France
The D-Day Battlefields
British Airborne Operations - Ranville
During the early hours of Tuesday 6 June 1944, seven parachute battalions of Major General Richard `Windy` Gale`s division were dropped between the River Orne and the River Dives to the east. Once they had received confirmation that Howard`s company had secured the Benouville and Ranville bridges northeast of Caen, 3rd Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers would blow the Dives crossings to prevent a flank attack on the invasion force that would soon be moving inland from SWORD Beach.
The 8th Battalion were then ordered to take up defensive positions to the southeast, in and around the Bois de Bavent to await the inevitable attack from the south. In the above view General gale addresses the men involved prior to the mission. Many of these Airborne troops, however, like their comrades tasked with knocking out the guns of the Merville Battery, and their American counterparts at the opposite end of the beaches, landed wide of their intended drop zones and lost a large amount of kit. Also, many of the Brits` Bren guns and PIAT anti-tank weapons were damaged on impact.
This replica Horsa glider is on display within the grounds of the Pegasus Memorial. The full-scale model was unveiled by HRH Prince Charles in 2004, fittingly on 5 June. There’s usually no access although visitors can duck their heads into the fuselage which contains a life-size uniformed paratrooper.
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Troops of 6th Airlanding Brigade smile from the door of their Horsa on an RAF airfield as they prepare to fly out as part of 6th Airborne Division's second lift on the evening of 6 June 1944. During the early hours of D-Day, men had landed to clear the designated landing zones of obstacles before the main waves arrived.
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Above left: An oblique aerial photograph of part of 6th Airborne Division's Drop Zone 'N' between Ranville and Amfreville, east of the Orne River, 6 June 1944. Airspeed Horsa gliders can be seen, many with their fuselages separated for ease of unloading. The villages of Amfreville and Breville can be seen at the top left of the photograph. In the close-up, discarded parachutes can be made out.
A Corporal examines one of the many crashed gliders near Ranville.
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Above: Displays within the Pegasus Memorial museum include the control stick and instruments from a Hamilcar heavy glider and an upper part of the rudder from a Horsa which was recovered by a local resident in June 1944. The section is circled in the photo directly below the item.
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Above: Horsa gliders of 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division, on Drop Zone 'N' near Ranville, on the evening of D-Day. The other image shows the same area on 15 June 1944. Below right: Hamilcar gliders of 6th Airlanding Brigade arrive at DZ 'N' near Ranville on the evening of 6 June 1944, bringing with them the Tetrarch tanks of 6th Airborne Division's armoured reconnaissance regiment.
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The air-portable Tetrarchs were intended to be a valuable asset but of the twenty tanks that took off for Normandy, one slipped free of its restraints and caused its glider to crash, two tanks collided on the ground, and another was hit by a landing Hamilcar glider. Eleven of the Tetrarchs also became entangled in the discarded parachutes, which took considerable time for them to be freed. This meant that the tanks were unable to fully contribute to the defence of the perimeter until the next day. The Tetrarch pictured above is on display at The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorest.
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The following day, the Tetrarchs were ordered to move to Bois de Bavent, and reconnoitre the route between Troarn and Caen. After linking up with the 8th Parachute Battalion in Bois de Bavent, they scouted ahead to Escoville, where they engaged enemy infantry and gun emplacements.
Unable to compete with the heavier and better-armed German panzers, the Tetrarchs were used as a rapid reaction force, on hand to support infantry assaulting less formidable strongpoints and machine-gun nests. After August the British airborne tanks were relegated to HQ roles before being withdrawn from mainland Europe in early September 1944. Normandy was the final time that the Tetrarchs were used in combat. Right: Glider pilots in a trailer being pulled by a jeep. In the jeep itself are L-R Driver Hiram Clough, Lance Corporal Joe Wilkenson and Driver Kenneth Brierley (seated at the back) of 716 Company RASC, 6th Airborne Division. 6th of June 1944. |
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Tasked with blowing the Dives crossings at Bures and Troarn to prevent a flank attack on the forces soon to be moving inland from SWORD Beach was Major `Tim` John Couch Adams Roseveare of 8th Battalion, who was a civil engineer before the war. Although he had been erroneously landed at Ranville rather than the drop zone closer to his intended targets, by 02:30 hrs Roseveare had gathered forty-seven of his men and a party from the 8th Battalion. He had no transport but arrived with two trailers loaded with 45 General Wade demolition charges and 500lb of plastic explosive.
