Gold Beach Gold , commonly known as Gold Beach , was the code name for one of the D - Day landing beaches that Allied forces used to invade German - occupied France on 6 June 1944 , during World War II . Gold lay in the area assigned to the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division commanded by Major General Douglas Alexander Graham , and the 8th Armoured Brigade . These were part of XXX Corps , commanded by Lieutenant General Gerard Bucknall , which in turn was part of Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey ' s British 2nd Army . Gold had three main assault sectors – these were designated ( from west to east ) : Item , Jig ( split into sections Green and Red ) , and King ( also in two sections named Green and Red ) . A fourth , named How , was not used as a landing area . The beach was to be assaulted by the 50th Division between Le Hamel and Ver sur Mer . Attached to them were elements of 79th ( Armoured ) Division . The 231st Infantry Brigade would come ashore on Jig Sector at Le Hamel / Asnelles and the 69th Brigade at King Sector in front of Ver sur Mer . No . 47 ( Royal Marine ) Commando , attached to the 50th Division for the landing , was assigned to Item sector . Objectives . There were originally seventeen sectors along the Normandy coastline with codenames taken from one of the spelling alphabets of the time , from Able , west of Omaha , to Rodger on the east flank of the invasion area . Eight further sectors were added when the planned invasion was extended to include Utah on the Cotentin Peninsula . Sectors were further subdivided into beaches identified by the colours Green , Red and White . The primary D – Day objectives for the 50th Infantry Division were to establish a beachhead between Arromanches ( crucial for the deployment of the artificial Mulberry harbour ) and Ver - sur - Mer , then head south towards " Route Nationale " 13 ( RN 13 ) , reaching Bayeux and cutting the road to Caen . The 231st and 69th Infantry Brigades were to be first ashore and establish a beachhead . The follow - up 56 th and 151st Infantry Brigade s would aim to push south - west towards RN 13 supported by the tanks of the 8th Armoured Brigade . To the west , 47 Commando ' s mission was to capture Port - en - Bessin and link - up with American forces landing on Omaha . 50th Division was also tasked with meeting the Canadian troops coming ashore on Juno . German defences . Facing the British in the eastern area of the beach were elements of the German 716th Static Infantry Division ( No . 4 company of East Battalion 441 and No . 7 Company of the 736th Infantry Regiment ) . The central stretch of the beach was marshy and defended only by No . 3 Company of the 441st East Battalion , composed mainly of Russian conscripts . Crew - served weapons in this sector were mainly 50 mm guns in concrete emplacements and 75 mm guns inside pillboxes . Facing the British in the western area of the beach were units of the 1st Battalion of the 916th Infantry Regiment of the 352nd Division . The units facing the eastern and western areas of the beach were concentrated in fortified beach houses along the coast at Le Hamel and La Rivière . The houses proved to be highly vulnerable to both naval and aerial bombardment . Several artillery batteries were to the rear at Mont - Fleury , Ryes , Marefontaine , Creully and Crepon , covering the beach . An observation post for four 155 mm guns was positioned on the top of the cliffs at Longues - sur - Mer . These guns were located a further half mile ( 800 m ) inland . Kampfgruppe " Meyer " , the 352nd division ' s reserve based at Bayeux , had been in an ideal position to counterattack the landings early on June 6 . However , the presence of paratroopers of the US 101st Airborne Division near the Vire estuary , led General Kraiss , the Commander of the 352nd division , to perceive this threat as more important and ordered the reserve to this location . This tactical error meant several hours were spent retracing the 30 or so kilometres back towards the real threat at Gold . The ability to counter - attack had been lost . Initial assault . Prior to the landings , German defensive positions were attacked by medium and heavy bombers ; the bombardment was continued by the 6 inch ( 15 cm ) and 8 inch ( 20 cm ) guns of the accompanying cruisers , ( see ' Naval support ' section below ) . King Sector ( La Rivière / Ver sur Mer ) . H - Hour for the landing at Gold was set at 0725 hrs on King sector ( 50 minutes later than in the American sector to allow for the difference in the west to east tidal surge ) . The British were aware that the beach was littered with defences – anti - tank obstacles and mines – which were to be dealt with by engineers in the first wave . However , due to a strong north - westerly wind , sea levels along the coast were higher than had been anticipated . This higher tide covered many of the mines and other obstacles . Those engineers that did reach the obstacles soon came under enemy fire which prevented them from being cleared . A decision was taken not to launch the amphibious DD tank s from their landing craft tank ( LCTs ) but to run them directly onto the beach . The first wave , carried in LCA s , came in under heavy fire from the German defenders and suffered casualties . The 1st Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment lost its Commanding Officer and Second - in - Command within minutes of landing . Following the Hampshires were the Commandos of the 4th Special Service Brigade . They too suffered badly during the run - in and only one of their allotted landing craft actually reached the shore . The decision to land the tanks directly on to the beach proved correct as there was no German armour in the area . Once ashore the tanks provided close support to the infantry and most of