Operation Mallard

Operation Mallard was the codename for an airborne forces operation, which was conducted by the British Army on 6 June 1944, as part of the Normandy landings during the Second World War. The objective was to airlift glider infantry of the 6th Airlanding Brigade and divisional troops to reinforce the 6th Airborne Division on the left flank of the British invasion beaches. Using two landing zones, one to the west of the Caen Canal and the other to the east of the River Orne, Mallard was the third airborne operation involving units of the division on D-Day. The first of the Caen Canal and Orne River bridges to be captured, were what are now known as the Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge. Operation Tonga followed, dropping the division's two parachute brigades near Caen to the east. Mallard proved successful with 246 of the 256 gliders towed by aircraft from No. 38 Group RAF and No. 48 Group, arriving safely at their landing zones. The landings included the first Tetrarch tanks to be delivered into combat by air. Plans for the Normandy invasion included five assault landings from the sea, supported by airborne landings on both flanks by British and American airborne divisions. In what would be its first action, the 6th Airborne Division was chosen to land on the left flank of the British landing zone. Its primary objective on day one was to capture intact two bridges over the Caen Canal and the River Orne.