibious landings followed. In addition, some 24,000 men made airborne landings in Normandy, either by parachuting or landing in gliders.