 The landings began at 04 : 30 on 5 May , with 5 Commando landing at Courrier Bay and the three infantry brigades and ' B ' Squadron landing at Ambararata Bay . The objective of the infantry brigades and their armoured support was to take control of Antsirane and a nearby town , but although the infantry landed successfully , ' B ' Squadron had more trouble ; the area of beach designated for its landing craft was blocked for several hours after a Tetrarch came loose from a landing craft and became stuck in the sand . The infantry brigades advanced toward Antsirane without the squadron , but eventually two Valentines and a single Tetrarch were dispatched in support , catching up with the lead elements of the infantry near the town of Anamakia . Here the invasion force encountered the first French defences , consisting of camouflaged trenches and pillboxes dug in along a ridge . The tanks attempted to breach them , but the rocky ground made manoeuvring difficult and they could not close with the pillboxes and trenches ; they engaged a number of targets with 2 pounder and machine @-@ gun fire , but the line had to be cleared by an infantry assault later in the day . The tanks were ordered to outflank the defences and advance further into the island , and they were soon joined by two other Tetrarchs dispatched from the beaches ; the small force continued to advance until it encountered the Vichy French main line of defence . This had been built prior to the First World War and included camouflaged pillboxes , machine @-@ gun nests and dug @-@ in 75 mm artillery pieces ; the latter , although not specifically designed for an anti @-@ tank role , could penetrate the armour of both the Tetrarchs and the Valentines . The two Valentines advanced first but were knocked out by artillery fire , and two Tetrarchs that were moving behind them suffered the same fate ; the third Tetrarch retreated in order to report on the French resistance , machine gunning a motorcycle combination and a truck it encountered on the way back . 
 The landings<a href='been_done' title='1'><mark></mark></a> began at 04 : 30 on 5 May , with 5 Commando landing at Courrier Bay and the three infantry brigades and ' B ' Squadron landing at Ambararata Bay . The objective of the infantry brigades and their armoured support was to take control of Antsirane and a nearby town , but although the infantry landed successfully , ' B ' Squadron had more trouble ; the area of beach designated for its landing craft was blocked for several hours after a Tetrarch came loose from a landing craft and became stuck in the sand . The infantry brigades advanced toward Antsirane without the squadron , but eventually two Valentines and a single Tetrarch <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> dispatched in support , catching up with the lead elements of the infantry near the town of Anamakia . Here the invasion force encountered the first French defences , consisting of camouflaged trenches and pillboxes dug in along a ridge . The tanks attempted to breach them , but the rocky ground made manoeuvring difficult and they could not close with <a href='None' title='3'><mark>the</mark></a><a href='negative_concord' title='4'><mark>pillboxes</mark></a> and trenches ; they engaged a number of targets with 2 pounder and machine @-@ gun fire , but the line had to be cleared by an infantry assault later in the day . The tanks <a href='uninflect' title='5'><mark>were</mark></a> ordered to outflank the defences and advance further into the island , and they <a href='uninflect' title='6'><mark>were</mark></a> soon joined by two other Tetrarchs dispatched from the beaches ; the small force continued to advance until it encountered the Vichy French main line of defence . This <a href='been_done' title='7'><mark>had</mark></a> been built prior to the First World War and included camouflaged pillboxes , machine @-@ gun nests and dug @-@ in 75 mm artillery pieces ; the latter , although not specifically designed for an anti @-@ tank role , could penetrate the armour of both the Tetrarchs and the Valentines . The two Valentines<a href='been_done' title='8'><mark></mark></a> advanced first but <a href='uninflect' title='9'><mark>were</mark></a> knocked out by artillery fire , and two Tetrarchs <a href='null_relcl' title='10'><mark>that</mark></a><a href='uninflect' title='11'><mark>were</mark></a> moving behind them suffered the same fate ; the third Tetrarch retreated in order to report on the French resistance , machine gunning a motorcycle combination and a truck it encountered on the way back . 
Da landings been began at 04 : 30 on 5 May , with 5 Commando landing at Courrier Bay and the three infantry brigades and ' B ' Squadron landing at Ambararata Bay . Tdaobjective of thdanfantry brigades and their armoured support was to take control of Antsirane and a nearby town , but although the infantry landed successfully , ' B ' Squadron had more trouble ; the area of beach designated for its landing craft was blocked for several hours after a Tetrarch came loose from a landing craft and became stuck in the sand . The infantry brigades advanced toward Antsirane without thedauadron , but eventually two Valentines and a single Tetrarch was dispatched in support , catchin up with the lead elements of the infantry near the town of Anamakia . Here the invasion force encountered the first French defences , consisting of camouflaged trenches and pillboxes dug in along a ridge . The daks attempted to breach them , but the rday ground made manoeuvring difficult and they could not close with no pillboxes and trenches ; they engaged a number of targets witt 2 pounder and machine @-@ gun fire , but the line had to be cleared by an infantry assault later in the day . The tanks was ordered to outflank the dedaces and advance further into the island , and they was soon joined by 2 other Tetrarchs dispatched from the beaches ; the small force continued to advance til it encountered the Vichy French main line of defence . This done been built prior to the FirdaWorld War and included camouflaged pillboxes , machine @-@ gun nests and dug @-@ in 75 mm artillery pieces ; the latter , although not specifically designed for an anti @-@ tank role , could penetrate the armour of both the Tetrarchs and the Valentines . The two Valentines done advanced first but was knocked outt by artillery fire , and tw2etrarchs was movin behind them suffered the same fate ; the thirdaetrarch retreated in order to report on the French resistance , machine gunning a motorcycle combination and a truck it encountered on the way bda .