Operation Mallard
The 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.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.[6] 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 had done during the day.The commanders were informed by General Erich Marcks of LXXXVII Army Corps that:"if you don't succeed in throwing the British back into the sea, we shall have lost the war.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 211th Battery, 53rd (Worcester Yeomanry) Airlanding 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.[21] The 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who were the furthest away at LZW, crossed the Caen canal and River Orne bridges.Ordered to advance another 1 mile (1.6 km) to Sainte-Honorine, the battalion was caught in the open by German artillery and by mistake the guns of HMS Arethusa.[26] 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the division had reached Berville sur Mer, where it halted and remained until the beginning of September when it was withdrawn back to England.
Normandy landingsNormandyUnited KingdomGermanyRichard GaleHugh KindersleyWilhelm RichterEdgar Feuchtinger6th Airborne Division716th Infantry Division21st Panzer DivisionOperation OverlordAtlantic WallBodyguardFortitudeZeppelinTitanicTaxable, Glimmer & Big DrumCombined Bomber OffensivePointblankTransport PlanPostage AbleTarbrushFabiusCaen canal and Orne river bridgesMerville BatteryAmerican SectorAlbanyBostonChicagoDetroitElmiraPointe du HocGambitPort-en-BessinAmericanOperation ChastityBritishMulberryBrécourt ManorGraignesLa Haye-du-PuitsSaint-LôCarentanHill 30CherbourgBrévilleVillers-BocageLe Mesnil-PatryNormandy massacresArdenne AbbeyDouvresMartletWindsorCharnwoodJupiter2nd OdonAtlanticGoodwoodVerrières RidgeSpringBluecoatTotalizeHill 140LüttichTractableHill 262ChamboisFalaiseSaint-MaloMantes-GassicourtLa RochelleUshantLa CainePierres NoiresAudierne BayJedburghDingsonSamwestCooneyBulbasketHoundsworthLoytonKiplingDragoonWallace & HardyCemeteriesSecond World War1st Airborne DivisionBitingFreshmanNorth AfricaTurkey BuzzardLadbrokeFustianSlapstickArnhemDoomsdayMerville Gun BatteryVarsity2nd Parachute Brigadeairborne forcesBritish Armyglider infantry6th Airlanding BrigadeCaen canalRiver OrnePegasus BridgeHorsa BridgeOperation TongaNo. 38 Group RAFTetrarch tanksNormandy invasionRiver DivesRanvilletwo bridges were capturedOxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry5th Parachute Brigade3rd Parachute BrigadecompaniesplatoonsAnti-tank6 pounder gunsmortar3 inch mortarsVickers machine gun