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The typical infantry man walked everywhere and carried everything he needed on his back, and if he slept, it was on the most sheltered piece of ground he could find. He carried his own food and his own water canteen (a metal container which is very heavy when full). His main wepon was the old but reliable Lee-Enfield rifle, with which a spike bayonet could be fixed to the end as to spear the enemy when fighting at close range.
His moral was high after the upbeat briefings on bombing and pre-invasion plans, he was well trained and ready to go. His equipment was inferior to the German's however, but the youth and experience of the British Divisions on D-Day was a clear advantage over the reserve soldiers of the German army. The D-Day invasion consisted of 61,715 British soldiers.
On Sword Beach, the regular British infantry came ashore with light casualties. They had advanced about 8 kilometres (5 mi) by the end of the day but failed to make some of the deliberately ambitious targets set by Montgomery.
The British SAS went ashore in the second wave led by French Commando Troops first, as agreed amongst themselves. The 1st Special Service Brigade's landing is famous for having been led by Piper Bill Millin.
The Bren Machine gun
The Bren Gun is best known for its role as the British primary infantry light machine gun in World War II.
