Dieppe had shown what happened when tanks could not break beach obstacles, so Normandy's assault sequence assigned specialized vehicles to distinct problems. DD tanks were meant to suppress defenders, flails to cut mine lanes, and AVREs to breach walls, fill ditches, or lay tracks and bridges. The Churchill Crocodile added a trailer-fed flame projector that could reach bunkers and send burning fuel around turns in a trench system. Demonstrations also impressed its crews with the fuel's tendency to cling and keep burning.
Chapter · 3:40:00-3:45:38
Normandy's specialist armour achieves tactical surprise
Allied assault vehicles surprised defenders with swimming tanks, mine flails, AVREs, trackways, bridges, and Churchill Crocodile flamethrowers.