the war, the battery was increased to five troops, three of them retaining the 6 pounder, while the other two had four Ordnance QF 17 pounders each. While the 6 pounder could fit inside the Horsa glider, the size and weight of the 17 pounder and its Morris C8 tractor unit required the larger Hamilcar glider. The 591st (Antrim) Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers. and the 225th (Parachute) Field Ambulance of the Royal Army Medical Corps completed the brigade formation. 'D' Company, commanded by Major John Howard, from the 2nd Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (OBLI), of 6th Airlanding Brigade, also served with the brigade for a one off mission in Normandy. At the end of the war, while serving in the Far East, the pathfinders of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company, and the Parachute Platoon from the Light Composite Company, Royal Army Service Corps, were attached to the brigade. Operational history From June to December 1943, the brigade prepared for operations as part of the 6th Airborne Division, training at every level from section up to division by day and night. Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy, who would be equipped with artillery and tanks. Training was therefore designed to encourage a spirit of self-discipline, self-reliance and aggressiveness, with emphasis given to physical fitness, marksmanship and fieldcraft. A large part of the training consisted of assault courses and route marching. Military exercises included capturing and holding airborne bridgeheads, road or rail bridges and coastal fortifications. At the end of most exercises, the troops would march back to their barracks, usually a distance of around . An ability to cover long distances at speed was expected; airborne platoons were required to cover a distance of in 24 hours, and battalions . In April 1944, under the command of 1st Airborne Corps, the brigade took part in Exercise Mush, in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. This was an airborne military exercise spread over three days involving the 1st and 6th Airborne Divisions. Unknown to the men of the 6th Airborne, it was a full-scale rehearsal for the division's involvement in the imminent Normandy invasion. During the invasion, the division's two parachute brigades would land just after midnight on 6 June, while the 6th Airlanding Brigade arrived later in the day just before dark. The division's objective was to secure the left