Gold Beach
"Gold" was the code name for the centre beach of the five designated
landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. The beach was more than 5
miles (8 kilometres) wide and included the coastal towns of La Riviere
and Le Hamel. On the western end of the beach was the small port of
Arromanches, and slightly farther west of that port was the town of
Longues-sur-Mer.
The defending German forces consisted of
elements of the 716th Division and at least
part of the 1st Battalion of the excellent
352nd Division at Le Hamel. Many of the
Germans were set up in houses along the
coast, with the greatest concentrations located
at Le Hamel and La Rivière. These fighting
positions were vulnerable to naval gunfire and
aerial bombardment and could easily be set
on fire, but the Germans counted on a
counterattack capability with Kampfgruppe Meyer, a mechanized unit of
the 352nd Division based at the nearby town of Bayeux. This unit had
practiced rapid maneuver to the beach to meet possible invasion
attempts.
In addition to these defenses, atop a steep cliff on the outskirts of
Longues was a formidable observation post that directed the fire of a
battery of four 155-millimetre guns located a half mile inland from the
beach. Both the observation post and the guns were heavily protected
with one-metre-thick concrete.
Gold Beach lay in the invasion area assigned to the British 2nd Army,
under Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey. The assault sectors at Gold
Beach were designated (from west to east) Item, Jig (comprising
sections Green and Red), and King (also consisting of two sections
named Green and Red). The assault was to be carried out by the British
50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division, which included the Devonshire,
Hampshire, Dorsetshire, and East Yorkshire regiments. The beach was
wide enough for two brigades to be landed side-by-side, so that the
231st Brigade was assigned to Le Hamel in Jig sector and the 69th
Brigade to La Rivière in King sector. The 47th Royal Marine
Commando, attached to the 50th Division for the landing, was assigned
to Item sector.
The objectives of the 50th Division were to
cut the Caen-Bayeux highway, take the small
port of Arromanches, link up with the
Americans from Omaha Beach to the west at
Port-en-Bessin, and link up with the
Canadians from Juno Beach to the east. The
50th Division was also to take the Longues
battery from the rear.
H-Hour at Gold Beach was set for 0725
Hours (7:25 A.M.), one hour later than the scheduled landings on the American
beaches owing to the direction of the tide, which moved from west to
east and brought high water later to the British beach. But the wind on
the morning of D-Day came directly from the northwest, piling up the
water rapidly. The outer obstacles that the Germans had installed to
damage and destroy invading landing craft were therefore under water
before British demolition teams could get to them. Moreover, the
demolition personnel came under fire from the beach, so that they failed
to clear the obstacles. LCT's landed first carrying armoured vehicles; 20
of them struck mines, suffering moderate to severe damage.
Fortunately for the British,
there was no German armour
on the beach, and the infantry
resistance was ineffective.
(Most of the German strong
points had in fact been
nullified by shore
bombardment earlier in the
morning.) La Rivière held out
until 1000 hours (10:00 A.M.), and Le
Hamel was in British hands
by mid-afternoon.
Meanwhile, the 47th Commando passed south of Arromanches and
Longues and pushed west to within a half mile of Port-en-Bessin. The
guns at Longues had by then been put out of action in a furious duel with
the cruiser HMS Ajax.
By the evening of June 6, the 50th Division
had landed 25,000 men, penetrated six miles
inland, hooked up with the Canadians from
Juno Beach on the left, and reached the
heights above Port-en-Bessin. It had not cut
the Caen-Bayeux highway or linked up with
the Americans from Omaha Beach, but it had
made an impressive start. The British suffered
400 casualties while securing their beachhead.