Pegasus Bridge (#266)
Today’s post covers another aspect of the D-Day invasion -- the mission to seize Pegasus Bridge, a bridge over the Caen Canal essential to preventing German counterattacks into the beachhead from the eastern flank, and one of the first targets captured on the night of June 5th-6th, 1944.
This year, I am doing a series on leaders and leadership in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II. This is 15th in the series. Check out the blog to see them all or go to the links at the bottom of this article to see the most recent ones.
Pegasus Bridge
Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a bridge over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now part of the Pegasus Museum. It was replaced in 1994 by a modern design which, like the old one, is a bascule bridge. A bascule bridge is a drawbridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. Seizing the Pegasus Bridge would help protect Sword Beach, and the entire invasion force, from a German counterattack.
On June 6, 1944 both Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge (the nearby Ranville Bridge over the Orne River) were the objectives of D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (known as the “Ox and Bucks”), a glider-borne force who were part of the British 6th Airborne Division. Under the command of Major John Howard, the Ox and Bucks’ plan was to land close by the bridges in six Horsa gliders, take both of them, and hold them until relieved by other British forces. The 181 men of this force were from D Company, as well as 20 sappers from the Royal Engineers of 249 Field Company (Airborne). Each Horsa was loaded with 25 members of the assault force. The successful capture of the bridges played an important role in stopping German counterattacks in the days following the Normandy invasion.
Howard initially joined the British Army before the war, serving as a private soldier and then a non-commissioned officer for six years before being discharged in 1938. He joined the Oxford City Police, but in 1939 was recalled to the army following the outbreak of the war. He quickly rose rose through the ranks to becoming a regimental sergeant major in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in under a year. In 1940, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and eventually rose to the rank of major. In 1942 he took over command of D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Before D-Day, Howard's company was selected to carry out the assault on the Caen and Orne River bridges and he became personally responsible for their training and the planning of the assault. During D-Day he led the company in the successful assault that gained control of the bridges and then held them until relieved. After D-Day, Howard commanded D Company until September 1944 when they were withdrawn from the line. Due to the injuries he sustained in a car accident in November 1944, he took no further part in the war. After the war, he worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, lectured on the raid, and returned to the bridge every June 6th to lay a wreath until he passed away in 1999.
The Pegasus and Horsa bridges were guarded by 50 soldiers that were part of the German 736th Grenadier Regiment, 716th Infantry Division. The bridge defenders were under the command of Major Hans Schmidt and had orders to blow the bridges if it looked like they would be captured. The German 716th Infantry Division was made up of conscripts from occupied Poland, the Soviet Union, and France under the command of German officers and NCOs. Like most German units along the West Wall they were spread thin — 8 battalions defended 21 miles of coast line.
On the night of June 5th-6th, five of the Ox and Bucks's gliders silently landed as close as 47 yards from Pegasus Bridge at 16 minutes past midnight. The attackers poured out of their battered gliders, completely surprising the German defenders, and took both bridges within 10 minutes. They lost two men in the process: Lance Corporal Fred Greenhalgh and Lieutenant Den Brotheridge. Greenhalgh drowned in a pond after landing. Lieutenant Brotheridge was mortally wounded crossing Pegasus Bridge in the first minutes of the assault. Den was the first member of the invading Allied armies to die as a result of enemy fire on D-Day. 14 members of the assault force were wounded, as well.
The Ox and Bucks were reinforced at 3:00 AM by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Pine-Coffin's (yes, that is his real name) paratroopers from the 7th Parachute Battalion. Among the first of the 7th Battalion reinforcements was Lieutenant Richard Todd, a young actor, who, nearly two decades later, would play Major Howard in the film The Longest Day. Around 1:30 PM on June 6th members of Lord Lovat's Commandos marched across the bridge after walking from Sword Beach.
X, Y, and Offset Insertion
The proximity of the Landing Zone (LZ) to the objective determines what type of insertion that units use. Insertion tactics are typically described as X, Y, and offset. Landing on the X, or an X insert, is an insertion that happens within 300 meters of the objective and within effective small arms range. Landing on the X capitalizes on surprise through speed, but is the highest difficulty/risk. Landing on the Y, or a Y insert, is an insertion that lands 300–1,000 meters from the objective and, generally, only within effective range of medium/heavy weapons. A Y insert balances speed and risk because there is less exposure to the enemy on the landing, but the enemy may have more time to react. An offset insert is an insertion that happens outside 1,000 meters from the objective and is outside effective weapons range. An offset insert is the slowest but has the lowest level of risk and capitalizes on surprise through stealth.
The soldiers of D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry landed on the X for the seizure of Pegasus Bridge. It is one of the most famous examples of force “Landing on the X” and executing its mission. Other famous examples are the Son Tay Prison Raid, the Abbotobad Raid, or the capture of Fort Eben Emal.
When confronted with a problem when is it better to Land on the X, Land on the Y, or do an Offset Insert?
Conclusion
The last five blog posts on leaders and leadership from the World War II European Theater of Operations are:
Interested in bringing your team to Leadership Experience that uses historic case studies, like General Eisenhower during D-Day to enhance your team’s leadership today? TFCG offers the D-Day, Market-Garden, and Battle of the Bulge Leadership Experiences in Europe. TFCG also offers the Eisenhower, Currahee!, the War in the Pacific Museum, and Pearl Harbor Leadership Experiences in the United States. Send me an email and we can start the discussion today about building better leaders in your organization using a historic Leadership Experience. Or click on one of the pictures to learn more about that specific program.
In the meantime, go on the offensive and use the capture of Pegasus Bridge and landing on the X to inspire you this week.