the southern sector of the Orne bridgehead, releasing the 6th Airlanding Brigade to strengthen the 6th Airborne Division position along the ridge line. The next two months was a period of static warfare, until 17 August when the division crossed the River Dives and advanced north along the French coast. By 26 August they had reached Honfleur at the mouth of the River Seine, capturing over 1,000 prisoners and liberating of France. The battle of Breville has since been claimed to have been "one of the most important battles of the invasion". Had the division lost the battle, the Germans would have been in a position to attack the landing beaches. But after the battle the Germans never attempted a serious attack on the division again. For their accomplishment, Breville was one of six battle honours awarded to the Parachute Regiment for the Normandy Campaign. Notes Footnotes Citations References External links Personal account of the battle at BBC Peoples War Breville at Normandie 1944 Operation Overlord Battles of World War II involving Germany Battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Airborne operations of World War II Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom) 1944 in France Conflicts in 1944 June 1944 events