What was the mission of Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway’s 9th Battalion at Merville?

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Sword Beach Injured and exhausted assault troops being helped ashore at Sword Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The mission of Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway’s 9th Battalion was to destroy the Merville battery. This coastal artillery position, which featured four guns fortified in hard casemates, posed a direct threat to the seaborne landing forces at Sword Beach.

Despite a difficult drop that left the battalion with only 150 of its 750 men at the start of the assault, the unit successfully captured the battery. The operation was costly, resulting in casualties to half of the attacking force, while only 22 of the 200-man German garrison remained uninjured.1