France
The D-Day Battlefields
British Airborne Operations
Pegasus Bridge
This is a summary of the British Airborne operations on D-Day and their involvement during the initial stages of the Battle of Normandy. Additional pages cover Pegasus Bridge, the Merville Battery, and the Ranville area in more detail with emphasis on the Pegasus Memorial and Merville Museum. These can be accessed via the above links. (As in the other D-Day related sections, there may be some duplication of content).
On Monday 5th June 1944, as the twilight faded to darkness, all across southern and central England, people, many rushing outside in their nightclothes, stared skywards, awestruck as hundreds upon hundreds of aircraft flew overhead obviously bound for the coast - the long-awaited assault on Hitler`s Fortress Europe was finally underway!
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Three Airborne Divisions, namely the British 6th Airborne and the US 82nd and 101st, would mass drops by parachute and glider, the Americans tasked with securing the west end of the landing grounds, particularly the exits from UTAH Beach, and the Brits taking the easternmost end. It was vital that two bridges over the River Orne and Caen Canal be captured and held to enable troops to move rapidly inland from SWORD Beach.
Left: The Final Embarkation: This iconic image shows four 'stick' commanders of 22nd Independent Parachute Company, British 6th Airborne Division, synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle of No.38 Group, Royal Air Force, at about 23:00 hrs on 5 June, just prior to take-off from RAF Harwell, Oxfordshire. |
This pathfinder unit parachuted into Normandy in advance of the rest of the division in order to mark out the landing zones, and these officers, (left to right, - Lieutenants, Bobby de la Tour, Don Wells, John Vischer and Bob Midwood), were among the first Allied troops to land in France. At the head of the queue, however, having left even ahead of the pathfinders, was D Company of the 2nd Battalion, Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry under the command of Major John Howard. The mission was to land in six Horsa gliders on top of the German fortifications guarding the strategically important crossings and neutralise the defenders before they had a chance to blow the bridges.
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Left: Albemarle ST Mark II, P1442, on the ground at Hucclecote, Gloucestershire, after its conversion from a GT MK.I Series 2 by A. W. Hawkesley Aircraft Ltd.
The aircraft previously served with No. 1404 (Meteorological) Flight and Nos. 296 and 297 Squadrons RAF. Following conversion, it flew with No.42 Operational Training Unit and was one of 4 Albemarles of 42 OTU detachment at Hampstead Norreys, Berkshire, which took part in the airborne landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, towing Airspeed Horsa gliders to the landing zones. P1442 was lost during this operation. |
Below left: These 3ft high stunt puppets, known as `Ruperts`, were dropped along with S.A.S. soldiers at several locations well away from the Normandy beaches and genuine Allied drop zones to fool the enemy into thinking a major attack was underway. Known as `Operation Titanic`, 500 of these canvas dummies, fitted with a special pyrotechnic pack, were dropped into occupied France during the early hours of 6 June. 200 landed around Yvetot, 50 around Lisieux, 50 south of Caen and another 200, plus six SAS Paratroopers around Lessay. The Ruperts were designed to let off firecrackers upon landing then burst into flames so the Germans wouldn`t realise what they were. The deception was greatly augmented by the small band of SAS soldiers who parachuted in with the dolls, equipped with flares, and loudspeakers through which they played the sounds of a fierce gun battle. Although the Ruperts were only half the size of an average human, they would have appeared lifelike to those looking up from ground level on a dark night.
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Once a glider had been released from its propeller-driven tug aircraft, the pilot of the tug jettisoned the tow rope. These were subsequently found in the fields by local inhabitants who kept them for a variety of uses as well as souvenirs.
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Also visible in the display case above are strips of aluminium foil known as `Window`. Vast bundles of this reflective chaff were dropped by RAF Stirling bombers of No.218 Squadron off the French coast at Boulogne on the evening of 5 / 6 June 1944 to fool German radar operators into thinking that a large-scale invasion force was heading for northern France. This part of the Allied deception plan was aptly code-named `Operation Glimmer`.
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Converted Halifax bombers took Howard`s gliders over the invasion fleet in the Channel and released them near Cabourg, well to the east of the mouth of the River Orne and the Merville Battery, another British Airborne objective, which would later fall to Otway`s paratroopers. There was a gap in the flak defences at Cabourg and the order for silence was given as the Horsas began their sedate descent through the stormy sky with only the sound of the wind for company.
