Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of

German-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied z ...

in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Gold, the central of the five areas, was located between Port-en-Bessin on the west and the

Lieu-dit ''Lieu-dit'' (; plural: ''lieux-dits'') (literally ''said-location'') is a French toponymic term for a small geographical area bearing a traditional name. The name usually refers to some characteristic of the place, its former use, a past event, ...

La Rivière in Ver-sur-Mer on the east. High cliffs at the western end of the zone meant that the landings took place on the flat section between Le Hamel and La Rivière, in the sectors code-named Jig and King. Taking Gold was to be the responsibility of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

as well as elements from the Dutch, Polish and other Allied navies. The objectives at Gold were to secure a

beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. The ...

, move west to capture Arromanches and establish contact with the American forces at Omaha, capture Bayeux and the small port at Port-en-Bessin, and to link up with the

Canadian forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

at Juno to the east. Forces attacking Gold faced elements of the German 352nd Infantry Division and German 716th Infantry Division. About 2,000 men were stationed in the immediate area. Improvements to fortifications along the Normandy coast had been undertaken under the leadership of '' Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel beginning in October 1943. On D-Day at Gold, naval bombardment got underway at 05:30, and amphibious landings commenced at 07:25. High winds made conditions difficult for the landing craft, and the amphibious DD tanks were released close to shore or directly on the beach instead of further out as planned. Three of the four guns in a large emplacement at the

Longues-sur-Mer battery The Longues-sur-Mer battery (in German: ''Marineküstenbatterie (MKB) Longues-sur-Mer'') was a World War II German artillery battery constructed near the French village of Longues-sur-Mer in Normandy. The battery was sited on a cliff overlooki ...

were disabled by direct hits from the cruisers ' and ' at 06:20. The fourth gun resumed firing intermittently in the afternoon, and its garrison surrendered on 7 June. Aerial attacks had failed to hit the Le Hamel strongpoint, which had its embrasure facing east to provide enfilade fire along the beach and had a thick concrete wall on the seaward side. Its 75 mm gun continued to do damage until 16:00, when an Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) tank fired a large petard bomb into its rear entrance. A second casemated emplacement at La Rivière containing an 88 mm gun was neutralised by a tank at 07:30. Meanwhile, infantry began clearing the heavily fortified houses along the shore and advanced on targets further inland. The

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially dra ...

No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando is a battalion size formation in the British Commandos, formed in August 1943 during the Second World War. The Commando was assigned to the 4th Special Service Brigade and served North West Europe and took part in ...

advanced on Port-en-Bessin and captured it on 7 June in the

Battle of Port-en-Bessin The Battle of Port-en-Bessin also known as Operation Aubery took place from 1944, at a small fishing harbour west of Arromanches during the Normandy landings of World War II. The village was between Omaha Beach to the west in the U.S. V Corps s ...

. On the western flank, the 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment captured Arromanches (future site of one of the artificial Mulberry harbours), and 69th Infantry Brigade on the eastern flank made contact with the Canadian forces at Juno. Company Sergeant Major

Stanley Hollis Stanley Elton Hollis VC (21 September 1912 – 8 February 1972) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

received the only

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

awarded on D-Day for his actions while attacking two pillboxes at the Mont Fleury battery. Due to stiff resistance from the German 352nd Infantry Division, Bayeux was not captured until the next day. British casualties at Gold are estimated at 1,000–1,100. German casualties are unknown.

Background

Operation Overlord

After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

began pressing for the creation of a second front in Western Europe. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion of continental Europe within the next year was taken at the

Trident Conference The Third Washington Conference ( codenamed Trident) was held in Washington, D.C from May 12 to May 25, 1943. It was a World War II strategic meeting between the heads of government of the United Kingdom and the United States. It was the thir ...

, held in Washington in May 1943. The Allies initially planned to launch the invasion on 1 May 1944, and a draft of the plan was accepted at the Quebec Conference in August 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

(SHAEF). General Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all of the land forces involved in the invasion. On 31 December 1943, Eisenhower and Montgomery first saw the plan, which proposed amphibious landings by three divisions and two-thirds of an airborne division. The two generals immediately insisted that the scale of the initial invasion be expanded to five divisions, with airborne descents by three divisions, to allow operations on a wider front. The change doubled the frontage of the invasion from to . This would allow for quicker offloading of men and

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the spec ...

, make it more difficult for the Germans to respond, and speed up the capture of the port at

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...

