Tale of Two Bridges, The – The 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Division

xvi, 184 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 21 cm. #131121 Limited Edition No: 0056

Colonel Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, DSO & Bar, MC (2 December 1908 – 28 February 1974) was an officer of the British Army who saw service during the Second World War. He commanded the 3rd Parachute Battalion in North Africa and the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion in Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. His troops, amused by the unusual applicability of his family name (soldiers were usually buried in simple pine wood coffins), referred to him as “Wooden Box”.
With the 7th Battalion, Pine-Coffin played an important role in the 6th Airborne Division’s airborne assault around the River Orne in the early hours of 6 June 1944. His battalion was tasked with reinforcing Major John Howard’s 181-strong coup de main force, which had captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges. The successful defence of these bridges was vital to 6th Airborne Division’s objective of securing the Allied eastern flank. The bridges were to be held until relieved later on in the day following the Allied amphibious landings.

Pine-Coffin dropped with his battalion at 00:50; they began to arrive at the bridges at about 01:40, taking up positions in Bénouville and Le Port, west of Caen Canal. With 7th Battalion’s arrival, Pine-Coffin succeeded Major Howard to command of the bridges’ defence. The 5th Parachute Brigade’s position was precarious; 7th Battalion had been scattered and could only muster about 40% of its strength, while the 12th Battalion was in a similar situation at Ranville, east of the Orne. Pine-Coffin’s battalion came under sustained attack by the 716th Infantry Division and elements of the 21st Panzer Division but they, with difficulty, held their positions. The first relief for the beleaguered troops came at about 13:30, when elements of Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service Brigade arrived from Sword Beach and crossed the bridges to reinforce the Ranville positions. The 7th Battalion’s own relief would not begin until the arrival of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Royal Warwickshire Regiment at 21:15.

The 7th Battalion was moved to positions east of the Orne when their withdrawal from the bridges was completed. After a German assault by the 346th Infantry Division was driven off on 10 June, Pine-Coffin was ordered to plan for an operation to take the Le Mariquet woods, which the remnants of the German attacking force had retreated into. Just two of the 7th battalion’s companies were present, but they were, with support from tanks, successful in taking the woods, and captured up to 100 soldiers. The 7th Battalion would continue to be engaged in bloody defensive battles in the area until the Allied breakout and advance to the Seine in August. Despite concerns by Pine-Coffin that his battalion was greatly fatigued, the 7th Battalion maintained its involvement in the intense Allied advance. Finally, in mid-September, the 6th Airborne Division was withdrawn back to Britain to recuperate and reorganise.