the initial German resistance was quickly overcome . Many of the German strong points had been neutralised by the naval bombardment earlier in the morning ; La Rivièra held out the longest , but by 1000 hrs it had been captured . Jig Sector ( Le Hamel / Asnelles ) . Men of the 6th Green Howards came ashore supported by DD tanks of the 4th / 7th Dragoons and the special tanks of the Westminster Dragoons . In this sector the defence was weak and the coastal strong points were easily knocked out before the troops pushed inland to tackle the German artillery batteries . The attack on Le Hamel was slow and British forces took a number of casualties . The intervention of the 147th Field Regiment , Royal Artillery , enabled the strong point to be neutralised and the village fell at approximately 1600 hrs . The 69th brigade then continued its southward advance though Creully and Crépon . At 1600 hrs a German counter - attack was launched but failed to break the British lines . Item Sector . No 47 ( RM ) Commando , the last commando unit to land , came ashore on Gold east of Le Hamel in Item sector . Their task was to immediately push inland , then turn right ( west ) and cross of enemy held territory in order to seize and hold the coastal harbour of Port - en - Bessin . This small port was significant as it was to be the only permanent harbour for supplies to be brought in including fuel by underwater pipe from tankers moored offshore . After landing , 47 Commando moved south of Arromanches and pushed west to within a mile of Port - en - Bessin where they were halted just to the south of the Longues - sur - Mer battery . Here they dug in on ‘ Hill 72 ’ . Port - en - Bessin did not fall into British hands until June 8 , following heavy fighting . Beachhead . Despite fierce opposition initially , British forces broke through the German defences with relatively few casualties . They also had the assistance of the 79th ( Armoured ) Division , equipped with Hobart ' s Funnies . These vehicles , such as the Sherman flail tank , proved essential on D - Day . They cleared minefields , laid fascines ( to bridge ditches ) and trackway across soft sand to assist in exiting the beaches . Naval support . Hundreds of vessels made up Force ' G ' that was to assault Gold . Amongst these were the British cruisers HMS " Ajax " , HMS " Argonaut " , HMS " Emerald " , HMS " Orion " , the battleship HMS " Warspite " and the Free French Navy cruiser " Georges Leygues " . Commodore Douglas - Pennant , Naval Commander of Force " G " , aboard the headquarters ship HMS " Bulolo " commanded the landing on Gold Beach , but the ship forced to relocate after receiving incoming fire the German battery at Longues - sur - Mer , but she remained off the beaches directing the assault . On 27 June she returned to Portsmouth . German defences inland . Considerable opposition from inland enemy batteries and mortars hampered the landings , but by 1000 hrs , La Rivière was captured and a couple hours later , Le Hamel fell . The Royal Marine Commandos were able to reach within a mile ( 1 . 6 km ) of Port - en - Bessin after finding that the Loungue - Sur - Mer battery had been put out of action by HMS Ajax . Gold Beach timeline . 07 . 25 – The 231st and 69th Assault Brigades hit the beach . DD ( swimming ) tanks and beach clearance groups , delayed by bad weather , are landed directly on to the beach . 07 . 45 – Troops make slow progress against raking fire , but three beach exits are cleared within the hour . 08 . 20 – Follow - up battalions and No . 47 Royal Marine Commando land . 09 . 30 – Les Roquettes is captured . 09 . 50 – Stiff resistance at Le Hamel . Commandos head for Port - en - Besin to link with American forces . CSM Stan Hollis , 6th Green Howards , performs acts of bravery at Crépon for which he is later awarded the Victoria Cross . 10 . 50 – Reserve brigades begin to land ; seven beach exits have been secured . 16 . 00 – Le Hamel is finally captured . 231st Brigade moves on to Arromanches . 69th Brigade encounters resistance in Villers le Sec / Bazenville area . 20 . 30 – 56th and 151st Brigades reach the outskirts of Bayeux and the Caen - Bayeux road . 21 . 00 – Arromanches is captured . 23 . 59 – A large bridgehead has been established , six miles wide and deep , linking up with the Canadians at Juno . 47 Royal Marine Commando are ready to take Port - en - Bessin on the following day . By midnight on June 6 , the 50th Division had landed 25 , 000 men with approximately 400 casualties . They had penetrated inland and met up with the Canadians coming from Juno at Tierceville . The 56th , 69th and 151st Brigades had dug in on a line between Vaux - sur - Aure and Coulombs . During the evening , patrols of the 2nd Gloucestershires reach the outer suburbs of Bayeux . To the west , Arromanches is reached at 2000 hrs and cleared an hour later . The link - up with the American troops cannot be made . Men of the 47th Royal Marine Commando , after a day - long progression into enemy territory , had dug in on Hill 72 south of the Longues - sur - Mer battery . Their objective , Port - en - Bessin , did not fall until June 8 . Aftermath . Following the landing Operation Perch was launched to drive further inland and later to attempt to capture Caen in the Battle for Caen . In the meantime , the Mulberry harbour that came to be known as ' Port Churchill ' was constructed at Arromanches in Item sector . Stanley Hollis VC . It was during the assault on the beach and clearing the Mount Fleury battery that CSM Stanley Hollis ' s actions enabled D Company to open the main beach exit . Later that day his bravery at Crepon saved the lives of several of his men and he was awarded the only Victoria Cross to be bestowed for actions on D - Day . Gallery . Some pictures of modern day Arromanches - les - Bains ( Gold Beach ) .