The `convoy` set off on foot, taking turns at hauling the trailers and were fortunate not to encounter any Germans who would by now have been well aware that a major attack was underway. At 04:00 hrs, the group came across more men from the 8th Battalion, along with a Jeep laden with medical supplies which was bound for a nearby dressing station. As the destruction of the bridges had priority, the Jeep was commandeered and the supplies unloaded. A trailer packed full of explosives was hitched and Roseveare set off for Troarn with seven sappers on board, Bren and Sten guns at the ready. Having negotiated a couple of improvised roadblocks en route, the Jeep finally reached the outskirts of the town. It was clear that the garrison was on alert but the only route to the river lay directly down the main street. The driver put the foot down and with the vehicle careening from side and the heavy trailer in danger of toppling, the troops engaged the Germans who emerged firing from numerous doorways and windows. As the Jeep accelerated downhill to exit the far side, one of the men in the trailer, Sapper Peachey, had been thrown out and taken prisoner. |
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On reaching the river, some of the troops positioned themselves to deal with any pursuit, while the sappers blew the first of the bridges. A gap of nearly twenty feet was created in the central span but a few hours later, unaware that the bridge had already been demolished, Captain Juckes of No.2 Troop arrived and laid further charges to widen the gap.
Roseveare realised that partially retracing the outward route towards Troarn wasn`t an option so his band abandoned the Jeep and set off cross-country towards Bures. Believing there to be more Germans there Roseveare opted to `call it a day` and head for Squadron Headquarters. Having swam several streams and using the cover of the Bois de Bavent woodland, the party arrived safely at 13:00. Major Roseveare was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts. The 8th Battalion then took up defensive positions to the southeast, in and around the Bois de Bavent to await the inevitable attack from the south. The painting of Roseveare`s `mad dash` through Troarn is on display at the Pegasus Memorial.
Roseveare realised that partially retracing the outward route towards Troarn wasn`t an option so his band abandoned the Jeep and set off cross-country towards Bures. Believing there to be more Germans there Roseveare opted to `call it a day` and head for Squadron Headquarters. Having swam several streams and using the cover of the Bois de Bavent woodland, the party arrived safely at 13:00. Major Roseveare was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts. The 8th Battalion then took up defensive positions to the southeast, in and around the Bois de Bavent to await the inevitable attack from the south. The painting of Roseveare`s `mad dash` through Troarn is on display at the Pegasus Memorial.
Birds and animals also played an important but often overlooked role in proceedings and there are displays at the Pegasus Memorial and the Merville Battery on the dogs and pigeons that contributed to the success of the Paras` missions. The birds would be released to fly back to the UK as confirmation that a particular objective had been achieved as radio broadcasts could be monitored by the enemy, plus log-range transmissions sometimes proved unreliable. At least two of the Para`s pigeons were awarded the Dicken Medal, often referred to as the `Animal Victoria Cross`, for their efforts on D-Day.
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Emile Servais Corteil and his `Para Dog` Glen. Para dogs, trained to jump alongside the men, were used by 6th Airborne in Normandy. After landing, the dogs undertook guard and patrol duty, as well as mine detecting. Emile Corteil, serving with A Coy, 9th (Essex) Parachute Battalion, and his dog landed safely on 6 June, but were killed together later on D-Day by an Allied aerial bombardment. Unfortunately, there were many instances of friendly-fire in Normandy, even between Allied units on the ground.
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Corteil, who was just 19 when he died, and Glen lie buried together in Ranville CWGC Cemetery. The inscription at the bottom of the headstone reads`Had you known our Boy you would have loved him too. `Glen` his paratroop dog was killed with him.` The above photo shows 'Bobs', a Labrador serving with No.1 Dog Platoon, 277th Corps Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, indicating a buried mine at Bayeux, 5 July 1944.
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Above left: Glider troops of 6th Airborne Division beside their Horsa, which crashed through a stone wall on landing near La Haute Ecarde on the western end of DZ ‘N’ between Ranville and Sallenelles, 6th June 1944. On the right, members of 12th Parachute Battalion, 5th Parachute Brigade, enjoy a cup of tea after fighting their way back to their own lines near Ranville after three days behind enemy lines, 10 June 1944.
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Major-General R. N. `Windy` Gale, GOC 6th Airborne Division, at his headquarters in Ranville, 10/11 June 1944. The other photo shows a lorry from the British Army`s 3rd Division crossing the Orne River bridge ('Horsa Bridge') between Ranville and Benouville on 8 June 1944. The bridge was captured by 6th Airborne Division in the early hours of D-Day. View from the east.
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Above Left: Men of No. 3 Commando, 1st Special Service Brigade, dig in beside a Horsa glider near La Haute Ecarde, on the western end of DZ ‘N’ between Ranville and Sallenelles, after the link-up with 6th Airborne, 6 June 1944. On the right, Commandos of 1st Special Service Brigade with captured Germans in a jeep, with gliders of 6th Airlanding Brigade in the background, near Ranville, on the evening of D-Day.
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Above left: 'Balaclava', a Sherman tank from Regimental HQ of 13th/18th Royal Hussars shooting up German troops using crashed Horsa gliders as cover during a counter-attack near Ranville, 10 June 1944.
The other image shows officers of the 51st (Highland) Division south of Ranville, planning their next move as the slow, bitter push towards Caen continues. Right: Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General Sir Bernard Montgomery crossing the ‘Winston’ Bridge over the River Orne on 22 July 1944. |
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