. The need to acquire or produce extra landing craft and troop carrier aircraft for the expanded operation meant that the invasion had to be delayed to June. The Americans, assigned to land at

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and Omaha, were to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture the port facilities at Cherbourg. The British at

Sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno, were to capture

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Caumont-l'Éventé to the south-east of Caen to protect the American flank, while establishing airfields near Caen. Possession of Caen and its surroundings would provide a suitable staging area for a push south to capture the town of

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebec ...

. A secure lodgement would be established and an attempt made to hold all territory north of the Avranches-Falaise line during the first three weeks. The Allied armies would then swing left to advance towards the

River Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributari ...

. Montgomery envisaged a ninety-day battle, ending when all the forces reached the Seine.

Allied planning

Originally, seventeen sectors along the Normandy coastline had been selected as possible invasion sites and each were provided with a code name taken from one of the spelling alphabets of the time. The coast was divided between Able, west of Omaha, to Rodger on the eastern flank of the invasion area. Eight further sectors were added when the planned invasion was extended to include Utah. Each sector was further subdivided into beaches identified by the colours Green, Red, and White. Gold did not refer to a particular beach but to a landing area. It was delineated by Port-en-Bessin on the west and La Rivière on the east, and included Arromanches, location of one of the artificial Mulberry harbours that were to be constructed shortly after the invasion. High cliffs at the western end of the zone meant that the landings would be undertaken on the flat beach between Le Hamel and La Rivière, in the sectors code-named Jig and King. The area immediately behind the beach was marshy, with open ground and

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may a ...

(small fields surrounded by hedges and embankments) further inland. Roads led to the south via

Asnelles Asnelles () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Asnellois'' or ''Asnelloises''. Geography Asnelles is located at the seaside some 13 km nort ...

and Ver-sur-Mer. The terrain to the south-east rose to a ridge at

Meuvaines Meuvaines () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 528 communes An intentional community is a ...

, where on D-Day were located machine gun nests of the German 726th Regiment. The

Allied Expeditionary Air Force The Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), also known as the Allied Armies’ Expeditionary Air Force (AAEAF), was the expeditionary warfare component of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which controlled the tactical air ...

(AEAF) undertook over 3,200 photo reconnaissance sorties from April 1944 until the start of the invasion. Photos of the coastline were taken at extremely low altitude to show the invaders the terrain, obstacles on the beach, and defensive structures such as bunkers and gun emplacements. Inland terrain, bridges, troop emplacements, and buildings were also photographed, in many cases from several angles, to give the Allies as much information as possible. Members of Combined Operations Pilotage Parties clandestinely prepared detailed harbour maps, including

depth sounding Depth sounding, often simply called sounding, is measuring the depth of a body of water. Data taken from soundings are used in bathymetry to make maps of the floor of a body of water, such as the seabed topography. Soundings were traditional ...

s. At Gold, frogmen discovered the shore between Asnelles and La Rivière was soft and could not support the weight of tanks. Twelve Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVREs) were fitted with bobbins to overcome this problem by deploying a roll of matting over the soft surface. The material would then be left in place to create a route for more conventional tanks. The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H38264

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H38264

Gold was assigned to

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Gerard Bucknall Lieutenant General Gerard Corfield Bucknall, (14 September 1894 – 7 December 1980) was a senior British Army officer who served in both the First and Second World Wars. He is most notable for being the commander of XXX Corps during the Nor ...

's British XXX Corps, with the

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division The 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw distinguished service in the Second World War. Pre-war, the division was part of the Territorial Army (TA) and the two ''Ts'' in the divisional in ...

–commanded by Major General Douglas Graham–allotted as the assault division. The 50th was a highly experienced division that had already seen combat in France, North Africa, and Sicily. The men underwent extensive training in amphibious landings, including Exercise Fabius, a major

training exercise A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the co ...

