and anti-aircraft gunners. The landings on Juno beach began at 07.50, those at Sword at 07.25. Both were successful, and the Crabs flailed routes through the minefields. Once Sword was secure, the remaining 2 and 4 Trps of A Sqn were landed there at H + 3 hours to work with A Sqn 22nd Dragoons and 629 Assault Sqn, RE, to help in a thrust towards Caen (they were a late addition to the plan, and had not practised landing from LCTs). The mobile battlegroup was to consist of the tanks of the Staffordshire Yeomanry carrying infantry of 2nd Battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry, supported by SP guns of 7th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. Congestion on the beach was so bad that the Staffordshire Yeomanry only linked up at 13.00; the RE squadron was ineffective after heavy casualties in the landing and B Trp 22nd Dragoons had just two flails left to join the WDs in preparing the route. The infantry had been ready since 11.00 and set off on foot at 12.30, leaving the armour and their heavy weapons to catch up. The armoured column made slow progress, restricted to a single road by bad going on one side and a deep minefield on the other. It overtook the infantry at the Périers-sur-le-Dan ridge and reached Beuville by 14.30, but the flails had to wait while the mobile column fought off a large-scale counter-attack by 21st Panzer Division from Caen. Four WD Crabs were knocked out in this engagement, which stopped 3rd British Division from achieving its ambitious objective of taking Caen that day. Lt-Col Blair-Oliphant had landed an hour after H-Hour (aboard C Sqn's ARV, because his command tank was not due to arrive until later). By the time the regiment 'harboured' that night, B Sqn's ARV and C Sqn's M14 half-track had landed with four ammunition and petrol lorries. C Squadron harboured at Crépon with 11 Crabs (seven of them recovered from the beach). At 05.45 next morning (D+1, 7 June) they moved cautiously forward to a hedgerow but came under heavy fire, suffering several casualties among the dismounted crews. The squadron leader spotted an enemy field gun at a range of just and jumped onto Lt Hoban's tank to direct fire: one shot was enough to knock out the German gun. The squadron moved back and attended to its casualties. A composite force was then formed