Capturing Bréville-les-Monts eliminated a key German vantage point and secured the 6th Airborne Division's flank during the Normandy invasion.
Key Facts
- Dates of battle
- 8–13 June 1944
- British formation
- 6th Airborne Division
- German formation
- 346th Infantry Division
- Assault date (night attack)
- 12/13 June 1944
- Officer/sergeant major casualties
- Every officer and sergeant major killed or wounded
- Artillery support
- Five regiments of artillery assigned
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Units of the German 346th Infantry Division occupied Bréville-les-Monts, a village commanding a watershed between the Orne and Dives rivers. From this elevated position they could observe British 6th Airborne Division lines and threaten the Orne and Caen Canal bridges as well as the Allied beachhead at Sword Beach. Repeated German attacks launched from the village made its capture a necessity.
On the night of 12/13 June 1944, Major-General Richard Nelson Gale committed his last reserves—the 12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion, a company of the Devonshire Regiment, and the 22nd Independent Parachute Company—supported by a tank squadron from the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and five artillery regiments. Attackers endured both British and German artillery fire that killed or wounded numerous men including senior officers, before finally seizing and holding the village.
Following the fall of Bréville, the Germans abandoned serious attempts to breach the airborne division's lines, limiting operations to sporadic artillery and mortar fire. This situation persisted until 17 August 1944, when German forces began withdrawing and the 6th Airborne Division advanced toward the River Seine, with the Allied beachhead remaining secure.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Major-General Richard Nelson Gale.
Side B
1 belligerent