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the 1s ...

in May 1944. Demolition teams responsible for disabling underwater beach obstacles trained in swimming pools in the United Kingdom. Briefings were undertaken using detailed maps that used fictitious place names, and most of the men did not find out their destination until they were already on their way to Normandy. The amphibious landing was to be preceded by extensive air bombardment as well as naval bombardment by Bombarding Force K, a task force of eighteen ships, primarily cruisers and destroyers. Amphibious tanks of the 8th Armoured Brigade were to arrive at 07:20, followed by infantry at 07:25. The

231st Infantry Brigade The 231st Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars. In each case it was formed by redesignation of existing formations. In the First World War, it fought in Palesti ...

was assigned to land at Jig, and the 69th Infantry Brigade at King. The 231st was to head west to capture Arromanches and establish contact with the American forces at Omaha, while the 69th was to move east and link up with the Canadian forces at Juno. The 47th Royal Marine Commando was assigned to land at Gold, infiltrate inland, and capture the small port at Port-en-Bessin from the landward side. Arriving in the second wave on Jig, the 56th Infantry Brigade was to capture Bayeux and a nearby ridge, thus cutting the N13 highway between Caen and Bayeux to make it difficult for the Germans to move in reinforcements. The second wave on King, the 151st Infantry Brigade, was tasked with capturing the Caen road and railway, along with setting up positions on high ground between the Aure and Seulles rivers. Other forces involved in the landing included artillery regiments, signals corps, and engineering units.

German defenses

In late 1943, Hitler placed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of improving the coastal defences along the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

in anticipation of an Allied invasion, expected to take place sometime in 1944. Rommel believed that the Normandy coast could be a possible landing point for the invasion, so he ordered the construction of extensive defensive works along that shore. In the immediate area of Gold, between Le Hamel and La Rivière, seven defensive strongpoints designed to hold 50 men apiece were constructed. Two major concrete-reinforced coastal artillery emplacements (a battery of four 122 mm guns at Mont Fleury and the

, with four 150 mm guns) were only partially completed by D-Day. Rommel ordered wooden stakes, metal tripods, mines, and large anti-tank obstacles to be placed on the beach to delay the approach of landing craft and impede the movement of tanks. Expecting the Allies to land at high tide so that the infantry would spend less time exposed on the beach, he ordered many of these obstacles to be placed at the high tide mark. Tangles of barbed wire, booby traps, and the removal of ground cover made the approach hazardous for infantry. Hitler gave Rommel command of the newly re-formed Army Group B, which included the 7th Army, the 15th Army, and the forces guarding the Netherlands. Reserves for this group included the 2nd,

21st 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. In mathematics 21 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 3 and 7, and a defici ...

, and 116th Panzer divisions. Recognizing that Allied air superiority would make it difficult if not impossible to move reserves into position once the invasion was underway, Rommel decided to concentrate the defences along the coast. The 716th Infantry Division, which had been stationed in the area since March 1942, was significantly understrength, with only 6,000 men. This unit received reinforcements, and some of the older men were replaced by younger soldiers. It was also supplemented by several battalions of ''

Osttruppen ''Ostlegionen'' ("eastern legions"), ''Ost-Bataillone'' ("eastern battalions"), ''Osttruppen'' ("eastern troops"), and ''Osteinheiten'' ("eastern units") were units in the Army of Nazi Germany during World War II made up of personnel from th ...

'' (eastern soldiers), conscripted Soviet prisoners of war. The

352nd Infantry Division The 352nd Infantry Division (''352. Infanterie-Division'') was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. Deployed on the Western Front, the division defended Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. History Formation and stren ...

, a full-strength unit of around 12,000, was brought into the area by Rommel on 15 March and reinforced by two additional regiments. About 2,000 men, a mixture from the two infantry divisions, were stationed in the coastal area between Arromanches and Asnelles.

Order of battle

British forces

;50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, commanded by Major-General Douglas Graham * 69th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier F.Y.C. Knox ** 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment ** 6th Battalion,

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

** 7th Battalion, Green Howards * 151st Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier R.H. Senior **

6th Battalion 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

, Durham Light Infantry ** 8th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry ** 9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry *

, commanded by Brigadier A.G.B. Stanier ** 1st Battalion,

Dorsetshire Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In ...

** 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment ** 2nd Battalion,

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1 ...

* Divisional troops ** 61st Reconnaissance Regiment,

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

(RAC) (2 Squadrons) ** 2nd Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (machine guns and heavy mortars) ** 357th, 358th & 465th Batteries, 90th Field Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) (Self-propelled) ** 99th & 288th Batteries, 102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment, RA ** 82nd Battery, 25th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA ** 233rd (Northumbrian) Field Company, Royal Engineers (RE) ** 295th Field Company, RE ** 505th Field Company, RE ** 235th (Northumbrian) Field Park Company, RE (bulldozers) ** 50th Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals ** 149th, 186th & 200th Field Ambulances, Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) ** 22nd Field Hygiene Section, RAMC ** 50th Divisional Provost Company, Royal Military Police (RMP) ;Formations attached for assault phase * Elements of 79th Armoured Division **

Westminster Dragoons The Westminster Dragoons (WDs) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army Army Reserve, located in central London. Its lineage is continued by one of the Royal Yeomanry's six squadrons. Formed in the aftermath of Second Boer War as part of th ...