Navigating at night with a stop watch and a compass, the first two of the six glider pilots transporting Howard`s men landed their aircraft within metres of the bridge now immortalised as Pegasus. The third was right behind. The plywood and canvas Horsas, nicknamed `Hearses` by the troops, skidded to a halt entangled in the barbed wire with the impact rendering each pilot unconscious. The above shot was taken in front of Cafe Gondree, now named the Pegasus Bridge Cafe. The marsh area where the first aircraft touched down is just to the right of the circular tower, although its hidden behind the embankment.
The Allied air commander, Air Chief Marshall Leigh-Mallory, later commented that this operation saw one of the most outstanding feats of precision flying of the war. This aerial shot taken during daylight hours on 6 June emphasises just how close the three nearest gliders got to their target.
This full-scale Horsa replica is on display at the Pegasus Memorial Museum.
Once Howard`s `taxis` came to a halt the men of the Ox and Bucks were out within moments, hurling grenades through the slits of the pillbox on the east side of the canal and storming across the Benouville bridge. Lieutenant Den Brotheridge led the charge and reached the far side but he was shot in the neck and mortally wounded. Reinforcements arrived from the other gliders and joined the fight , which was brief but bloody.
This mural of the attack at Benouville Bridge hangs above the ticket desk in the foyer of the Pegasus Memorial.
Just 400 metres away, the other bridge, the Ranville Bridge (later named Horsa Bridge) over the River Orne, was captured without a shot being fired and Howard, after having the success code "Ham and Jam" broadcast, ordered his men to secure their perimeter ready for the inevitable counter-attack. The above model of `Horsa` is on display at the Pegasus Memorial.
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Howard then sent platoon commander Lieutenant Dennis Fox and his men to scout the nearby village of Benouville. Not long after, while other gliders were landing with reinforcements, the first German armoured probe could be heard approaching.
The Airborne troops had only a single PIAT with two rounds and Sergeant Thornton concealed himself within range of the road. Fortunately it was an armoured personnel carrier rather than a tank and a single hit, bang on target, disabled it and persuaded the occupants of a follow-on vehicle to beat a hasty retreat. Among the half-track occupants taken prisoner was the German local area commander, Major Schmidt. The IWM image on the left shows British soldiers later in the Normandy Campaign, one of whom is armed with a PIAT launcher. There`s one round `up the spout` with another on the ground alongside. |
The weapon was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon and entered service in 1943. it launched a 2.5 pound (1.1 kg) projectile up to 350 yards (320 m), but against armour the effective range was reduced to approximately 115 yards (105 m). Although it was fairly fragile and the ammunition was not always reliable, the PIAT was cheap to produce and generated very little muzzle smoke after firing which helped to conceal the position of the operator.
Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, the Commander of the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion, who had already seen action in North Africa, dropped into Normandy with his troops at 00:50 hrs on 6 June and ensured that all those who were able immediately took up defensive positions to reinforce the precarious perimeter held by Howard`s Ox and Bucks. Pine-Coffin, referred to as `Wooden Box` by his men, was very tall and insisted on wearing cowboy boots before going into action, to ensure he wouldn`t be mistaken for a German during a fight.
Expecting another attack from the surrounding countryside, the British Airborne troops were more than a little surprised to see a couple of German naval gunboats sail into view. Equipped with 20 mm flak guns, they had travelled down the canal from Caen and as the first vessel sailed past, another PIAT round scored a direct hit, persuading it`s skipper and his neighbour on the other boat to throttle past at speed and make for the coast. The gunboats’ appearance and swift exit heralded a series of counter-attacks by the panzergrenadiers of the 21st Panzer-Division but the defenders held the Germans at bay until relief forces arrived from Sword Beach later in the day.
Expecting another attack from the surrounding countryside, the British Airborne troops were more than a little surprised to see a couple of German naval gunboats sail into view. Equipped with 20 mm flak guns, they had travelled down the canal from Caen and as the first vessel sailed past, another PIAT round scored a direct hit, persuading it`s skipper and his neighbour on the other boat to throttle past at speed and make for the coast. The gunboats’ appearance and swift exit heralded a series of counter-attacks by the panzergrenadiers of the 21st Panzer-Division but the defenders held the Germans at bay until relief forces arrived from Sword Beach later in the day.
The Merville Battery
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The Merville Gun Battery was a formidable coastal fortification forming part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, and due to the potential threat it posed to invading Allied forces it had to be captured and its guns neutralised before the shore landings went ahead. Intelligence suggested that the reinforced concrete emplacements housed four 155mm guns but these had actually been replaced by older, less powerful but still deadly guns.
