After spending many years training in the United Kingdom the 197th Brigade, together with the rest of the 59th Division, landed in France on 29 June 1944, D-Day + 23. The division, under command of XII Corps, became part of the British Second Army, which was engaged in the Battle for Caen. With the arrival of the 59th Division General Bernard Montgomery, commanding the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group, decided to renew the offensive to capture the city of Caen, which was originally a D-Day objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division which ultimately failed, due mainly to heavier resistance than expected. Operation Charnwood. The brigade's first action was Operation Charnwood with 2/6th South Staffords (of 177th Brigade), along with C Company of the 7th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (the divisional MG Battalion), together with numerous units of the Royal Artillery under command (and 510 Field Company, RE), and supported by the Churchill tanks of the 1st East Riding Yeomanry (of 27th Armoured Brigade). The brigade suffered comparatively light casualties in "Charnwood". The 197th Brigade later fought in the Second Battle of the Odon, and the Battle of the Falaise Gap.