Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge (Battleground Normandy) Paperback – October 5, 2011

Good book that doubles as a guidebook for touring the area. I am finding it very useful as I am planning a trip to the area soon. The book is written with a historical description of the action at a specific area followed by a description of the area as it is now, with landmarks and places to visit highlighted.

I missed this book first time around and, therefore, came to the work without previously having heard of author Carl Shilleto. Now republished as Part 1 of the battleground guide to Normandy (Part Two being Merville Battery and the Dives Bridges by the same author), the two works compliment each other exactly as they should and are both written in an easy-to-read and energetic style which befits the actions they recount.With both books published in the same style and at the same time by Pen & Sword Books Ltd, some of my comments are repeated in my reviews for both works because they both combine to give the most complete account.Unlike any novel I might occasionally read (but only `very' occasionally!), I always thumb through a work of non-fiction in order to get a feel for the product before settling down to a serious read. On this occasion, I warmed to the work just as soon as I started my looking. In short, I like the book, the style of writing and the way in which it is presented.Said to provide much more information than the original, the work describes in great detail the attack by 2 Oxford and Bucks and the airborne engineers on the bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne in the early hours of D-Day 6 June 1944. Also covered is part of 7 Para's battle for Benouville village and 13 Para's assault on Ranville - the combination of which actions allowed the historic link-up between airborne forces and commandos on D-Day which formed the bridgehead on the eastern flank for Operation Overlord.The work itself is profusely illustrated with photographs or illustrations on almost every page and it is quite clear how considerable effort and thought has gone into this aspect of the book. Having formerly served with all three battalions of the Parachute Regiment and 22 SAS (post WW2!), I have read a number of accounts of the wartime actions of these regiments and was most pleased to see so many photographs published here which I had not seen before - especially the one of the German gunboat sunk by a private soldier with a Piat! Most importantly, each illustration has been carefully selected so that the right picture is on the right page in order to reinforce the text you are reading at the time without breaking your natural flow of reading - which always happens when you have to pause to look elsewhere.Altogether, an excellent offering and one which I am sure will lead to your purchasing part two of this incredible story...NMBritish Army major (Retired).

The added chapters on travelling around the combat zone adds to the book, as well as the present day photos.

This volume of the Battleground Europe series covers the actions of the British 6th Airborne Division in Normandy, mostly on 6 June 1944 but with some mention of post-D-Day activities. Obviously, the main focus of the book is on the two most dramatic and successful actions, the capture of Pegasus Bridge and the Merville Battery on D-Day itself. While Pegasus Bridge has certainly been covered in other books, the seizure of the Merville Battery generally gets less attention and the demolition of numerous bridges over the Dives River gets almost none, which this book aims to correct. While primarily a tour guide of the modern battlefield, this volume does an effective job of putting the contributions of the 6th Airborne into proper perspective. For American readers who want to know more about what the British airborne did in Normandy and want to go beyond just the Pegasus Bridge incident, this volume serves that purpose admirably and at a modest cost. The author graciously begins the book with pertinent background on how the British airborne operations fit into the overall Overlord plan and what the three main objectives of the 6th Airborne were. The locations, units and drop schedules are listed, along with excellent aerial photos of the objectives. A good section on the German defenses is also provided. This first chapter is quite good and sets the stage for the rest of the book. Well done! The remarkable assault on Pegasus Bridge is covered in 33 pages, which include excellent contemporary aerial photos. While the British planning and execution were superb - it probably is not possible to conduct a better raid than this one - the British were also aided by some lucky breaks. American readers familiar with this action from the movie The Longest Day will quickly realize that the movie did not do this attack justice. For one thing, Major Howard's force was only alone at the bridge for thirty minutes before other paratroops starting reinforcing the bridgehead; within two hours there was most of a battalion at the bridge and the British had fanned out into the nearby villages. The Germans reacted quickly and during 6 June, Howard had to fend off enemy tanks, fighter-bombers, gunboats and frogmen. I was also amazed to learn that the British actor Richard Todd, who portrayed Major Howard in the Longest Day, actually served as a lieutenant at Pegasus Bridge. It is certainly unusual for an actor to have served in the battle he is portraying. The only defect in this section is the limited information provided on the exact organization of Major Howard's group and their casualties. Equally well done is the section on the Merville battery, a German artillery battery that threatened the British sea borne landing beaches. Excellent photographs and diagrams are provided to supplement the text. The assault plan is discussed in detail and there are even several photographs of the German battery commander. Unlike Pegasus Bridge, the British plan for assaulting the formidable Merville Battery quickly went awry when 80% of the British airborne battalion failed to land on the correct drop zone near the battery. The British commander, Lieutant-Colonel Otway, was forced to make the decision to attack with only 20% of his men and with few supporting weapons or abort. He chose to press on. LTC Otway notes, "in the parachute regiment, giving up is not an option." American readers should consider the similar situation which confronted Colonel Beckwith at Desert One in 1980, and how he chose the opposite course. In any event, Otway pressed on and assaulted through the minefields surrounding the Merville Battery and eliminated most of the garrison. Merville was a very deadly company-level battle, with 66 of the 150 British assault troops killed, but it shows what well-trained troops are capable of accomplishing. One interesting incident at Merville was that of the 22 Germans captured, one medical orderly who assisted both German and British wounded was recommended for an Iron Cross medal by LTC Otway. The British commander sent a recommendation for the award back to the Germans with one of their wounded officers. Unfortunately, the remainder of the book gets bogged down in tourist guide detail and the primary focus of the first three chapters is lacking. While the effort by the rest of the 6th Airborne to blow up the Dives River bridges and establish blocking positions is interesting, it is somewhat incoherently portrayed in these last two chapters. While the 6th Airborne suffered over 30% losses in Normandy, it is clear that the British got their moneys worth from these well-trained and motivated troops. An appendix at the back of the book lists the complete order of battle for the division. This book is highly recommended for its military detail, maps and excellent photographs.

Extensive knowledge of this subject would be difficult to surpass from this book by Carl Shilleto. I recomend this book if you want more details rather than just an over-view. The book covers D-Day of how the British 6th Airborne captured Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge while still (In French time) the last minutes of the 5th June. The bridge is featured in the film 'The Longest Day'. The Merville Battery is covered and the appalling loses and chaos of the parachute drop, and still managed to overcome the German defences with greatly undermanned attackers. Worth the purchase.

Both bridges were seized from the Germans by British Airborne Division paratroopers flown in by gliders ((towed, at night,by British Airplanes from Airfields in England.)....This an excellent book, if you want a very detailed account. Much of this book tells readers where to go if they visit these war sites in the present time.There are names of officers and wounded paratropers and those who received medals in this book, but very few names of privates.I recommend this book.

J'ai une admiration sans bornes pour les S.A.S., dont "le commando KIEFFER", et "la British 6th Airborne" qui avaient fait l'honneurà KIEFFER de débarquer le premier sur la terre de France. (Airborne = [troupe] aéroportée).

I was intending to visit this battle site as it has family connections. I found this book to be an invaluable history of the Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry action in the early hours of D Day. It is a good read but can also be used as a guide book when visiting the site.

Another very high standard book from Battleground just never ceases to amaze me how they cram so much into these. I use these on my travels to France the amount of time they save you is well worth what you pay for them