defences possessed by the port, and the Vichy French defending forces was limited and vague, although it was believed that the defenders had no weapons capable of penetrating the armour of a Valentine tank. The landings began at 04:30 on 5 May, with 5 Commando landing at Courrier Bay and the three infantry brigades and 'B' Squadron landing at Ambararata Bay. The objective of the infantry brigades and their armoured support was to take control of Antsirane and a nearby town, but although the infantry landed successfully, 'B' Squadron had more trouble; the area of beach designated for its landing craft was blocked for several hours after a Tetrarch came loose from a landing craft and became stuck in the sand. The infantry brigades advanced toward Antsirane without the squadron, but eventually two Valentines and a single Tetrarch were dispatched in support, catching up with the lead elements of the infantry near the town of Anamakia. Here the invasion force encountered the first French defences, consisting of camouflaged trenches and pillboxes dug in along a ridge. The tanks attempted to breach them, but the rocky ground made manoeuvring difficult and they could not close with the pillboxes and trenches; they engaged a number of targets with 2-pounder and machine-gun fire, but the line had to be cleared by an infantry assault later in the day. The tanks were ordered to outflank the defences and advance further into the island, and they were soon joined by two other Tetrarchs dispatched from the beaches; the small force continued to advance until it encountered the Vichy French main line of defence. This had been built prior to the First World War and included camouflaged pillboxes, machine-gun nests and dug-in 75 mm artillery pieces; the latter, although not specifically designed for an anti-tank role, could penetrate the armour of both the Tetrarchs and the Valentines. The two Valentines advanced first but were knocked out by artillery fire, and two Tetrarchs that were moving behind them suffered the same fate; the third Tetrarch retreated in order to report on the French resistance, machine gunning a motorcycle combination and a truck it encountered on the way back. The commander of the Tetrarch made his report, and was then ordered to take command of four Valentines and two Tetrarchs which had recently arrived and once again attempt to breach the French defences. The tanks followed the road