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Capture Of The Caen Canal And Orne River Bridges
The capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges (wrongly known as Operation Deadstick [which in fact was a specialized glider exercise], and in official documents as Operation Coup de Main) was an operation by airborne forces of the British Army that took place in the early hours of 6 June 1944 as part of the Normandy landings of the World War II, Second World War. The objective was to capture intact two road bridges in Normandy across the Orne (river), River Orne and the Caen canal, providing the only exit eastwards for British forces from their landing on Sword Beach. Intelligence reports said both bridges were heavily defended by the Germans and wired for demolition. Once captured, the bridges had to be held against any counter-attack, until the assault force was relieved by British Commandos, commandos and other infantry advancing from the landing beach. The mission was vital to the success of Operation Tonga, the overall British airborne landings in Normandy. Fail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during the Second World War. The paratroopers and glider-borne airborne troops of the division, commanded by Major-General Richard Nelson Gale, landed on the eastern flank of the invasion area, near to the city of Caen, tasked with a number of objectives. The division was to capture two strategically important bridges over the Caen Canal and Orne River which were to be used by Allied ground forces to advance once the seaborne landings had taken place, destroy several other bridges to deny their use to the Germans and secure several important villages. The division was also assigned the task of assaulting and destroying the Merville Gun Battery, an artillery battery that Allied intelligence believed housed a number of heavy artillery pieces, which could bombard the nearest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
716th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 716th Static Infantry Division (German: ''716. Infanterie-Division'') was a German World War II infantry division. It was raised on May 2, 1941, and sent to German-occupied France in June 1941. Many of the division's troops were elderly Germans and conscripts from other German-occupied countries. The division also had some young German conscripts as well. As a ''bodenständig'' (static unit), it was not equipped with the standard configuration of vehicles and heavy weapons. Much of the division's artillery and anti-tank guns were from captured armaments. It is well-known for its involvement as a defensive unit in the Allied Normandy landings on 6 June 1944. Divisional history The 716th Infantry Division was mobilized for occupation duties in the 15th Wave Replacement Army on 2 May 1941 in Wehrkreis VI in Munster. After formation in Bielefeld, and transfer to Occupied France, it was assigned to AOK 15 in June 1941 and employed at Saint-Lo and Soissons. It was transferred ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer Division
A Panzer division was one of the Division (military)#Armored division, armored (tank) divisions in the German Army (1935–1945), army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the Blitzkrieg, blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the ''Waffen-SS'' formed its own panzer divisions, and the ''Luftwaffe'' fielded an elite panzer division: the Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring, Hermann Göring Division. A panzer division was a combined arms formation, having both tanks (, , usually shortened to ""), mechanized and Panzergrenadier, motorized infantry, along with artillery, Anti-aircraft warfare, anti-aircraft and other integrated support elements. At the start of the war, panzer divisions were more effective than the equivalent Allies of World War II, Allied armored divisions due to their combined arms doctrine, even though they had fewer and generally less technically advanced tanks. By mid-war, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policemen, Big Four" – the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and Republic of China (1912–1949), China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Second Polish Republic, Poland, as well as their respective Dependent territory, dependencies, such as British Raj, British India. They were joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand and Union of South Africa, South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled Allies of World War I, that of the First World War. As Axis forces began German invasion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being the 1st Airborne Division. The 6th Airborne Division was formed in the Second World War, in mid-1943, and was commanded by Major-General Richard N. Gale. The division consisted of the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades along with the 6th Airlanding Brigade and supporting units. The division's initial operation, which also resulted in it becoming the first Allied unit to land its troops in France as part of Operation Overlord, was Operation Tonga on 6 June 1944, D-Day, part of the Normandy landings, where it was responsible for securing the left flank of the Allied invasion. Having successfully carried out this task the division remained in Normandy for three months before being withdrawn in September. The division was entrained day a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (Wehrmacht)
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the German Air Force, ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force). , the German Army had a strength of 63,047 soldiers. History Overview A German army equipped, organized, and trained following a single doctrine and permanently unified under one command was created in 1871 during the unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia. From 1871 to 1919, the title ''German Army (German Empire), Deutsches Heer'' (German Army) was the official name of the German land forces. Following the German defeat in World War I and the end of the German Empire, the main army was dissolved. From 1921 to 1935 the name of the German land forces was the ''Reichswehr, Reichsheer'' (Army of the Realm) and from 1935 to 1945 the name ''German Army (We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Commandos
The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade, the Commandos' ranks were eventually filled by members of all branches of the British Armed Forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Commando Basic Training Centre (United Kingdom), Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Sacred Band (World War II), Greece, 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, France, 5th Special Air Service, Belgium, No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando, Netherlands, Canada, Norway and Poland. The United States Army Rangers and Marine Raiders, US Marine Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper was bought by Mirkaei Tikshoret, a diversified Israeli media firm controlled by investor Eli Azur (who in 2014 also acquired the newspaper ''Maariv (newspaper), Maariv''). ''The Jerusalem Post'' is published in English. Previously, it also had a French edition. The paper describes itself as being in the Politics of Israel, Israeli political political center, center, which is considered to be Centre-right politics, center-right by Far-right politics in Israel, international standards; its editorial line is critical of political corruption, and supportive of the separation of religion and state in Israel. It is also a strong proponent of greater in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied France commenced on 6 June 1944. Stretching from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Calvados, Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, the beach proved to be the easternmost landing site of the invasion after the abortion of an attack on a sixth beach, code-named Band. Taking Sword was to be the responsibility of the British Army with sea transport, mine sweeping and a naval List of ships in Sword Bombardment Group, bombardment force provided by the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Polish Navy, Polish, Royal Norwegian Navy, Norwegian and other Allied navies. Among the five beaches of the operation, Sword is the nearest to Caen, about from the goal of the 3rd Infantry Division. The landings were achieved with low Allied casualties but the advance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caen Canal
Canal de Caen à la Mer (; , also called the "Caen Canal") is a short canal in the department (préfecture) of Calvados, France, connecting the Port of Caen, in the city of Caen, downstream to the town of Ouistreham and the English Channel. Running from north north-east to south south-west, the canal runs parallel to the Orne River which feeds it, it is long, and comprises two locks. Digging began in 1837, and when it was opened on August 23, 1857 it was only deep. It was deepened in 1920. The canal began with the dock at St. Peter's Basin (Bassin Saint-Pierre), in the downtown area of Caen. The canal is made up of a group of quays and docks. The current depth is , and the width can reach in the dock of Calix). The quay at Blainville-sur-Orne measures more than . It acts as the fourth commercial French port for the importation of exotic wood, generally coming from the Gulf of Guinea. It also loads and unloads iron, fertilizer, coal, and construction material. The port exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. Geography The Orne flows through the following departments and towns: *Orne (named after the river): Sées, Argentan * Calvados: Thury-Harcourt, Saint-André-sur-Orne, Caen, Ouistreham It also flows through the area known as Suisse Normande. Its longest tributaries are, from source to mouth: *Don *Ure *Cance *Udon * Baize * Rouvre * Noireau *Laize * Odon Name The name of the Orne in Normandy, which is referred to as the ''Olinas'' by Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ..., is a homonym of Fluvius Olne, the Orn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
