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92nd (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery landed at Sword

1944-06-06 · Hermanville · France

The story

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the regiment's F Troop landed on Sword Beach near La Breche d'Hermanville, in Normandy, as part of 3rd Division's assault forces. The troop's task was to protect the vital bridges over the River Orne and Caen Canal, which had been captured earlier that day during Operation Deadstick by glider-borne troops of the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, led by Major John Howard.

F Troop deployed around the bridges and for five days fought off repeated enemy air attacks, shooting down 17 German planes despite being deprived of its reinforcements, which had been sunk in the English Channel.

The bridges were later renamed Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge. The 92nd fought with distinction throughout the rest of the campaign in North West Europe, ending the war in Bremen. The regiment was formally disbanded in February 1946. nbsp;

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