all of their objectives, however, before the 6th Airlanding Brigade arrived by gliders to reinforce them at 21:00 that evening. The 6th Airborne Division, now with the commandos of the 1st Special Service Brigade under command, had to defend the Orne bridgehead. This was not an easy task as it had to face elements of the 21st Panzer Division from the south and the 346th and 711th Infantry Divisions from the east. The airborne division's brigades prepared to hold the positions they had captured, with the 5th Parachute Brigade, as the division's depth formation, dug into the east of the River Orne bridge. The 6th Airlanding Brigade was in the south between Longueval and Hérouvillette. The two remaining brigades dug in along a ridge of high ground that, if lost, offered the Germans a position to look down on the British landing zone. The 1st Special Service Brigade was in the north on a line from Hameau Oger to Le Plain. In between the commandos and the airlanding brigade was the 3rd Parachute Brigade. Their defensive line, however, was incomplete, as the small village of Bréville-les-Monts, between the commandos and the 3rd Parachute Brigade, was held by the Germans. Located on the ridge line it gave the Germans a view into Ranville, at the heart of the British position, the two captured bridges and in the distance Sword. Battle 7/8 June At 01:30 on 7 June, the 9th Parachute Battalion, with only around ninety men, marched through the unoccupied village of Bréville. Upon arrival at the 3rd Parachute Brigade's position, the 9th Battalion dug in at the northern end of the brigade line, to defend an area from the Château St Come, across a clearing in the woods, to a house known as the Bois de Mont. To their front was a stretch of open land leading to Bréville-les-Monts and the road from Amfreville to Le Mesnil-les-Monts. A shortage in their numbers left a large gap between the 9th Parachute Battalion and No. 6 Commando, the most southern unit in the commando defensive position, to their north. The German 346th Infantry Division reached the area from its base at Le Havre. Their first attack, by the 744th Grenadier Regiment, was against the 1st Special Service Brigade. Attacking in strength, they were near to breaking through the line when No. 3 Commando counter-attacked and drove them back. Later in the morning,