AVREs that landed ahead of the DD tanks and infantry briefly lacked their planned close support. One LCT lost its ability to discharge a gapping team when an anti-tank hit disabled a flail on the ramp and another hit caused an explosion aboard. German defenders emerged from shelters after the bombardment and brought the assault under renewed fire. Engineers opened four exits on one part of the beach within an hour despite heavy losses. On Red Beach, destroyed vehicles blocked the first two exits, and teams that had lost most of their tanks resorted to clearing by hand. Their first usable gap took about an hour and a half, with two more following within the next quarter-hour; mines lay particularly around the exits and behind the dunes.
Notable Point · 3:06:04-3:08:50
Sword Beach engineers open exits while tanks block the gaps
Damaged flails and tanks could obstruct the very routes they were meant to open, forcing some Sword Beach engineers to continue clearance by hand.