Royal Marines

In the grand design of Overlord, five Royal Marine Commando groups were organized into two Special Service battalions and detailed to clear German strongpoints along the 20 mile frontage of Gold, Juno and Sword. With the Canadians allotted a scant 30 minutes to silence the enemy along the beach, it …

1944-06-06

DASL27

AD09

In the grand design of Overlord, five Royal Marine Commando groups were organized into two Special Service battalions and detailed to clear German strongpoints along the 20 mile frontage of Gold, Juno and Sword. With the Canadians allotted a scant 30 minutes to silence the enemy along the beach, it was unsurprising when the Marines' landing craft came under heavy fire. But the bulk of the commandos succeeded in assembling on their start line at the eastern end of St. Aubin, from which they struck out for the nearby village of Langrune. Encountering only scattered resistance at first, the two troops -- X and B -- and two tanks of the Royal Marine Armoured Support Group made good progress. until they came up against the fortified core of the strongpoint with extensive fortifications, including a five-foot anti-tank ditch.

Langrune-Sur-Mer, France

The Commandos formed during the Second World War, following an order from the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in June 1940 for a force that could carry out raids against German occupied Europe. Churchill stated in a minute to General Ismay on 6 June 1940: "Enterprises must be prepared, with specially-trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down these coasts, first of all on the "butcher and bolt" policy..." Commandos were all volunteers for special service and originally came from the British Army but volunteers would eventually come from all branches of the United Kingdom's armed forces and foreign volunteers from countries occupied by the Germans. These volunteers formed over 30 individual units and four assault brigades. The commandos would serve in all the theatres of war from the Arctic Circle, to Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. Their operations ranged from small groups of men landing from the sea or by parachute to a brigade of assault troops spearheading the Allied invasions of Europe and Asia.

British

German

Scenario Type = Deluxe