SwordBeach
Around midnight , British airborne troops , along with a battalion of Canadians , dropped behind enemy lines to secure the invasion ? s eastern flank , just as the Americans were doing near Utah . Within minutes , they had taken hold of Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal and nearby Horsa Bridge over the R iver Orne . Other airborne troops destroyed bridges over the R iver Dives to prevent German reinforcements from arriving , and they also took out a key German artillery battery in a bloody firefight . The British then landed on Sword at 7:25 a . m ., around the same time as at Gold but before Juno . Although moderate fire greeted them , they soon secured beach exits with the help of the ? Funnies .? M oving inland , they connected with the airborne units but faced relatively strong resistance in farmyards and villages . In a late afternoon counterattack , German forces made it all the way to the beach in one location , only to be turned back . The Allies would not be able to unite all five D-Day beaches until June 12 .