Operation Tonga

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Operation Tonga was the British 6th Airborne Division’s D-Day airborne assault in June 1944, aimed at securing key bridges and positions in Normandy ahead of the main Allied landings.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Operation Tonga canonical 12

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II operation
airborne operation
military operation
alsoKnownAs British 6th Airborne Division D-Day airborne assault NERFINISHED
belligerent Nazi Germany
United Kingdom NERFINISHED
commander Major-General Richard Gale NERFINISHED
conflict World War II
country United Kingdom
dateOfAction night of 5–6 June 1944
endDate 1944-06-07
executedBy British 6th Airborne Division NERFINISHED
involvesUnit 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion NERFINISHED
3rd Parachute Brigade NERFINISHED
5th Parachute Brigade NERFINISHED
6th Airlanding Brigade NERFINISHED
British 6th Airborne Division NERFINISHED
D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry NERFINISHED
Glider-borne infantry units
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry NERFINISHED
paratrooper units
location France
Normandy NERFINISHED
notableEngagement assault on Merville Battery NERFINISHED
capture of Horsa Bridge
capture of Pegasus Bridge
objective capture and hold crossings over the Caen Canal and Orne River
destroy Merville Gun Battery
disrupt German counterattacks against landing beaches
protect eastern flank of Allied invasion beaches
secure key bridges in Normandy
seize and mark landing zones for glider and parachute forces
partOf Normandy landings NERFINISHED
Operation Overlord NERFINISHED
precedes Allied amphibious landings on 6 June 1944
relatedOperation Operation Deadstick NERFINISHED
Operation Neptune NERFINISHED
result Allied tactical success
prevented German armored counterattacks from the east against Sword Beach
secured eastern flank of Normandy beachhead
startDate 1944-06-05
1944-06-06
supportedLandingBeach Gold Beach NERFINISHED
Juno Beach NERFINISHED
Sword Beach NERFINISHED
theatre Western Front NERFINISHED
timeframe early phase of D-Day

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

British 6th Airborne Division operation Operation Tonga
Airspeed Horsa glider usedInOperation Operation Tonga
subject surface form: Airspeed Horsa
6th Airborne Division notableOperation Operation Tonga
Merville Battery targetOf Operation Tonga
Bénouville significantEvent Operation Tonga
subject surface form: Pegasus Bridge
Bénouville partOf Operation Tonga
subject surface form: capture of Pegasus Bridge on 6 June 1944
Pegasus Bridge museum area commemorates Operation Tonga
Operation Deadstick partOf Operation Tonga
Major John Howard militaryOperation Operation Tonga
subject surface form: John Howard
Bénouville Bridge partOf Operation Tonga