A number were dropped in flooded areas around Varaville, and several drowned when they were dragged under the surface of the water due to the weight of their equipment. A group of paratroopers moved towards the Robehomme bridge, encountering and gathering together several other groups of airborne troops and sappers en route, before reaching the bridge where they discovered it was still intact. By 03:00, the sappers tasked with the demolition of the bridge had failed to arrive, and so the paratroopers gathered together the small amount of explosives they possessed and set them off, weakening the bridge. The sappers finally arrived at 06:00, and completed the demolition of the bridge whilst the paratroopers protected them. Meanwhile, another company of the battalion had been attempting to complete the tasks it had been ordered to fulfill; it was to clear the enemy garrison from Varaville and destroy a gun emplacement, demolish a bridge over the River Divette, and also destroy a radio transmitter near Varaville. However, the company was severely understrength, with only a fraction of its 100 men available. A small group, led by the company commander, assaulted the fortifications outside Varaville that were manned by approximately ninety-six Germans supported by several machine-gun nests and an artillery piece. The artillery piece inflicted a number of casualties on the small Canadian force, killing the company commander, and a stalemate ensued until 10:00 when the enemy garrison surrendered after being subjected to mortar bombardment. The paratroopers were then relieved by British Commandos from the 1st Special Service Brigade. Battle of Merville Gun Battery The 3rd Parachute Brigade's 9th Parachute Battalion was assigned a number of objectives: the destruction of the Merville artillery battery, the capture of the village of Le Plein, block the roads leading to that village, and capture a German Navy (Kriegsmarine) headquarters at Sallenelles near the River Orne. However, the battalion was scattered throughout the area with a number of paratroopers landing a considerable distance from the designated DZ. Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway, the commander of the battalion, landed with the rest of his stick away from the drop-zone in a farmhouse being used as a command post by a German battalion. After a brief fire-fight and helping other scattered paratroopers, Otway arrived at the drop-zone at 01:30. By 02:35, only 110 paratroopers had assembled with only a single machine-gun and a small number of Bangalore torpedoes recovered. This was