Two brigade groups of the British 6th Airborne Division would make a night drop and attack and secure not just Merville, but other strategically important locations inland from the beaches. |
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Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway was to lead the complex assault on the Merville Battery, which was to be preceded by a high-level bomb drop by a hundred Lancasters. The Paras and accompanying Sappers would clear gaps in the wire and minefields and attack the casemates while three gliders would crash-land in the perimeter simultaneously bringing additional men to the fight.
The first problem was that due to a navigational error, the Lancasters deposited their bombs well away from their target. Then, two hours after the air drop, Otway could only assemble 150 men for the attack, just a quarter of his force, with no engineers, heavy weapons or mine-clearing equipment, but he decided to stick to the original plan.
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The German garrison defended stubbornly and a bitter fight followed. Just one of the three gliders reached the Battery at the allotted time, only to be hit by anti-aircraft fire which caused it to crash in an orchard to the southwest. The Paras prevailed though and the guns were put out of action, however, losses were severe. Apart from those killed or wounded in the attack, hundreds of the troopers had been dropped into the flooded areas bordering the Dives River and many were drowned.
One of the Merville Battery casemates.
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Ranville
General Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale GCB KBE DSO MC (25 July 1896 – 29 July 1982) was in overall charge of British Airborne operations on D-Day. He was a veteran of the Great War during which he was awarded Military Cross (MC) whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps. This C-47 Dakota, `The SNAFU Special` actually dropped US Airborne troops on the Cotentin Peninsula during the early hours of D-Day and now takes pride of place at the Merville Battery Museum.
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In 1941, as part of the expansion of the British Army's newly created airborne forces, Gale was offered command of the 1st Parachute Brigade. In February of the following year, members of the Brigade`s 2nd Parachute Battalion, under the command of Major John Frost, who would later lead the Paras at Arnhem, carried out a successful raid on a German coastal radar station at Bruneval, France, and seized valuable equipment and intelligence.
On 6 June 1944, Gale arrived in Normandy by Horsa, one of almost 70 gliders which landed in the vicinity of Ranville around 03:00 hrs. He immediately got to work, organising his men and directing operations, remaining in overall command of the British Airborne forces in France during several months of heavy fighting. At the end end of the war in Europe, he moved to India with elements of his old division to plan for an the airborne role in an invasion of the Japanese mainland, however, following the atomic bomb strikes by the USA, the Japanese quickly surrendered. Gale remained in the army and eventually, in 1958, succeeded Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. |
On D-Day, seven parachute battalions of Gale`s division were dropped between the Orne and the River Dives further east. Landing grounds had been cleared of obstacles in the early hours and most gliders landed on the correct spot, bringing not only additional troops but jeeps and anti-tank guns. Once confirmation was received that Howard`s company had secured the Benouville and Ranville bridges, 3rd Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers were instructed to blow the Dives crossings at Bures and Troarn to prevent a flank attack on the forces soon to be moving inland from SWORD Beach.
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Tasked with the mission was Major `Tim` John Couch Adams Roseveare of 8th Battalion, who was a civil engineer before the war. Although he had been erroneously landed at Ranville rather than the drop zone closer to his intended targets, by 02:30 hrs Roseveare had gathered forty-seven of his men and a party from the 8th Battalion. He had no transport but arrived with two trailers loaded with 45 General Wade demolition charges and 500lb of plastic explosive.
The `convoy` set off on foot, taking turns at hauling the trailers and were fortunate not to encounter any Germans who would by now have been well aware that a major attack was underway. At 04:00 hrs, the group came across more men from the 8th Battalion, along with a Jeep laden with medical supplies which was bound for a nearby dressing station. As the destruction of the bridges had priority, the Jeep was commandeered and the supplies unloaded. A trailer packed full of explosives was hitched and Roseveare set off for Troarn with seven sappers on board, Bren and Sten guns at the ready. Having negotiated a couple of improvised roadblocks en route, the Jeep finally reached the outskirts of the town. It was clear that the garrison was on alert but the only route to the river lay directly down the main street. The driver put the foot down and with the vehicle careening from side and the heavy trailer in danger of toppling, the troops engaged the Germans who emerged firing from numerous doorways and windows. As the Jeep accelerated downhill to exit the far side, one of the men in the trailer, Sapper Peachey, had been thrown out and taken prisoner. |
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On reaching the river, some of the troops positioned themselves to deal with any pursuit, while the sappers blew the first of the bridges. A gap of nearly twenty feet was created in the central span but a few hours later, unaware that the bridge had already been demolished, Captain Juckes of No.2 Troop arrived and laid further charges to widen the gap.
