Division on Gold Beach, with A Squadron detached under the command of 22nd Dragoons to work with 3rd Canadian Division on Juno Beach and 3rd British Division on Sword Beach. The Crabs were to form composite breaching teams with Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVREs) fitted with a variety of devices to make lanes through the enemy's beach defences. These teams had trained together at Stanswood and on the morning of 6 June, D Day, they were deployed as follows: Part of A Sqn, WD, and 80 Sqn, 5 Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers (RE)) with 8 Canadian Brigade (Nan Beach) W and Y Breaching Sqns (13 Crabs of B Sqn, WD, and 82 Sqn, 6 Assault Regiment, RE) with 231 Bde (Jig Beach) X and Z Breaching Sqns (13 Crabs of C Sqn, WD, and 81 Sqn, 6 Assault Regiment, RE) with 69 Bde (King Beach) The LCTs were supposed to be preceded by Sherman DD 'swimming' tanks, but in Gold sector the surf was too bad and they were not launched, so the breaching teams were the first vehicles ashore at H-Hour (07.25). They then got to work. For example, Lt Pear leading two Crabs with No 1 Breaching Team of X Breaching Sqn drove off the LCT and waded to the beach, where his rear tank got bogged in clay. Pear flailed a lane across the beach up to the lateral road and turned left as planned. His role now was to remain in reserve, giving covering fire. However, the team at No 3 Lane had failed, and Pear was ordered to carry on inland. He crossed a stream and an anti-tank ditch, finding to his surprise that the bridges had not been blown by the enemy. He was then stopped by a large crater (probably from a British shell or bomb), but this was quickly bridged by an AVRE and Pear continued to flail a lane up the hill so that the DD tanks go move inland. No 2 Team was held up beyond the lateral road by boggy ground and craters, despite making a 'sporting effort to get past'. Both Crabs of No 3 Team got to the beach but were hit in the rotor by a German 88 mm gun on the sea wall at La Rivière. The squadron commander ordered the AVRE bridgelayer to reverse and go to help No 2 Team. In Z Bridging