Pegasus Bridge

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, Major John Howard led 181 men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in a glider-borne assault to capture the Benouville bridge in Normandy. Stephen Ambrose chronicles the technical training, the precision crash-landing of Horsa gliders, and the brief, violent skirmish required to seize the structure from German defenders. The narrative tracks the preparation of the D Company paratroopers and the strategic necessity of holding the Orne River crossings to prevent German panzer divisions from flanking the Allied landings at Sword Beach.

Military historians and readers of tactical history study this account to understand the execution of small-unit operations and the mechanics of vertical envelopment. The text provides a granular look at the synchronization between paratroopers and infantry under extreme pressure. Readers finish the book with a clear grasp of the logistical risks inherent in airborne warfare and the specific command decisions that enabled the first Allied objective of D-Day to be secured within minutes of arrival.

Outward-looking and clear-cut; a moderate read.

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