General Sir Nigel Poett (J.H.N. Poett) was a British Army officer best known for commanding the 5th Parachute Brigade, British 6th Airborne Division during the Battle of Normandy. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne unit of the British Army during World War II. // The division was formed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1943, during the Second World War. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (US 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B...

Shortly before one o'clock on the morning of June 6, he and his brigade parachuted into France. They landed between the River Orne and River Dives, on the extreme eastern (left) flank of the invasion area. After subduing resistance in the area, the brigade took up positions to defend the two bridges of the Benouville-Ranville crossing against counter-attacks by German units from Caen, to the south. The lightly armed paratroopers held their position against fierce attacks by panzergrenadiers, mortars, machine-guns, self-propelled guns, and tanks of the German 21st Panzer Division. Later in the day, they were reinforced by glider-borne and sea-borne units. Despite heavy casualties, the 5th Parachute Brigade continued to fight on the eastern flank of the invasion area until German forces withdrew in late August, 1944. In military science a brigade is a military unit that is part of a division and includes regiments (where that level exists), or (in modern armies) is composed of several battalions (typically two to four) and directly attached supporting units. ... The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the Battles of El Alamenein (1942) and Normandy (1944) during World War II. Created as 5th Light Division or 5th Light Afrika Division in Africa in early 1941, from an ad hoc collection of smaller...

Poett was the son of a major-general in the Indian army. Before becoming a paratrooper, he was an officer in the Durham Light Infantry. At the end of his career he was Commander-in-Chief, Far East Land Forces, British Army. A group of native Indian muslim soldiers posing for volley firing orders. ... The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was formed in 1881 from the 68th Regiment of Foot which had originally been raised in County Durham by General John Lambton in 1758. ...

References