The British 6th Airborne were the first Allied soldiers to see action on June 6th, D-Day. Six platoons from 2nd Ox & Bucks’ D and B companies, 181 men strong, went into France on six Horsa gliders. Their mission was to capture the two (intact) bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne River and hold until relieved. These bridges were located on the very eastern flank of the entire Normandy campaign, and capturing them intact would be of great importance.

The raid was featured in the classic movie The Longest Day, although it’s not entirely accurate. After successfully capturing the bridges, which was done in under ten minutes, the long wait for reinforcement began. The company, only armed with a few PIATs for anti-tank defense, repelled an armored counter-attack as well as survived hours of sniper fire.

Stephen Ambrose interviewed soldiers from both sides and these are their stories. Around 100 pages of the book are surrounding the crucial first 24 hours of the invasion with the capture of the bridges and the fighting around them — the rest of the book, about the same amount of pages, are about the planning and training as well as the after match. There are some great accounts on the French resistance work and the whole chaos on the German side, both from foot soldiers and commanding officers. It’s well put together with maps, photographs and the actual orders. A great read about an astonishing raid, with very much side information and personal insights.