Editing Sword Beach (section)

===British assault===
[[File:Landing on Queen Red Beach, Sword Area.jpg|thumb|[[Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat|Lord Lovat]], on the right of the column, wades through the water at Sword. The figure in the foreground is Piper [[Bill Millin]].]]

The assault on Sword began at about 03:00 with the aerial and naval bombardment of German coastal defences and artillery sites. The landing was to be concentrated on Queen Red and Queen White in front of [[Hermanville-sur-Mer]], other approaches having proven impassable due to shoals. At 07:25, the first units set off for the beach. These were the amphibious DD tanks of the 13th/18th Hussars; they were followed closely by the 8th Infantry Brigade, and by Royal Engineers in [[Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers|AVREs]] and the various odd-looking, specialized vehicles that had been nicknamed '[[Hobart's funnies]]'. The engineers set to work clearing mines and obstacles under a steady hail of small arms fire and artillery fire from Périers Ridge just south of Hermanville.<ref>Thompson, pp. 133–139</ref><ref name = "Ford and Gerrard p.13">Ford and Gerrard, p. 13.</ref> Resistance on the beach was initially fairly strong, with wrecked vehicles piling up and casualties mounting; however, with most of their armoured vehicles successfully landed, the British were able to quickly secure the immediate area. By 09:30 the engineers had cleared seven of the eight exits from the beach, allowing the inland advance to begin.<ref>Thompson, p. 139</ref>

British and French commandos encountered tough resistance in the seaside town of [[Ouistreham]], on Sword's eastern extremity, but were able to clear it of enemy strongpoints. By 13:00, the 1st Special Service Brigade had reached the bridges on the [[River Orne]] and the [[Canal de Caen à la Mer|Caen Canal]], linking up with paratroops of the 6th Airborne Division, who were holding the bridges, after earlier disabling German gun batteries in a fierce night-time battle at [[Merville Gun Battery|Merville]].<ref name = "Ford and Gerrard p.13"/>

On the western flank of Sword, commandos of the 4th Special Service Brigade advanced to secure [[Lion-sur-Mer]] and meet Canadian forces at [[Juno Beach]] but encountered strong resistance and were pinned down by heavy fire for several hours. Around the main landing area, the men of the 3rd Infantry Division had secured Hermanville-sur-Mer by 10:00, but were finding tougher going as they slowly fought their way up Périers Ridge and moved inland. Congestion as more men, vehicles and equipment arrived on the beach further complicated matters. It was gradually becoming apparent that the British would not be able to meet the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, to protect the right flank in an immediate assault on Caen. Troops of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry continued down the Hermanville-Caen road, reaching [[Biéville-Beuville]], close to Caen, but were supported by only a few self-propelled guns, their flanks exposed. During the afternoon, the 21st Panzer Division, based around Caen, launched the only major German counterattack of D-Day.<ref name = "Ford and Gerrard p.13"/><ref>Thompson, pp. 139–140</ref>