On This Day
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British 12th airborne battalion and the 13th & 18th Hussars attack and capture Bréville

The Battle of Bréville was fought by the British 6th Airborne Division and the German 346th Infantry Division, between 8 and 13 June 1944, during the early phases of the invasion of Normandy in the...

The Battle of Bréville was fought by the British 6th Airborne Division and the German 346th Infantry Division, between 8 and 13 June 1944, during the early phases of the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War.

In June 1944, units of the 346th Infantry Division occupied Bréville-les-Monts, a village on a watershed between the rivers Orne and Dives. From this vantage point, they could observe the positions of the 6th Airborne Division, defending the River Orne and Caen Canal bridges and beyond them the British Sword at Ouistreham.

Historical Significance

The Battle of Bréville was fought by the British 6th Airborne Division and the German 346th Infantry Division, between 8 and 13 June 1944, during the early phases of the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War.

Events Before

  1. German officer Claus von Stauffenberg is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel

    Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, part of…

  2. Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to the hospital for rest and treatmen

    Negro Baseball League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to the hospital for rest and treatment; he is released in time for preseason training

  3. Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies

    Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies

  4. Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though

    Soviets announce they have broken the long siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though the siege is not fully lifted until a year later

  5. German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad

    Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army…

Events After

  1. German air raid on Allied airfields at Eindhoven, Saint-Trond, and Brussels

    German air raid on Allied airfields at Eindhoven, Saint-Trond, and Brussels

  2. Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in for an unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated fourth term as US President

    Franklin D. Roosevelt is sworn in for an unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated fourth term as US President

  3. Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland - now commemorated as International Holocau

    Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland - now commemorated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day [1]

  4. WWII: US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manila in the Philippines after a month-long battle, ending three

    WWII: US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manila in the Philippines after a month-long battle, ending three years of Japanese military occupation

  5. Declaration of Liberated Europe is signed at the Yalta Conference by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Josep

    Declaration of Liberated Europe is signed at the Yalta Conference by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, declaring that liberated nations are to establish democratic governments through free elections

More from the 1940s

D-Day: The Normandy Landings

Allied forces launch the largest amphibious invasion in history on the beaches of Normandy, France, marking the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

wars conflicts

World War II: Representatives of 26 nations at war with the Axis powers sign the Declaration of the United Nations, pled

World War II: Representatives of 26 nations at war with the Axis powers sign the Declaration of the United Nations, pledging to make no separate peace deals

Mahatma Gandhi begins a march for peace in East Bengal

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political thinker who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign…

birth

Omar al-Bashir is born

Omar al-Bashir is born

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on June 12, 1944?
The Battle of Bréville was fought by the British 6th Airborne Division and the German 346th Infantry Division, between 8 and 13 June 1944, during the early phases of the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War. In June 1944, units of the 346th Infantry Division occupied Bréville-les-Monts, a village on a watershed between the rivers Orne and Dives. From this vantage point, they could observe the positions of the 6th Airborne Division, defending the River Orne and Caen Canal bridges and beyond them the British Sword at Ouistreham.
Why is British 12th airborne battalion and the 13th & 18th Hussars attack and captur... significant?
The Battle of Bréville was fought by the British 6th Airborne Division and the German 346th Infantry Division, between 8 and 13 June 1944, during the early phases of the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War.

Explore More

June 12 in HistoryYear 1944