Sword Beach
Part of World War II
British infantry waiting to move off 'Queen White' Beach, SWORD Area, while under enemy fire, on the morning of 6 June.
Date 6 June 1944 Location Ouistreham, Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Merville, in France Result British victory.
Combatants
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders
General-Lieutenant Miles Dempsey, British 3rd Infantry Division	Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Hans von Luck, German 21st Panzer Division
Strength
28,845	Unknown
Casualties
630	Unknown

German defense at Ouistreham. Picture was taken in August 2005.

Sword Beach was the codename of one of the five main landing beaches in Operation Neptune, the initial assault phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Image File history File links Infantry_waiting_to_move_off_Queen_White_Beach. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Ouistreham is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... Merville-Franceville-Plage is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Lieutenant-General Dempsey Lieutenant-General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey GBE KCB DSO MC (15th December 1896 - 5th June 1969) was commander of the British Second Army during the D-Day landings in World War II. After graduating from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1915 Dempsey joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment. ... The British 3rd Infantry Division was part of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk early in World War II. It was the first British division to land at Sword beach on D-Day. ... 716th Static Infantry Division 716th Volksgrenadier Division The 716th Static Infantry Division was raised in May 1941 for occupation duties in France. ... Hans von Luck (July 15, 1911 - 15 January 1997) was a Colonel in the German Army during the World War II. He was a close associate of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. ... 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... |image= |caption=Assault landing One of the first waves at Omaha Beach. ... This article is about the beach codenamed in WWII. For other uses, see Juno Beach (disambiguation) Combatants Canada Germany Commanders Major-General R.F.L. Keller, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Strength 15,000 7,771 Casualties 340 dead, 739 other casualties Unknown... Combatants United Kingdom Germany Commanders Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey, British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter, German 716th Static Infantry Division Generalleutnant Dietrich Kraiss, German 352nd Static Infantry Division Strength 24,970  ? Casualties 400 altogether Unknown This article is about a World War II invasion. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Omar Bradley Norman Cota Clarence R. Huebner U.S. 1st Infantry Division U.S. 29th Infantry Division Dietrich Kraiss German 352nd Infantry Division Strength 34,000  ? Casualties 3,000 1,200 The build-up of Omaha Beach: reinforcements of men and equipment moving inland. ... Combatants United States Germany Commanders Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... Pointe du Hocs location Preinvasion bombing of Pointe du Hoc by 9th Air Force bombers. ... Combatants U.S.A. Germany Commanders Richard Winters Colonel von der Heydte Strength 13 60+ Casualties 4 dead, 2 wounded 15 dead, 12 prisoner, wounded unknown The Brécourt Manor Assault during Operation Chicago of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of... During World War II, Operation Chicago was carried out by the Allies in 1944. ... The Battle of Villers-Bocage (June 13, 1944) was an unusual clash between the British and Germans in northern France during World War II. Michael Wittmann, an SS-Obersturmführer, led a unit of six PzKpfw VI Tiger tanks of the 501st Battalion to secure the N175 road near Villers... Combatants Allied Powers Germany Commanders J. Lawton Collins Friedrich Dollman Strength Unknown 40,000 Casualties 2,800 killed, 5,700 missing, 13,500 wounded 39,000 captured The Battle of Cherbourg was part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II, it was fought immediately after the successful Allied... Combatants Allied Powers Nazi Germany Commanders Lieutenant General Richard OConnor SS General Paul Hausser Strength 1 armoured division 3 infantry divisions 1 armoured brigade 2 SS Panzer Divisions 5 Panzer battlegroups Casualties British VIII Corps 4,020 12th SS Panzer Regiment 324 25th SS Panzer-Grenadier Regiment 383 26th... Operation Goodwood was an Allied military operation of World War II from July 18 to 20 July 1944 taking place in Normandy some weeks following D-Day. ... During World War II, Operation Atlantic (Allies, 1944) was a Canadian offensive, part of the British great breakout tentative (Operation Goodwood) during the Battle of Normandy, on June 19th. ... During World War II, Operation Spring (Allies, 1944) enabled to secure territory gains around Caen and its surroundings during the Battle of Normandy, after Operation Goodwood. ... Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army General Omar Bradley to break out from the Normandy area after the previous months D-Day landings. ... During World War II, Operation Bluecoat was an attack by British Second Army south of Caumont, France executed 29 July 1944. ... During World War II, Operation Lüttich was a counterattack launched by German forces on the left flank of the Allied lodgment at Normandy beginning on 7 August 1944. ... During World War II, Operation Totalise ( Allies, 1944) was a ground attack on 7 August 1944 by British, Canadian and Polish forces to breakout from the Normandy beachhead along the Caen-Falaise road. ... Operation Tractable was a military operation commanded by the 2nd Canadian Corps in Normandy in August 1944. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free French Forces Free Polish Forces Others Nazi Germany Commanders Bernard Montgomery Omar Bradley Günther von Kluge Walter Model Strength N/A 150,000 Casualties Canadian: 18,500 Polish: 2,300 U.S and British: N/A 10,000+ killed, 60,000 wounded... This article is about the Second World War battle for Brest. ... The Liberation of Paris in World War II took place in late August 1944 after the battle of Normandy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1288x966, 374 KB) Summary Ouistreham August 2005 Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Battle of Normandy Sword Beach Ouistreham Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1288x966, 374 KB) Summary Ouistreham August 2005 Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Battle of Normandy Sword Beach Ouistreham Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Stretching 8 km from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer it was the furthest east of the landing points and around 15 km from Caen. The landing site was divided into four zones - Oboe, Peter, Queen and Roger (west-east). The German defences in the area were, in comparison to other sites, light - there were beach obstacles, anti-tank ditches, mines, machineguns and mortars at the beaches and across the River Orne at Merville there were heavy guns. The defending troops belonged to the German 716th Static Infantry Division and could call on the support of the nearby 21st Panzer division. The landing forces were the British I Corps, comprising British 3rd Infantry Division and the 27th Armoured Brigade. Ouistreham is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... Caen is a commune of northwestern France. ... Orne is the name of two rivers in France: one in Normandy and one in Lorraine. ... Merville-Franceville-Plage is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... 716th Static Infantry Division 716th Volksgrenadier Division The 716th Static Infantry Division was raised in May 1941 for occupation duties in France. ... Created as 5th Light Division or 5th Light Afrika Division in Africa in early 1941, from an ad hoc collection of smaller units rushed to support the collapsing Italian army. ... Landing is a military operation aimed at a bringing the landing force (landing troops) to a shore or to land with the purpose of power projection ashore/landside by forces coming from ships/aircraft and able to fight. ... The British I Corps has a long history, and was in existence as an active formation in the British Army for longer than any other corps. ... The British 3rd Infantry Division was part of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk early in World War II. It was the first British division to land at Sword beach on D-Day. ... The 27th Armoured Brigade was a Second World War British Army formation. ...

