The Gold Beach sector stretches from Port-en-Bessin to Ver-sur-Mer, between the American Omaha Beach and the Canadian Juno Beach. General Graham's 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division was to land east of Arromanches, near Asnelles and Ver-sur-Mer. Specifically, their objective was to link up with American troops on one side and Canadian troops on the other. One of their subsequent objectives was to advance towards National Route 13, which connects Caen to Bayeux.
While moving as close as possible to the national road 13 which links Caen to Bayeux and seize Bayeux.
On Gold Beach, between Arromanches and Port-en-Bessin, the Longues-sur-Mer battery posed a serious threat to the landing phase. The Allies therefore planned a final raid for the night of June 5-6. They dropped 604 tons of bombs in a few minutes from nearly 99 four-engine aircraft.
At 5:10 a.m., the cruisers Belfast, Orion, Ajax, Argonault, and Emerald opened fire on the batteries at Longues-sur-Mer and Vaux-sur-Aure. Despite the bombardments, the Longues battery was still able to open fire. Between 6:05 a.m. and 6:20 a.m., its guns engaged the landing fleet heading for Omaha and Gold Beach, forcing HMS Bulolo (carrying the headquarters of Gold Beach's forces) to leave its anchorage. After a duel between the battery and the battleship Arkansas, the cruiser Ajax, and the French ships Montcalm and Georges Leygues, the landing phase could begin.
The first wave assault on Gold
At 7:25 a.m., the first wave of the 50th Division (231st Brigade and 69th Infantry Brigade) established a foothold in the Jig sector (Asnelles) and the King sector (Ver-sur-Mer). It was accompanied by the specialized tanks of the 79th Division , essential for clearing paths through obstacles and reducing strongpoints.
Simultaneously in the King sector, the 5th East Yorkshire (69th Brigade ) landed at La Rivière only to immediately encounter 88mm fire from strongpoint WN 33.
Meanwhile, the 6th Green Howards (69th Brigade ) quickly secured strongpoint WN 35 at Hable-de-Heurtot. The brigade advanced towards the Mont-Fleury battery, set back from the beach, and surrendered without a fight after Orion gun fire stunned its crews. The capture of this battery earned Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis a Victoria Cross, the only one awarded that day. The 231st Brigade landed without difficulty in the Jig sector before encountering the fortifications of the village of Le Hamel, WN 37.
Who is Stanley Hollis?
Stanley Hollis was 32 years old when he landed on Gold Beach on June 6, 1944. He had enlisted in the 4th Battalion of the Green Howards in 1939. At the outbreak of the war, he was mobilized and joined the 6th Battalion of the same unit. He participated in the 1940 campaign in France with the British Expeditionary Force, then in North Africa at El Alamein and Tunis with the 8th Army , and finally in Italy where he received his first wound. He rejoined the Green Howards and landed with them on Gold Beach. Behind the river, the Mont-Fleury battery and its four 122mm guns had been neutralized by Allied bombing before it could even fire a single shot. The 6th Green Howards were tasked with capturing it. Sergeant Hollis led the assault, capturing or killing its occupants. A little later at Crépon, Hollis's company encountered fierce German resistance within the village. Hollis managed to free two of his comrades who were prisoners in a house under enemy fire. For these two acts of bravery, performed on the same day, Stanley Hollis received the Victoria Cross from King George VI in October 1944, the only one awarded on D-Day to a British soldier. Hollis died in England in 1972.
Meanwhile, the 7th Green Howards (69th Brigade ) reached La Rivière around 8:30 a.m. They then captured Ver-sur-Mer, as the Germans were no longer in sight. The British then advanced on the Mare-Fontaine battery, which surrendered without a fight, the Germans having been stunned by the Belfast's salvos.
The 47th Royal Marine Commando lands on Gold Beach
Shortly before 8:25 a.m., the men of the 47th Royal Marine Commando landed off Asnelles, their objective being the village of Port-en-Bessin. Delayed by massive traffic jams on the beach and fierce resistance at Le Hamel, the commandos were slow to assemble. In fact, they didn't begin their advance until 14:00 p.m., finally reaching Port-en-Bessin the following day.
Of all the German batteries in the sector, the one at Longues-sur-Mer was still firing towards the attackers. Two direct hits from the cruiser HMS Ajax temporarily silenced it around 8:45 a.m.
Learn more about the Longues-sur-Mer battery
With its four 4mm artillery pieces with a 150 km range and its fire control post built into the edge of a cliff, the Longues-sur-Mer naval battery was heavily bombarded by the Allies without them being able to destroy it on the morning of June 20, 6. It remained dangerous when the British infantry landed on the beaches of Gold. Its effectiveness should have been even more formidable if its fire control post had been completed on June 1944, 6. This was not the case: in front of the sighting opening, the clearing of the ground that had served as camouflage when the building was built still extended. Allied aircraft considerably disrupted the last part of this work, particularly the intense bombing preceding the landing. Despite this handicap, the German gunners managed to respond to the cannonades of the Allied ships throughout the day of June 1944 until two direct hits fired from the Georges Leygues hit several casemates of the battery. When the British arrived on the site the next day, only casemate 6 was still intact, the others having been damaged or completely destroyed.
The 2nd Wave Assault
The second assault wave of the 50th Division began its deployment around 11:00 AM. The 151st and 56th Infantry Brigades then disembarked before marching towards Bayeux. Magny, Vaux-sur-Aure, and Bayeux were reached that evening.
Around noon, Company B of the 1st Hampshire (231st Brigade ) entered Asnelles, thanks to fierce fighting against the Hamel battery (WN 37). Once Asnelles was captured, the fortified position could be outflanked from the south. The assault began at 2:00 PM. The attack spread out in all directions, to the point that the battalion had to change commanders four times during the day; three of them were killed or wounded. The Hamel battery, spared by naval and aerial bombardment, finally fell around 4:00 PM.
![The 2nd assault wave lands on Gold Beach© IWM [:en]The 2nd assault wave lands on Gold Beach](https://www.comitedudebarquement.fr/app/uploads/2025/02/assaut-2eme-vague-gold.webp)
The village of Arromanches was reached in the evening by elements of the 1st Hampshire Regiment. Around 16:00 PM, the 2nd Devonshire Regiment (231st Brigade ) liberated the village of Ryes after several hours of fighting against elements of the 716th Infantry Division. D Company of the 6th Green Howards (69th Brigade ) liberated the village of Crépon.
The Germans were retreating everywhere. But they were also capable of a counterattack. Kurt Meyer, their commander, had a combat group between Villiers-le-Sec and Bazenville. The objective of this counterattack was to push the British forces back to Gold Beach. Despite the defeat of the German army in the afternoon, the British troops withdrew to Saint-Gabriel-Brécy in the evening.
Find the results of the landing on the evening of the 6th here