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In the footsteps of D Company 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry D-Day, 6 June 1944

The First Action of D-Day, 6 June 1944

This is the true story of the coup-de-main assault by British Gliderborne soldiers to capture the two vital bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne near Bénouville, France in the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944. It was the first action of D-Day the greatest seaborne invasion the world has ever known.

On the 6 June 1944 the greatest seaborne invasion the world has ever known took place on the Calvados Coast of Normandy, France. This invasion was the beginning of the end of the Second World War and the 6 June 1944 will be forever known as D-Day. This article is an account of the first action that took place on D-Day at the Caen Canal and River Orne Bridges near Bénouville, France. It tells the true story of the coup-de-main assault by British Gliderborne soldiers to capture these two vital bridges.

Preceding the seaborne landings three Allied Airborne Divisions were dropped to secure the flanks of the five-invasion beaches where the Allied 21st Army Group was to come ashore. In the west two US Airborne Divisions dropped onto the Cotentin peninsula behind UTAH beach and in the east the British 6th Airborne Division (Br 6 AB Div) dropped into the area between the River Orne and River Dives to the east of SWORD beach.

One of the primary tasks of the Br 6 AB Div was to seize intact the two bridges over the Caen Canal and River Orne near Bénouville and hold them until relieved against any German counterattacks. This mission was considered to be vital to the success of the invasion, as it would allow the seaborne forces to reinforce the Br 6 AB Div’s area and subsequently break out to the east. D Company the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (D Coy 2 OBLI) commanded by Major John Howard was selected to carryout this mission and this is their story.

Major John Howard, OC D Company 2 Ox & Bucks LI.

On the morning of 5 June 1944 the men of D Coy 2 OBLI started their final preparations and at noon Maj Howard learned that the invasion was on. He ordered the men to rest and when the evening meal was over they boarded the trucks to go to their gliders. As they climbed into their gliders he shook hands with the officers and called out words of encouragement to the men. Finally he moved to his own glider, upon the nose of which Pte Wally Parr had chalked ‘Lady Irene’ to name it after his wife. When Maj Howard got in the glider, the door was closed and on schedule they started to move down the runway. At 22.56 hrs ‘Lady Irene’ was airborne and D Coy 2 OBLI was on their way into history.

The six Halifax bombers from 298 Squadron RAF took-off with the accompanying Horsa gliders in tow and crossed the English Channel flying at an altitude of 7,000 ft. All around them were Heavy Bombers going to drop bombs on German positions in the invasion area, Caen or other selected targets. With all of this air activity the German anti-aircraft and searchlight crews failed to notice the gliders.

A Halifax Bomber with Horsa Glider on tow takes-off.

At the appointed time the Halifax bomber released the first glider to begin its run into the target. In the glider S/Sgt Wallwork checked their altitude and the compass, whilst S/Sgt John Ainsworth checked his stopwatch. At the appointed mark they turned to starboard and halfway down the crosswind leg of their approach S/Sgt Wallwork saw it, he could make out the river, the canal and both bridges. With visibility good and the target in sight he dropped the glider’s nose and made for the LZ. With the ground rushing up at around 95mph he held the glider on course; they hit the ground and caught the first of the wire defences. Jim Wallwork shouted, “Stream” and John Ainsworth released the arrester parachute; it lifted the tail, forced the nose into the ground, tore off the wheels and bounced the glider back into the air. The arrester parachute did its job and they hit the ground again; this time on the skids. Jim Wallwork shouted, “Jettison” and John Ainsworth pressed the button to release the parachuee; now travelling at about 60mph the glider threw up hundreds of friction sparks from the skids as they passed over rocks. Seeing these sparks through the open door Maj Howard thought that they had been spotted and were being fired upon. All of a sudden there was an almighty crash and the glider came to a jarring halt; Jim Wallwork and John Ainsworth were hurled out through the cockpit still strapped in their seats. It was 00.16 hrs early in the morning of D-Day 6 June 1944 and the first Allied soldiers had arrived on French soil.

Staff Sergeant Jim Wallwork.

The glider’s passengers were momentarily knocked unconscious, but Maj Howard’s fanaticism for physical fitness paid off; they quickly recovered and in a matter of seconds their training kicked in. Automatically removing their harnesses, they exited the glider through any hole they could make or find. On reaching the outside Maj Howard realised that there was no shooting and they had landed without being spotted. Looking around he thanked god for Jim Wallwork and John Ainsworth; they had put the glider right into the corner of the field where he wanted it.

Lt Herbert Denham ‘Den’ Brotheridge and the men of 25 Platoon swiftly exited the glider and quietly shook out into their assault formation. Lt Brotheridge whispered into Cpl Jack Bailey’s ear and off he went with his two men to deal with the pillbox where the firing mechanism to blow the bridges was located. Gathering the remainder of his platoon he gave a whispered, “Come on lads” and they made a dash for the bridge.

