Operations in which multiple services cooperate to achieve a mission. Examples include amphibious and expeditionary operations.
On 6 June 1944, the British 3rd Division, supported by the 1st Special Service Brigade and 79th Armoured Brigade, stormed Sword Beach, the easternmost Allied landing sector in Normandy. Their success secured the D-Day landing Allied left flank, linked with the airborne lodgement at the Orne, and set the stage for the long struggle for Caen.
On 6 June 1944, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division stormed ashore at Juno Beach, facing some of the strongest German defences in Normandy. Their task was to force a landing on the narrow strip of beach between Courseulles, Bernières, and Saint-Aubin, and then drive inland to cut the Caen–Bayeux road before linking up with the British lodgements at Gold Beach to the west and Sword Beach to the east
On 6 June 1944, the British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division landed at Gold Beach, facing fortified villages and determined German resistance. By nightfall, they had secured a foothold, linked with Canadian forces at Juno, and pushed inland toward Bayeux. Within days, the artificial Mulberry harbour was providing vital sustainment to the Normandy campaign.
Operation KINGPIN, the Son Tay Raid, on the night of 20/21 November 1970, was a meticulously planned U.S. military operation to rescue American prisoners of war (POWs) from the Son Tay prison North Vietnam. It was one of the most audacious operations in military history. The operation involved a joint force of U.S. Army Special Forces and Air Force personnel. Despite the operation’s almost flawless execution, it failed to achieve its primary objective, as the POWs had been relocated to other sites.
Omaha Beach makes a powerful impression. When you visit the beach, you know that this is where Robert Capa took those famous photos of American soldiers assaulting through the obstacle belt, and where the dramatic first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan was set. It also becomes clear how important the five beach exits were to the American planners as there is no other way to get vehicles off the beach.
Pointe du Hoc, a prominent headland between Utah and Omaha Beaches, was a critical objective on D-Day. The German position was equipped with a battery of 155mm howitzers capable of targeting the American landing beaches.
The mission to assault Pointe du Hoc was assigned to the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. The Rangers would scale the 100 feet high cliffs under fire, destroy the German guns, and hold the position until relieved by forces from Omaha Beach.
In the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944, 13,200 paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions landed behind Utah Beach to secure the beach landing sites and prevent German interference. A few hours later, the US 4th Infantry Division stormed ashore on Utah Beach. The amphibious forces landed about 2,000 yards south of their intended site, but rapidly secured the beachhead and moved inland to link-up with the paratroopers. By the end of D-Day, more than 21,000 troops were ashore at Utah Beach.
Here on 6 June 1944, Lieutenant Richard ‘Dick’ Winters, acting company commander for Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, led a force of 23 paratroopers in a successful assault on a German force that outnumbered them more than 5 to 1.
Easy Company’s action that day was depicted in the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks series ‘Band of Brothers’ Episode 2 ‘Day of Days’.
The Battle of Bloody Gulch was fought on 13 June 1944, just west of Carentan, Normandy. The battle followed immediately after 101st Airborne Division’s capture of Carentan on 12 June. Lightly armed American paratroopers from 506th (PIR) Parachute Infantry Regiment and 501st PIR faced a major armoured counterattack by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division and Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6. The timely arrival of the American 2nd Armored Division saved the day and turned the battle into an allied victory.
After the successful D-Day landings on June 6, the Allies needed to link the Utah and Omaha beachheads, build forces to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, and be prepared for the expected German counterattack that they knew was coming. The key to all of that was the town of Carentan on the Cotentin – a port city with major road and rail junctions.
The town was defended by tough German paratroopers from Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6