( Flail tanks) ** 141st Royal Tank Regiment (

The Buffs The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

) ( Churchill Crocodiles) (2 Troops) ** 81st & 82nd Assault Squadrons, 6th Assault Regiment, RE ( AVREs) * 56th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier E.C. Pepper ** 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment ** 2nd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment ** 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers * 8th Armoured Brigade, commanded by Brigadier H.J.B. Carcroft **

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922. It served in the Second World War. However following the reduction of forces at the end of the Cold War and proposals contained in the Options for Change ...

( DD Tanks) ** Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (DD Tanks) * 76th Anti-Aircraft Brigade, commanded by Brigadier E.R. Benson ** 113th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA (HQ only) ** 320th Battery, 93rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA ** 394th & 395th Batteries, 120th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA ** 152nd Anti-Aircraft Operations Room, RA ** A Troop, 356th (Independent) Searchlight Battery, RA ;Additional units attached for assault phase ** GHQ Liaison Regiment, RAC ('Phantom') ** 341st, 342nd, & 462nd Batteries, 86th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA (Self-propelled) ** 413th, 431st & 511th Batteries, 147th (Essex Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA (Self-propelled) ** 198th & 234th Batteries, 73rd Anti-Tank Regiment, RA ** 662nd Air Observation Post Squadron, RA (Ground crew of one flight only) ** 73rd Field Company, RE ** 280th Field Company, RE ** 203rd Field Ambulance, RAMC ** 168th Light Field Ambulance, RAMC ** 1st Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment **

;104 Beach Sub-Area HQ * 8 GHQ Troops RE (''sub units distributed between the Beach Groups'') * 1043 Port Operating Group RE (''other sub units distributed between the Beach Groups'') ** 953rd Inland Water Transport Company * 4 RAF Beach Squadron (''sub units distributed between the Beach Groups'') * 980 RAF Beach Balloon Squadron (''sub units distributed between the Beach Groups'') * No. 9 Beach Group (King beach) ** Beach signal section B10 ** Beach Commandos 'J', 'G', and 'T' ** 2nd Battalion,

Hertfordshire Regiment The Hertfordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originating in units of Rifle Volunteers formed in 1859, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second Worl ...

** 69th, 89th & 183rd Field Companies, RE ** 74th Mechanical Equipment Section, RE ** 1043rd Port Operating Company, RE ** 961st Inland Water Transport Company, RE ** 21st Stores Sections, RE ** 305th General Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) ** 2nd Detail Issue Depot, RASC ** 247th Petrol Company, RASC ** 3rd & 10th Casualty Clearing Stations, RAMC ** 3rd, 32nd & 35th Field Dressing Stations, RAMC ** Nos 24 & 30 Field Transfusion Unit, RAMC ** 7th & 36th Ordnance Beach Detachments, Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) ** 24th Beach Recovery Section, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (REME) ** 243rd Provost Company, RMP ** 75th, 208th & 209th (Pioneer) Companies, Pioneer Corps ** 107th Beach Flight RAF ** 54th Beach Balloon Flight RAF * No. 10 Beach Group (Jig beach) ** Beach signal section B7 ** Beach Commando 'Q' ** 6th Battalion, Border Regiment ** 90th Field Company, RE ** 23rd Stores Section, RE ** 51st Mechanical Equipment Section, RE ** 23rd Port Operating Company, RE ** 536th & 705th General Transport Companies, RASC ** 5th Detail Issue Depot, RASC ** 244th Petrol Company, RASC ** 25th & 31st Field Dressing Stations, RAMC ** Nos 24 & 30 Field Transfusion Unit, RAMC ** 23rd & 1035th Port Operating Companies, RAMC ** 12th Ordnance Beach Detachment, RAOC ** 25th Beach Recovery Section, REME ** 243rd Provost Company, RMP ** 75th, 112th, 120th, 173rd & 243rd (Pioneer) Companies, Pioneer Corps ** 108th beach Flight RAF ** 55th Beach Balloon Flight RAF * 36 Beach Brick (in reserve) ** 18th Battalion Durham Light Infantry ** 503rd Field Company RE ** HQ 100th HAA Regiment RA ** 305th HAA Battery RA ** 328th LAA Battery RA ** Detachments from RE, REME, RAMC, RMP, RAMC and RAF * Nos 41, 42, 47 & 48 Field Surgical Units, RAMC * 22nd & 23rd Port Details, RAMC * XXX Corps Workshop, REME (2 Composite Workshops & 1 Light Recovery Section)

