The Pegasus and Orne Bridges PDF Download

Author: Neil Barber
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473830095
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
This WWII history chronicles a daring airborne mission that was vital to the success of Operation Tonga, D-Day, and the liberation of France. When the British Army landed on Sword Beach in Normandy, their only exit eastward required passage across the River Orne and the Caen Canal. But the two bridges fording these waterways—the Pegasus and Orne Bridges—were heavily guarded and wired for demolition in case of a Germans retreat. Capturing these bridges would be next to impossible. Operation Deadstick, conducted by Major John Howard and his company of Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, was a superbly daring, brilliantly executed 'coup de main' assault. The glider-borne troops not only seized both bridges but faced a ferocious and prolonged German counterattack. Neil Barber, a military historian and expert in British airborne operations, uses extensive personal accounts to tell this incredible story of Allied victory. Covering events and operations from Ranville in the East to Benouville in the West, Pegasus and Orne Bridges chronicles the combat of the 7th, 12th and 13th Parachute Battalions and reinforcements such as the Commandos, seaborne engineers and the Warwicks.

Author: Neil Barber
Publisher: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 9781473822740
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
The glider-borne operation to capture Pegasus Bridge has an established place in the annals of warfare. Conducted by Major John Howard and his company of Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry it was a superbly daring, brilliantly executed 'coup de main' assault. Equally brave was the seizure of the Orne bridges by airborne forces and the defence against ferocious German counter attacks over a prolonged period. The author who has a deep specialised knowledge of the area and period uses extensive personal accounts to tell this thrilling and inspiring story. He covers events and operations from Ranville in the East to Benouville in the West and this embraces the fierce fighting by 7th, 12th and 13th Parachute Battalions and reinforcements such as the Commandos, seaborne engineers and the Warwicks. This splendid book will be enjoyed by those at home and those who are lucky enough to visit these historic sites.

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439126674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
The acclaimed WWII historian’s “illuminating account of . . . an operation as strategically important as any fought on D-Day” (The New York Times Book Review). In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II. It was a mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. In Pegasus Bridge, Stephen Ambrose draws on original interviews with British, German, and French survivors to present a thrilling, ground-level view of the battle. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality—the stuff of all great adventures.

Author: Neil Barber
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781220122
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This comprehensive pocket guide to Pegasus Bridge is designed for anyone visiting the site but is equally useful for those wanting an accurate understanding of exactly what happened. Neil Barber uses photographs and first-hand accounts to simply explain what happened in those first few vital hours of D-Day.

Author: Will Fowler
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472806352
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
The night before D-Day, light infantry and a detachment of Royal Engineers landed by gliders at Pegasus Bridge, which spanned the Caen Canal. Quickly overwhelming the guards, they managed to hold the bridge and help prevent German reinforcements from reaching the British landing beaches. Will Fowler provides a detailed blow-by-blow account of this classic wartime raid.

Author: Carl Shilleto
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783830204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
This battlefield guide is the companion work to Merville Battery & The Dives Bridges. Together, these two books form the fully revised and updated edition of the previous best selling Battleground Europe Series book Pegasus Bridge & Merville Battery.This book examines, in great detail, the attack by 2 Oxf Bucks and engineers of the British 6th Airborne Division, in six gliders, on the Caen Canal and River Orne bridges in the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944. It also describes part of the battle for the village of Bnouville by 7 Para and Ranville by 13 Para. It was the combination of these actions that allowed the link-up between the commandos and airborne troops on D-Day. Thereby, forming a bridgehead to help secure the eastern flank of the greatest combined military operation in history; Operation OVERLORD.In addition to explaining how these objectives were achieved, this battlefield guide relates the battles to the area as it is today. The book contains details of the museums, memorials, cemeteries and associated organizations. All of which will unravel the history of the area to the visitor and armchair traveler alike.To further aid the battlefield tourist, GPS data is also provided for either satellite navigation by vehicle or for viewing on Google Earth.

Author: Denis Edwards
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0850528690
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Although strictly forbidden to keep diaries, Denis Edwards managed to record his experiences throughout nearly all his time in Europe in 1944-45. He brilliantly conveys what it was like to be facing death, day after day, night after night, with never a bed to sleep in nor a hot meal to go home to. This is warfare in the raw ' brutal, yet humorous, immensely tragic, but sadly, all true.

Author: Neil Barber
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1844150453
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
The first hours and days following the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 have a strong claim to be amongst the most crucial in world history. Spearheading this vast undertaking were crack British and American airborne forces. The Day The Devils Dropped In examines in fascinating detail the pivotal role of the 9th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment over the first week of the landings. Tasked with neutralizing the mighty Merville Battery, capturing Le Plein and the Château St Côme on the Breville Ridge, failure by the Paras to achieve any of these key objectives could well have unraveled the whole OVERLORD operation with catastrophic consequences. In his quest to uncover the true story of the early days of the landings, Neil Barber has successfully tracked down surviving participants in the operation. As a result he is able to tell the full story of the fierce fighting that characterized the early days of the landings largely in the very words of those who lived through the experience. This adds much to the credibility and immediacy of this enthralling book, which paints a superb picture of what soldiers care to call 'the fog of war'. The result is an inspiring and revealing read and a fine tribute to those whose contribution must never be forgotten.

Author: Lloyd Clark
Publisher: D-Day (History Press)
ISBN: 9780752476629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Packed with color photographs and detailed maps, the perfect pocket guide to the Normandy battle zone The strengths, weaknesses, and sheer drama of airborne warfare are all encapsulated in the 6th Airborne Division's attacks on Pegasus Bridge and the Merville Battery in Normandy. The lightly armed but highly trained and motivated airborne troops sought to overcome a more heavily armed enemy desperate to unhinge the D-day invasion. Starting with an examination of the 6th Airborne Division, its plan, and the German opposition, Lloyd Clark provides an overview of British operations east of the River Orne from the initial landings in the early hours of June 6, 1944, to the capture of Breville, seven days later. The battlefield tours that follow include not only the famous and dramatic assaults on Pegasus Bridge and the Merville Battery, but also the lesser-known struggles to secure the British southern flank on June 6 and 7 and the Battle of Breville on June 12. Full of color photos and detailed maps, this is the must-have guide for any armchair historian or battlefield tourist.

Author: Cornelius Ryan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439126461
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
The unparalleled, classic work of history that recreates the battle that changed World War II—the Allied invasion of Normandy. The Longest Day is Cornelius Ryan’s unsurpassed account of D-Day, a book that endures as a masterpiece of military history. In this compelling tale of courage and heroism, glory and tragedy, Ryan painstakingly recreates the fateful hours that preceded and followed the massive invasion of Normandy to retell the story of an epic battle that would turn the tide against world fascism and free Europe from the grip of Nazi Germany. This book, first published in 1959, is a must for anyone who loves history, as well as for anyone who wants to better understand how free nations prevailed at a time when darkness enshrouded the earth.