D-DAY + 4

WD Jun 44
10 Jun

6 Airborne Div. - 0530 - 0630 - Gen spasmodic bombing, shelling and mortaring of div posns - attacks developed as follows.
(a) One weak bn attack from SALLENELLES on HAUGER (about 400 strong) of these 40 succeeded in penetrating HAUGER. This party was promptly eliminated by 1 SS Bde.
(b) An attack NW from the BREVILLE area towards AMFREVILLE on 1 SS Bde.
(c) Attack repulsed with hy loss to the enemy. An attack SW from BREVILLE towards LE MARIQUET which was held by 13 Para Bn. One pl succeeded in reaching X rds 123735.
1220 - Further attack by one coy sp by 3 tks developed on 13 Para Bn front from. BREVILLE area.
1400 - One Sqn 13/18 H (Sherman tks) crossed the ORNE and came under comd 6 Airborne Div. 12 Para Bn sent to relieve No. 4 Cdo who withdrew into res in the evening.
1600 - Vide Serial 44 - this attack was made by two coys 7 Para Bn attacking eastwards from LE MARIQUET sp by one sqn 13/18 H (Shermans) operating wide on the left flank to cut off the enemy from BREVILLE.
The inf attack met an utterly disorg enemy. 200 of whom were killed and over 100 taken prisoner. 7 Para Bn losses negligible.
The tk attack ran into hy A Tk gun fire SW of BERVILLE and five tks were lost.

WD Jun 44
10 Jun
I.Sum.5

6 Airborne Div.Enemy Sit. It was the Southern sector which produced the big surprise of the day, for it was definitely est that 21 Pz Recce Unit sp by 30 tks had been in the area East of CAEN since D Day while 3 Bn 736 Gren Regt wos identified at LONGUEVAL 0972.
The day's build up was somewhat slower starting than had been expected. From the experience of the previous evening the enemy was obviously quite satisfied that it was useless attempting to reach the brs from the South; this part of the front was there- fore left severely alone and having decided to make BREVILLE his jumping off place the enemy launched an attack from that locality in a SW direction. Throughout the morning the area of the DZ, the scene of so much activity in the last week, witnessed yet another battle in which the enemy put in mixed forces of inf, str approx two coys, some tks and armd Cs. By 1300 hrs, the rd by the church of RANVILLE presumably one of the enemy's objectives, had not yet been reached and the one o'clock ISUM could justly claim that all attacks had been beaten off.
At SALLENELLES 1376 and HAUGER the attacks, began at 0900 hrs, took the form of a three pronged drive Westwards with infiltration from the North. These attacks, too, were successfully held and the early afternoon rain appeared to deny all further enemy activity as well as his spirits to judge from the line of bedraggled PW who found their way to the div compound during the late afternoon and evening.

HQ RA 6 Airborne Div.

WD Jun 44
10 Jun

4 Airldg A Tk Bty RA
Seaborne forces.

Jun 44
10 Jun

3 Airldg A Tk Bty RA
1000 - Enemy attack from East beaten off.
1200 - Total one to date: 3 K; 2 D of W; 19 W; 16 M; battle accidents 7.
1700 - Arrival of missing 17 pdr det - did not take off.
Plan for 3 and 4 Btys to put 5 new guns north of RANVILLE against possible attack from BREVILLE.

WD Jun 44
10 Jun

53 Airldg Lt Regt RA
HF fire area BREVILLE.
0800 - C Tp hy shelled. GPO and Tp leader K.
Held up attack on HAUGER for 10 hrs. (2000 rnds fired).
13/18 H pass through bty posn to attack immed front.

38.