German forces

From June 1942, 716th Infantry Division covered the Grandcamps Sector, which stretched from the base of the Cotentin Peninsula to the

Orne River The Orne () is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre. T ...

near Caen, a distance of . When 352nd Infantry Division arrived on 15 March, the Grandcamps Sector was split into the Bayeux Sector (from

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was m ...

to Asnelles) and the Caen Sector (from Asnelles to the Orne). Most of the 716th Infantry Division remained where they were, and thus the defenses in Caen Sector (site of the Gold landings) were not substantially strengthened. *

under ''Generalleutnant'' Dietrich Kraiss ** 915th Grenadier Regiment: south-east of Bayeux, as reserves ** 916th Grenadier Regiment: covered Omaha and the westernmost part of Gold ** 352nd Artillery Regiment: covered Omaha and the westernmost part of Gold * 716th Static Infantry Division under ''Generalleutnant'' Wilhelm Richter ** 726th Infantry Regiment: two battalions in and around Le Hamel. Members of the 441st Ost Battalion garrisoned the coastal defenses. One battalion was stationed near Crépon as reserves. ** 736th Infantry Regiment: covered Juno, Sword, and the easternmost part of Gold ** 1716th Artillery Regiment: mobile and casemated batteries east and west of Crépon

Landings

Bombing of Normandy began around midnight with over 2,200 British and American bombers attacking targets along the coast and further inland. At Gold, naval bombardment by Bombarding Force K got underway at 05:30, at which time the first waves of infantry were loading into their Landing Craft Assault (LCAs) for the run in to the beach. German defensive positions were attacked by medium and heavy bombers and by self-propelled guns on board the landing craft. Results were good at Mont Fleury Battery and at Longues, where at 07:00 ''Ajax'' and ''Argonaut'' took out of commission three of the four guns. The fourth gun resumed firing sporadically in the afternoon, and the garrison surrendered the following day. Two heavily casemated gun emplacements (an 88 mm gun at La Rivière overlooking King and a 75 mm gun at Le Hamel overlooking Jig) were only lightly damaged, as they were heavily reinforced with concrete, especially on the seaward side. These positions had embrasures that permitted a wide range of enfilade fire on the beach. Four other German strong points in the immediate area were also only lightly damaged, and had to be individually assaulted as the day progressed.

King Sector

H-Hour for the landing at Gold was set at 07:25 on King sector (50 minutes later than in the American landings, because of differences in the tide). The first wave on King was the 5th East Yorkshires and 6th Green Howards of 69th Brigade, assisted by amphibious DD tanks of the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards. The 7th Green Howards landed at 08:20. The original plan called for the 38 DD tanks to be launched from their landing craft tank (LCTs) about out. Due to extremely choppy seas, they decided to run the tanks directly onto the beach. Infantry, engineers, and DD tanks arrived almost simultaneously. Units disembarking onto the beach immediately came under fire from the casemated 88 mm gun at La Rivière, and the infantry were forced to take cover behind the sea wall. The gun was taken out when a flail tank of the Westminster Dragoons fired a charge directly into its aperture. The 5th East Yorkshires, supported by several tanks, spent the rest of the morning clearing out the heavily fortified houses of La Rivière, at the loss of 90 men, including six officers. D-day - British Forces during the Invasion of Normandy 6 June 1944 B5246