The landing was concentrated in the Queen sector, on the beach of Hermanville-sur-Mer. The key objective was to quickly reach and capture the key town of Caen and the nearby Carpiquet aerodrome to the west. Landings began at 0725 when the 3rd Division landed in Peter and Queen. Attached Commando units were tasked with seizing the bridges on the Orne River and the Caen Canal, linking up with paratroops of the 6th Airborne Division who were holding the bridges and had earlier destroyed the batteries at Merville. Resistance on the beach was weak, within 45 minutes the fighting had been pushed inland and on the east flank the Commando units had reached the Orne and the paratroopers by midday. The British had been unable to link up with the Canadian forces to the west until much later in the day. The only significant German counter-attacks of the entire landing came from 1600 into this area. In two attacks the 21st Panzer Division pushed all the way from near Caen to the beach between Lion-sur-Mer and Luc-sur-Mer and were only fully neutralized by late evening. 54 German tanks were destroyed or disabled out of 98. Hermanville sur Mer is a commune of the département of Calvados, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ... Caen is a commune of northwestern France. ... Carpiquet is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse_Normandie région in France. ... In military science, the term commando can refer to an individual, a military unit or a raiding style of military operation. ... Luc sur Mer is a commune of the département of Calvados, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. ...

The day ended with 28,845 British troops ashore and only 630 casualties. However Caen had not been reached and in the face of stiffening resistance the assault had stalled 6 km short of the town. British forces had been bogged down on the beaches by the sheer volume of men and equipment being unloaded.

The beaches of D-Day are still known by their invasion codenames today.

Sources

Reynolds, Michael (2003). Eagles and Bulldogs in Normandy 1944. Casemate, Havertown, PA, USA, 230 pp. ISBN 1-86227-201-8.  A Casemate is a heavy duty structure originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress. ...

Famous names on the beach

• Lord Lovat led his Commando unit to Pegasus Bridge.

Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, DSO, MC (9 July 1911 - 16 March 1995) was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a legendary British Commando during the Second World War. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ...

External links

• http://www.dday.co.uk/page30.html
• Sword Beach United Kingdom Ministry of Defence website.
• D-Day : Etat des Lieux : Sword Beach

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. ...