D-Day: the advance south
stained four sheets and spread them into a red cross. It was spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft, which waggled its wings in recognition. The bombers were aiming to soften the defences of Caen in support of the approaching British troops. But the soldiers advancing from Sword were unaware that they’d already been spotted by the gun-crews of enemy howitzers, which were dug in on a ridge near the village of Perierssur-le-Dan. As Bob Littlar, Bill Farmer and Gisser Owens made their way up the slope, they were moving into range. Soon shells began to fall
around them, and the KSLI realized that their first battle of D-Day was about to begin. The battalion was split into four companies – W, X, Y and Z – each consisting of around 120 men, and an HQ company, which included Captain Eaves. The companies moved close enough to each other to be able to offer mutual support, yet still retained some distance to avoid presenting an easy target to enemy machinegunners. At 2 p.m. the men of Z Company were sent east towards the Periers-sur-le-Dan battery, leaving the rest of the KSLI to push south. 149