Roseveare realised that partially retracing the outward route towards Troarn wasn`t an option so his band abandoned the Jeep and set off cross-country towards Bures. Believing there to be more Germans there Roseveare opted to `call it a day` and head for Squadron Headquarters. Having swam several streams and using the cover of the Bois de Bavent woodland, the party arrived safely at 13:00. Major Roseveare was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts. The painting of Roseveare`s `mad dash` through Troarn is on display at the Pegasus Memorial.
Roseveare realised that partially retracing the outward route towards Troarn wasn`t an option so his band abandoned the Jeep and set off cross-country towards Bures. Believing there to be more Germans there Roseveare opted to `call it a day` and head for Squadron Headquarters. Having swam several streams and using the cover of the Bois de Bavent woodland, the party arrived safely at 13:00. Major Roseveare was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts. The painting of Roseveare`s `mad dash` through Troarn is on display at the Pegasus Memorial.
The 8th Battalion then took up defensive positions to the southeast, in and around the Bois de Bavent to await the inevitable attack from the south. Many of the Paras, however, like their comrades tasked with the Merville Battery mission, and their American counterparts at the opposite end of the beaches, had landed wide of their intended drop zones and lost a large amount of kit. To find a `friendly face` in the dark, the British had been given `duck call` whistles, just as the US Airborne had been issued with metal `crickets` but both ideas only had limited success.
The follow up: Part of 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division, waiting to leave RAF Tarrant Rushton on the evening of 6 June 1944. On the runway are Hamilcar heavy gliders, preceded by two Horsa troop-carrying gliders, while parked on each side of them are Handley Page Halifax glider-tugs of Nos. 298 and 644 Squadrons. Below: A 6-pdr gun is loaded into a Horsa glider while some Paras enjoy a last `cuppa` before the `off`.
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The Link-up
First to reach the troops holding Pegasus Bridge were the Commandos led by Lord Lovat, DSO, MC, who had fought their way in from SWORD Beach. The iconic image above shows Lord Lovat (in the water, to the right of his men) landing on Queen Red Beach, Sword area, about 08:40 hours on 6 June 1944. Sherman DD tanks of 13th/18th Royal Hussars and other vehicles can be seen on the beach. Lovat's piper, Bill Millin, is in the foreground about to disembark.
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In the archives held by the Pegasus Memorial, Millin recalled that as soon as he jumped into the water from the landing craft, his kilt floated to the surface and the shock of the freezing cold water immediately cured his seasickness. He was so relieved to make dry land after suffering in the stormy conditions all night, he struck up the Pipes and paddled through the surf playing `Hieland Laddie`. Lord Lovat turned round and gave a sly smile. Despite the general chaos, the dead and wounded, large explosions accompanied by small arms fire, smoke and the crump of mortars, when Millin finished, Lovat asked for another tune. Incredulous, Millin asked Lovat "Well, what tune would you like, Sir?" "How about The Road to the Isles?" "Now, would you want me to walk up and down, Sir?" "Yes. That would be nice. Yes, walk up and down."
The Piper did as suggested and walked back and forth along a short stretch of beach blasting out Lovat`s `request.` Nearby, soldiers who were digging-in stopped what they were doing and waved their arms, cheering. However, another one came along, who wasn't very pleased, and he called Millin "The mad bastard". Apparently some soldiers, rather than being inspired by the sound of the pipes, saw Millin and anyone else near him as a prime target for the Germans. |
The plaster model of Bill Millin shown above is on display within the Memorial Pegasus Museum along with the commando`s set of bagpipes he played on D-Day. Like the full-size bronze statue of Millin at Colleville-Montgomery, the plaster figure was created by French sculptor Gaetan Ader. The memorial to Millin was unveiled in June 2013 on the seafront where he and his unit came ashore.
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Staff in Parachute Stores at RAF, USAAF and Army bases throughout the length and breadth of the British Isles had worked non-stop during the build up to D-Day, and would do so again for subsequent large-scale operations such as Arnhem (Market Garden) and the Rhine Crossing (Operation Plunder), all of which had a massive Airborne element. Parachutes were packed not only for the assault troops but those pilots and aircrew that would transport them to their drop zones and provide a protective umbrella.
This rare colour photograph, held by the Imperial War Museum, was taken earlier in the war and shows a typical scene at an undisclosed location. The distinctive parachute building (below) at East Fortune, Scotland, has been recreated and is fully equipped to show exactly how it would have looked during the Second World War. |
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It was in large buildings like this that parachutes were hung, folded, repaired if necessary then packed and stored. There is a raised centre section running along the entire length of the roof with a large vent at each end. The high ceiling in the centre accommodates drying parachutes raised by a pulley system and the vents allow the air to circulate so that the silk chutes are properly dried before being packed.
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