The Coup de Main

During the night June 5-6 1944, units of the 6th (British) Airborne Division were dropped east of Caen, between the Orne and Dives rivers. Their objective was: to capture the bridges on the Orne river and the canal (later made …

1944-06-06

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During the night June 5-6 1944, units of the 6th (British) Airborne Division were dropped east of Caen, between the Orne and Dives rivers. Their objective was: to capture the bridges on the Orne river and the canal (later made famous as "Pegasus Bridge"). This was brilliantly accomplished by a "coup de main" party of Major Howard, who led his gliders and men next to the objective. On his side, Major Otway's battalion was tasked with the neutralization of the German artillery battery at Merville, which was threatening the landing beaches. Further south, other units were instructed to blow the bridges on the Dives river at Robehomme, Bures and Troarn to prevent the arrival of German reinforcements. The rest of the Division had to secure the area and flush it out of enemy troops, to build a solid defensive flank east of the bridgehead. Despite inaccurate air drops and many landings in swamps, most of the objectives were achieved by the early hours of June 6, when Lord Lovat's commandos reached Pegasus Bridge, decisively reinforcing the airborne bridgehead.

Merville, France

Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during World War II.

Wikipedia: Operation Tonga

German

British

Game Type: Breakthrough

Board Type: Beach

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