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The British Army was to be maintained over the beaches, minor ports such as Port-en-Bessin, and certain pre-fabricated ports and havens, the existence of which proved to be one of the best-kept secrets of the war. One pre-fabricated port (Codeword MULBERRY) was to be sited at Arromanches, in 50 Div's sector. It was towed over the channel in sections - surely one of the stranger sights of this or any other generation. Five small havens, called Gooseberries, were formed prior to the development of the ports to provide sheltered water. To form then, some 50 liberty ships were sunk off the coast to act as breakwaters.

The British Army was to be maintained over the beaches, minor ports such as Port-en-Bessin, and certain pre-fabricated ports and havens, the existence of which proved to be one of the best-kept secrets of the war. One pre-fabricated port (Codeword MULBERRY) was to be sited at Arromanches, in 50 Div's sector. It was towed over the channel in sections - surely one of the stranger sights of this or any other generation. Five small havens, called Gooseberries, were formed prior to the development of the ports to provide sheltered water. To form then, some 50 liberty ships were sunk off the coast to act as breakwaters.

The British Army was to be maintained over the beaches, minor ports such as Port-en-Bessin, and certain pre-fabricated ports and havens, the existence of which proved to be one of the best-kept secrets of the war. One pre-fabricated port (Codeword MULBERRY) was to be sited at Arromanches, in 50 Div's sector. It was towed over the channel in sections - surely one of the stranger sights of this or any other generation. Five small havens, called Gooseberries, were formed prior to the development of the ports to provide sheltered water. To form then, some 50 liberty ships were sunk off the coast to act as breakwaters.

All this was a Naval responsibility; so was the tremendous task of organising the cross-channel _supply service which had to run at high pressure for months after the landing to bring new forces and maintain those already there. From the military point of view, maintenance was effected through Army units known as beach groups, (the direct descendants of the beach bricks of Sicily),who handled supplies and material as they came ashore.

Within the framework of this broad plan, 50 Div's task was to penetrate the beach defences between Le Hamel and La Riviere and secure a covering position which would include Bayeux, on the west, and the area of St Leger, a hill on the main road from Bayeux to Caen, on the east. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando was to operate under command of the division to capture the small harbour of Port- en-Bessin. They were to land at Le Hamel at approximately H plus 2 hours, march west and assault the port from the south. 251 Bde (2 Devons, 1 Hamps, 1 Dorset) were to assault over the beaches in the area of Le Hamel, and 69 Bde (5 E Yorks, 6 Green Howards, 7 Green Howards) were to attack La Riviere.

After capturing the beaches and the immediate hinterland, the assault brigades were to carry out the second phase of the operation - the enlargement of the initial bridgeheads. The reserve brigades were to be prepared to land from H plus 2 1/2 hours, on the orders of the Divisional Commander. If the assault of 231 and. 69Bdes went according to plan, 56 Inf Bde (2 Glosters, 2 Essex, 2 SWB) was to follow up over the beaches captured by 231 Bde, and 151 Bde (6, 8 and 9 DLI) were to land at La Riviera, captured by 69 Bde. The two reserve brigades were then to carry out, in conjunction with 69 Bde, the final phases of the assault - the capture of Bayeux and the dominating St Leger feature.

A word should be said here about the composition of the division for OVERLORD.

When the divisional commander and his staff began to study the invasion problem early in February, it became apparent that the division had not sufficient soldiers to make sure of success. A fourth infantry brigade was therefore asked for, and given - 56 Bde. It consisted of three battalions drawn from two different divisions, and a Completely new Brigade HQ. No battalion had been overseas, and when they came together about 20 February none had done any training in combined operations. In the short time which remained to them before D-day, therefore, they had to train as a reserve brigade in an assault division, and also to work with 7 Armd Div (the follow-up division in 30 Corps) in subsequent phases of the Corps plan.