LANDINGS ON 'SWORD' BEACH, 6 JUNE 1944 (PART 5) [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: LANDINGS ON 'SWORD' BEACH, 6 JUNE 1944 (PART 5) [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: A70 32-2
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Reinforcements for the 3rd (British) Division come ashore at 'Sword' Beach near Ouistreham where the lack of suitable beach exits prevents troops and vehicles getting rapidly inland.
  • Description: Men belonging to 185th Brigade (1st Norfolk Regiment) come ashore from a LCI(L) in rising tide at 'Queen Red' Beach at La Breche. A mass of trucks, jeeps, armoured bulldozers, AVREs and self-propelled guns is compressed by the tide into a narrow strip of beach, unable to get inland until the congestion in the few beach exits is cleared. Troops endeavour to drag a recalcitrant 6-pounder across a small box girder bridge laid by one of 5th Assault Regiment Royal Engineers' AVREs over the sea wall at La Breche. A carrier with a 6-pounder gun in tow burns after being hit by either German mortar or shell fire while still on the beach. In the background a barrage balloon flies above several beached landing craft.
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-06-06
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor) Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company) O'Neill, F D (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, Div 3 (regiment/service) British Army, Bde 185 (regiment/service) British Army, Norfolk Regiment, 1st Battalion (regiment/service) British Army, Royal Engineers, Assault Regiment 5 (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: ships, British naval - amphibious: LCI (L) (object name) armour, British - funnies: Churchill AVRE (object name) armour, British - carrier: [wrecked] (object name) aircraft, British - balloon: barrage balloon (object name) weapons, British - gun: 6-pounder gun & [wrecked] (object name) combat, British - artillery bombardment [I] (object name) 12/5(261.22).7 [ Operation Neptune] (event) Sword beach, Calvados, France (geography) Queen Red Beach, La Breche, Calvados, France (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: None Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Footage: 64 ft; Running time: 1 min
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Notes: Summary: Sergeant O'Neill was wounded while filming Remarks: good shots of troops wading through a high tide to get ashore and of the congestion on 'Queen Red' Beach, a particular problem in 'Sword' area and instrumental in 3rd Division's failure to capture Caen - its D-Day objective - on June 6 1944 Technical: A70 31 and A70 32 are held on the same reel.
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    A70 32-2

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