Operation Mallard - Background

Background

Plans for the Normandy invasion included five assault landings from the sea, supported by airborne landings on both flanks by British and American airborne divisions. In what would be its first action, the 6th Airborne Division was chosen to land on the left flank of the British landing zone. Its primary objective on day one was to capture intact two bridges over the Caen canal and the River Orne. The division's secondary objective was the destruction of the Merville gun battery, which could engage ships landing nearby at Sword beach. 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.

The two bridges were captured during Operation Deadstick, a glider infantry assault by a reinforced company from the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. As part of Operation Tonga, the division's secondary objectives involved its two parachute brigades. The 5th Parachute Brigade provided a defence in depth for the captured bridges, deploying to the east and west of the canal and river. The 3rd Parachute Brigade destroyed the Merville gun battery along with the bridges crossing the Dives, then fell back to form a defensive line to the east of 5th Parachute Brigade.

The strength of the airborne division's third formation, the 6th Airlanding Brigade, almost equalled that of the two parachute brigades. The constant shortage of transport aircraft meant that the airlanding brigade could not be transported to Normandy at the same time as the rest of the division. Each of the brigade's three infantry battalions consisted of 806 men in four rifle companies, made up of four platoons along with a support company consisting of two Anti-tank platoons both armed with four 6 pounder guns, two mortar platoons each with six 3 inch mortars, and two Vickers machine gun platoons. 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 beach had done during the day. But if all had gone to plan they were to cross both waterways and expand the divisions position to the south.