D-day - British Forces during the Invasion of Normandy 6 June 1944 B5246

Specialised armour arriving in the first wave included AVREs, mine flails, and armoured bulldozers. Clearing paths off the beach proved difficult, as the tanks got stuck in the mud or were taken out by mines. A lone mine flail tank finally cleared a path from the beach up toward the Mont Fleury Battery and Ver-Sur-Mer. This route was used by the Green Howards and tanks of the 4th/7th Dragoon Guards, who cleared the remaining resistance at the Mont Fleury Battery. B Company moved on to attack trench positions and machine gun emplacements at Meuvaines Ridge, while C Company moved to the west of Ver-Sur-Mer to help cover the assault on Crépon, where roads led to the important targets of Bayeux and Caen. The 7th Green Howards attacked the gun battery at Ver-Sur-Mer, where they took 50 prisoners. Colour Sergeant-Major

earned the only

to be bestowed for actions on D-Day. On the way to the Mont Fleury Battery, Hollis came under machine gun fire while investigating a pillbox, so he shot into the entrance with his Sten gun and dropped a grenade through the roof, killing most of the occupants. He cleared a nearby trench of enemy soldiers, whereupon the occupants of a second pillbox surrendered. Later in the day, he saved the lives of three men during an attempt to take out a field artillery installation at a farm near Crépon. Scheduled to land at 11:00 on Jig, the 56th Infantry Brigade was re-routed to King, because the gun battery at Le Hamel was still operational. They proceeded towards their objective of Bayeux. 151st Brigade arrived at the same time and after meeting fierce resistance, they achieved their objective of controlling the road and railway between Bayeux and Caen. 56th Brigade made slow progress and had to dig in for the night some distance from Bayeux. 69th Brigade secured the eastern flank and by nightfall made contact with the Canadian forces on Juno.

Jig Sector

D-day - British Forces during the Invasion of Normandy 6 June 1944 B5252

At Jig, the first wave of infantry (the 1st Dorsetshires and 1st Hampshires of the 231st Infantry Brigade) arrived at 07:25, and immediately came under fire from the casemated 75 mm gun at Le Hamel. Due to navigation errors and the strong current, both groups came ashore well to the east of their intended landing points. The DD tank and Royal Marine Centaur tanks that were supposed to arrive in advance of the landing were delayed by rough seas and did not arrive until 08:00. Many of the tanks got bogged down on the beach or were taken out by enemy fire. The tide came in quicker than expected, before many of the beach obstacles and mines were cleared, and some of the landing craft were damaged as a result. Two companies of the 1st Hampshires landed very close to the strong point at Le Hamel, and had to fight inland through enemy garrisons to get off the beach. Attempts to flank Le Hamel were made difficult by the surrounding machine gun placements, mines, and barbed wire. Elements of the 1st Hampshires captured the German strongpoint WN-36 at the eastern edge of the village of Asnelles. When they turned west to move along the beach towards their primary objective at Le Hamel, they came under heavy fire and had to break off the attack. Major Warren, in charge after the commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Nelson Smith was wounded, decided that the troops would have to circle around and attack the emplacement from the rear, a process that took several hours. The troops began to have some success around 15:00 with the arrival of an AVRE tank of 82nd Assault Squadron. The tank fired two petards into the sanatorium, where most of the defenders were located. The German soldiers fled into fortified houses in Le Hamel and Asnelles, and were taken out in house-to-house combat. Few surrendered. The 75 mm gun was finally silenced at 16:00, when the AVRE tank fired a large petard charge into the rear entrance of the casemate. C/A Company, 1st Hampshires and the AVRE tank proceeded west along the beach and took out strongpoint WN-38 at La Fontaine St Côme, taking 20 prisoners. Still further west, D Company captured strong point WN-39 at the Arromanches radar station, capturing 30 more defenders. The 2nd Devons arrived at 08:15, while the beach was still under heavy fire. One company stayed to help with the assault on Le Hamel, while the rest moved to capture the village of Ryes astride the road to Bayeux. Ryes was captured at around 16:30. The 1st Dorsets attacked a German position on the beach at La Cabane des Douanes and headed inland to arc westward toward the high ground south of Arromanches. They cleared enemy positions at Le Bulot and Puits d'Hérode, and arrived at their destination late in the morning. Joined by elements of the 1st Hampshires and covered by

indirect fire Indirect fire is aiming and firing a projectile without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire. Aiming is performed by calculating azimuth and inclination, and may include correcting aim ...

from the naval forces offshore, they took Arromanches late in the afternoon. 50th Division moving forward near St Gabriel, 6 June 1944

