2018 · Battles Magazine
The coup-de-main of Major Howard and his men during the night of 5-6 June 1944, when they captured the bridges over the Orne River and Caen Canal, was only one element of Operation Tonga and the deployment of the 6th British Parachute Division east of Caen.
They were to also destroy several bridges over the Dives in order to block the way to the British landing beaches, silence the batteries on the Merville coast that threatened the invasion fleet on Sword Beach, and take control of several important villages.
A little before 1 AM on 6 June, the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades were dropped over their landing zones.
But bad weather disrupted the work of the Pathfinders and pilots and the disorganization was so great that, a few hours later, some battalions were still only at 50% strength. Like their American brothers to the west, a large number of British paratroopers drowned in the zones flooded by the Germans. Despite the challenges, the men of Major-General Gale threw themselves valiantly towards their objectives.
"Night Drop 2" covers the first hours of D-Day in the sector to the east of Caen that was assigned to the 6th Parachute Division. Based on the rules from Night Drop (which covered the 82nd Airborne Division’s sector), the rules of ND2 are adapted and very slightly different.
Scales : 1 hex = 400 meters - 1 turn = 1 hour - 1 counter = 1 platoon or a company
