GoldGold beach, around 8 kilometres long, was dedicated to British troops. Sailing from Southampton to the two villages La Rivière and Le Hamel, both near Caen. The majority of the defences on the beach were weakened after naval and aerial bombardment, which allowed the British troops a quicker victory. They encountered some resistance from mines destroying their tanks, but managed to secure the beach with only 400 casualties.
SwordSword beach was captured by a rather risky method, but it proved to be useful as it cut off support for the Nazis at the beachhead. A team of paratroopers descended into enemy territory, destroying key bridges and battery guns prior to the landing of the British troops on Sword beach. The troops that would land on the coast sailed from Shoreham-by-Sea to an area north of Caen. 29 000 men secured the shores while only 630 of which had been injured or had died.
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Troops from the 7th Armoured Division splitting off after the attack on Gold Beach.
Sword beach, as seen from an aerial view. An RAF pilot took a picture of the raid.
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