47th Commando

The 47th Royal Marine Commando was assigned to capture the small harbour at Port-en-Bessin, on the boundary with Omaha, about west of Arromanches and from their landing point at Jig. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel C. F. Phillips, opted to attack from the south, as the site was well protected on the seaward side. The force of 420 men consisted of five troops of 63 men, a mortar and machine gun troop, a transport group with four tracked vehicles, and a headquarters group. The plan was to land at Gold at 09:25, assemble at La Rosière, and move cross-country to a ridge (designated as Point 72) south of Port-en-Bessin, arriving at around 13:00. Here they would call for indirect fire from the supporting vessels at sea and then move in to capture the town. In rough seas and under enemy fire, the commandos began disembarking at Jig, some distance east of their intended position, at 09:50. Five of their LCAs were sunk by beach obstacles or enemy fire, at the cost of 76 casualties. Major P. M. Donnell temporarily took charge until Phillips and some others who had got separated from the unit rejoined the group at 14:00 along the Meuvaines–Le Carrefour road. The commando took additional casualties in several skirmishes, including at La Rosière, on the way to Point 72. They did not arrive there until 22:30, too late to launch an attack, so they dug in for the night. The town and port were captured in the

battle of Port-en-Bessin The Battle of Port-en-Bessin also known as Operation Aubery took place from 1944, at a small fishing harbour west of Arromanches during the Normandy landings of World War II. The village was between Omaha Beach to the west in the U.S. V Corps s ...

on 7–8 June 1944.

German response

As the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

'' meteorological centre in Paris had predicted two weeks of stormy weather, some Wehrmacht commanders were away from the front attending

war games A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

in Rennes, and many soldiers had been given leave. On D-Day, Rommel was in Germany for his wife's birthday and a meeting with Hitler to try to get more

Panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrma ...

s. The 352nd and 716th Divisions were placed on high alert after the Allied airborne landings, which had taken place just after midnight behind Utah and Sword. The 2,700-strong ''Kampfgruppe Meyer'', near Bayeux as the divisional reserve, was sent to investigate the parachute drops behind Utah. Marcks recalled them when dawn broke and the scope of the invasion became apparent. One battalion was ordered to reinforce the German efforts at Omaha. The remainder were ordered to rendezvous with reinforcements at Villiers le Sec, east of Bayeux, to launch a counter-attack. Fired upon by Allied air forces, the column finally arrived in the late afternoon, at which time they were met by elements of the 69th Brigade. The British lost four tanks in the ensuing engagement but the ''Kampfgruppe'' was almost completely wiped out. Meyer was killed, and his detailed maps of German coastal emplacements fell into British hands. Because Allied air superiority meant it would be difficult for the Germans to move up their reserves, Rommel believed that their best chance was to stop the invasion at the shore. The scope of the invasion meant that once these coastal defences were defeated and the troops scattered, it was difficult to defend territory inland or launch counter-attacks. At 22:33, Kraiss ordered the 352nd Division to create a defensive line north of Bayeux but this proved impossible, as most of the territory involved was already in British hands and all the defending units had taken serious losses. The ''Luftwaffe'' played only a minor role on D-Day. At Gold, several small groups of bombers that arrived at sunset caused Allied casualties at Le Hamel and damaged a road near Ver-sur-Mer. At 06:00 on 7 June, the operations room of , offshore near Gold, was damaged by a bomber attack, but the ship was able to remain on station. The unit responsible was likely II./'' Kampfgeschwader 40'' (KG 40—Bomber Wing 40). Under the command of ''

Fliegerführer Atlantik ''Fliegerführer Atlantik'' ( German: "Flyer Command Atlantic") was a World War II ''Luftwaffe'' naval air command dedicated to anti-maritime transport, anti-submarine, anti-surface enemy fleet, close air support Kriegsmarine for operations in t ...

'' (Flyer Command Atlantic), it was based at Bordeaux–Merignac. On the evening of the 6/7 June 1944, 26 Heinkel He 177 heavy bombers equipped with Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship guided missiles attacked shipping over Normandy, included the Gold area. II./KG 40 lost 13 aircraft to all causes during the attack. The '' 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'' were released before midnight from the OKW reserve and ordered to counter-attack between Bayeux and the Orne, supplemented by '' 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend'' and '' Panzer Lehr Division''; the armoured divisions began arriving on 8 June.

Aftermath

Analysis

Pockets of German resistance remained throughout the beachhead area and the British were stopped about short of their D-Day objectives. Bayeux, a primary D-Day objective for 50th Division, was captured on 7 June. By the end of D-Day, the 50th Division had lost around 700 men. Total casualties, from all units involved in operations at Gold, were in the region of 1,000–1,100 casualties, of which 350 were killed. German losses are unknown; at least 1,000 were captured.

