 The historic Normandy town of Caen was a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division, which landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944.The capture of Caen, while "ambitious", was called the most important D-Day objective assigned to I Corps (Lieutenant-General John Crocker).Operation Overlord called for Second Army to secure the city and then form a front line from Caumont-l'Éventé–south-east of Caen, to acquire space for airfields and to protect the left flank of the First US Army (Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley), while it moved on Cherbourg.