On 29 July 1944, the Brigade was ordered to be ready to move. Its first units arrived in Normandy on 30 July and the main body arrived at Arromanches and Courseulles on 8 August, before the end of the Battle of Normandy.[citation needed] The Brigade operated under the command of the British 6th Airborne Division (Major General Gale), which was part of the First Canadian Army.[1] The Belgians entered active service on 9 August.[citation needed]