Gold after 6 June

By the end of D-Day, 24,970 men had been landed at Gold, along with 2,100 vehicles and of supplies. The follow-up landings were slowed by the loss of 34 LCTs and the bad weather. The

24th Lancers The 24th Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army that existed from late 1940 to mid-1944. Assigned to the 8th Armoured Brigade, the regiment fought during the Invasion of Normandy before being disbanded in July 1944. After disbandment ...

and 61st Reconnaissance Regiment, due to land on D-Day to help spearhead the drive towards Villers-Bocage, were unable to put ashore until 7 June. In 2004 Trew wrote that the delay The 7th Armoured Division and the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division were the follow-up divisions of XXX Corps. The 22nd Armoured Brigade (the armoured component of the 7th Armoured Division) was scheduled to land during the evening of 6 June, but it was unable to land until the next day. The bulk of the division landed from 9–10 June, with some elements landing later. The 49th Division came ashore on 12 June. The first components of the Mulberry harbours were brought across the Channel on D+1 and the structures were in use for unloading by mid-June. One was constructed at Arromanches by British forces, the other at Omaha by American forces. A severe storm on 19 June destroyed the Omaha harbour. The Arromanches harbour was repaired and remained in use for the next ten months, with a maximum capacity of of stores per day. Of the British supplies landed in Normandy by the end of August, via the Mulberry harbour and in via the small harbours at Port-en-Bessin and Courseulles-sur-Mer. Most shipments were brought in over the beaches until the port of Cherbourg was cleared of mines and obstructions on 16 July. The most important use of the Mulberry harbour was the unloading of heavy machinery that could not be brought across the beaches. Artificial breakwaters (Gooseberries) sheltered hundreds of ships during the storm of 17–23 June, and provided shelter for craft unloading stores at Juno and Sword. A joint Anglo-American oil depot was constructed at Port-en-Bessin, fed via buoyed pipes known as "Tombola" from oil tankers moored offshore. Using this method, of petrol (half for the Second Army) was delivered by the end of August, by which time the underwater pipelines constructed in Operation Pluto were ready.

Subsequent operations

Fighting in the Caen area versus the 21st Panzer, the 12th SS Panzer Division ''Hitlerjugend'', and other units soon reached a stalemate. Operation Perch (7–14 June) failed to take Caen, and the British were forced to withdraw to Tilly-sur-Seulles. After a delay because of storms during 17–23 June, Operation Epsom was launched on 26 June, an attempt by

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars *VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army ...

to swing around and attack Caen from the south-west and establish a bridgehead south of the Odon. Although the operation failed to take Caen, the Germans suffered heavy tank losses and had committed every available Panzer unit to the operation. Caen was severely bombed on the night of 7 July and then occupied north of the River Orne in

Operation Charnwood Operation Charnwood was an Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Operation Overlord (code-name for the Battle of Normandy) in the Second World War. The operation was i ...

on 8–9 July. Two offensives during 18–21 July,

Operation Atlantic Operation Atlantic (18–21 July 1944) was a Canadian offensive during the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The offensive, launched in conjunction with Operation Goodwood by the Second Army, was part of operations to seize the French ...

and Operation Goodwood, captured the rest of Caen and the high ground to the south, but by then the city was nearly destroyed.

Tourism

The site of the Normandy landings is a popular tourist destination. The battery at Longues-sur-Mer is well preserved, and its observation bunker houses a visitor centre. The gun emplacements at Le Hamel and La Rivière still exist, but many other batteries and defensive positions have been allowed to decay. Bayeux is home to the ''Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie'' and the Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.

La Cambe German war cemetery La Cambe is a Second World War German military war grave cemetery, located close to the American landing beach of Omaha, and north west of Bayeux in Normandy, France. It is the largest German war cemetery in Normandy and contains the remains of ...

is also near Bayeux. At Arromanches, many elements of the Mulberry Harbour are extant and a museum examines its construction and use. The radar station is the site of a visitor centre and theatre. File:Battery Longues-sur-Mer (13).JPG, Artillery emplacement at

, 2010 File:Mulberry Harbour (12).JPG, Elements of the Mulberry harbour are still present at Arromanches

Citations

References

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External links

Gold Beach: history and pictures

Gold Beach: 60 Years On
{{Subject bar , portal1=World War II , portal2=United Kingdom , portal3=War Operation Overlord Operation Neptune Battles of World War II involving Germany Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Beaches of Metropolitan France Landforms of Normandy