Assault on Normandy 6th Airborne

The Overlord plan called for the use of airborne troops to secure the flanks of the D Day landing and to form a buffer to keep the German counterattacks away thus allowing 3rd Division to advance from Sword Beach to seize Caen 6th Airborne Division was given this task It was later to be joined by Lord Lovats Commando BrigadeThese tasks included seizing Pegasus Bridge and Merville Battery by 9 Para whose guns were thought to dominate Sword BeachMeanwhile the remainder of the 3 and 5 Parachute Brigades were to secure key objectives In the event they were widely scattered and facing counterattack by 21st Panzer Division Despite this the men of 6th Airborne heroically achieved their mission