Sword+Beach

Sword Beach was the code name given to one of the five main landings areas along the Normandy coast during the assault stage on D-Day (June 6, 1944). The beach was the easternmost landing of the assault and the closest to the city of Caen. The attack happened because they wanted to free France from Germany and start the assault of Berlin, the capital of Germany.

The assault started at 0300 with an aerial and naval bomb strike on German coastal defenses and artillery sites. At 0725, the first units headed off to the beach. They were amphibious DD tanks of the 13th/18th Hussars, who were followed closely by 8th Infantry Brigade and by Royal Engineers in AVRE. They cleared mines and obstacles under a steady hail of small arm five and artillery fire from Periers Ridge, south of Hermanville. By 0930, the engineers have cleared 7 of 8 exits from the beach, allowing the inland advance to begin. By 1300 the 1st special service brigade had reached the bridges on the River Orne and the Caen Canal, meeting with paratroopers. Then, a Panzer division counterattacked and defeated the Germans off of Sword beach.

By the end of D-Day, 28,845 men had come ashore Sword Beach. Britain lost approximately 680 men at the beach.