Obstacle teams found mines or shells fitted to ramps, stakes, hedgehogs and concrete obstacles, ready to detonate against landing craft. By the time their unarmoured members arrived, some seaward ramps stood in six to eight feet of water. Men tried to remove charges while swimming under fire, but incoming LCTs eventually made work on the submerged obstacles impossible. Landing continued because the obstacles did not stop the craft from unloading and some mines failed to detonate. Losses during this early work amounted to half the flails, AVREs and bulldozers. A divisional engineer platoon borrowed an armoured bulldozer to open a White Beach exit before clearing and marking the route towards Hermanville.
Notable Point · 3:08:54-3:10:46
The rising tide submerges Sword Beach's mined obstacles
The tide and the arrival of more landing craft curtailed explosive-obstacle clearance, even as engineers found ways to open routes inland.