Lieutenant Den Brotheridge.

One minute had passed since the first glider had landed and S/Sgt Oliver Bowland at the controls of glider 92 came down within 25 yards of glider 91. Lt David Wood was thrown clear still clutching on to his sten and canvas bucket of extra grenades; relieved to find himself in one piece he pulled himself together, gathered his platoon and set off for the wire perimeter where Maj Howard would be waiting.

Lt Brotheridge and 25 Platoon were moving on to the bridge at a steady trot as two German sentries passed each other in the middle. The sentry walking towards the eastern end of the bridge was suddenly confronted by a pack of British airborne soldiers coming out of the night; confronted by this hellish sight he turned tail and ran shouting “paratroopers” as he went. The second sentry, a German NCO, turned to see what was happening and on seeing the British paratroopers running towards him pulled out the Verey pistol that he was carrying. Pte Billy Gray sent a burst from his Bren towards him and Lt Den Brotheridge fired off a full magazine from his sten. The German NCO was hit by a storm of bullets, but as he fell dead to the ground the Verey pistol went off and a flare shot up into the night.

The Caen Canal Bridge - Pegasus Bridge.

As the flare went off Cpl Bailey and his two men arrived at the pillbox and tossed their grenades in through the weapon slits; the grenades were followed up with a burst of fire and they looked inside when the dust settled to find no one left alive.

Pte Wally Parr was just running on to the bridge when the flare shot skywards; he saw the door of a nearby dugout half open and abruptly shut again. Pulling out a grenade he ran across the road and by the time he got to the dugout the pin was out. Opening the door just enough to throw it in, he tossed the grenade through the opening and quickly shut the door. As the grenade exploded Pte Charlie Gardiner jumped into the dugout, Wally Parr opened the door again, and Gardiner finished off the Germans inside with a burst from his sten.

The shouts of “paratroopers” from the running sentry, the sound of Lt Brotheridge’s sten, Pte Gray’s burst from his Bren, the crump of Cpl Bailey’s grenades going off and the flare from the German NCOs Verey pistol brought the other German defenders to life. Many of the private soldiers were foreign conscripts and these quickly faded into the night, but the NCOs all of whom were German sprang to their positions.

Back on LZ ‘X’ glider 93 came to a halt with a shuddering crash on the edge of the pond between the two gliders already on the ground, as it did so it swung ninety degrees breaking in half. Capt John Vaughan RAMC was thrown clear and knocked completely unconscious. Lt Richard ‘Sandy’ Smith was also thrown clear to land face down in the mud; he had lost his sten and momentarily did not know where he was or what he was doing. Picking up the nearest sten Lt Smith gathered his platoon together and made for Maj Howard’s position. One of the other members of 14 Platoon however, was not so lucky; L/Cpl Fred Greenhalgh was knocked unconscious on impact and thrown clear to land face down in the pond where he drowned.

By now the sappers from glider 91 were under the bridge cutting wires and looking for explosives as they went. Lt David Wood’s 24 Platoon were just arriving at Maj Howard’s position and barely two minutes had passed since the first glider had touched down.

The German sentry reached the far end of the bridge without being hit and threw himself into a trench. The Germans in their trenches turned their weapons to point at the running airborne soldiers. Lt Brotheridge was almost across the bridge when he saw the first of the enemy beginning to react and pulled a grenade from his pouch as he ran. Pte Billy Gray fired his Bren from the hip towards the enemy, as did many of the other charging men of 25 Platoon. Getting the pin out of his grenade Lt Brotheridge threw it at one of the enemy occupied trenches. As he did so a machine-gunner in another enemy trench off to his right sent a burst in his direction. As his grenade exploded in the enemy trench wiping out its occupants Lt Den Brotheridge was thrown back by the force of the machine-gun’s bullets to land on his back in the middle of the road. Other members of 25 Platoon began firing at the Germans in their trenches; the combination of this fire and a burst from Pte Gray’s Bren knocked out the machine-gun that had brought Lt Brotheridge down.

The grave of Lieutenant Den Brotheridge at Ranville Church.

Wally Parr was trying to shout “Able, Able, Able” as he ran on to the bridge, but the words would just not come out. Freeing his tongue from the roof of his dried out mouth he finally let out a yell of “Come out and fight you square-headed bastards” in his broad Cockney accent. Lt David Wood’s men were now starting to get to grips with the Germans on the home bank.

Running straight past Maj Howard, 14 Platoon raced on to the bridge; Lt Sandy Smith had wrenched his knee and more hobbled than ran. As he crossed the bridge he saw Lt Brotheridge’s Platoon firing their weapons and throwing grenades at the German defenders. As he reached the far end he saw a German soldier near the low wall in front of the Café Gondrée about to throw a stick grenade; with a burst from his sten he sent the German sprawling across the wall dead, but the grenade landed close to Lt Smith and went off. He did not feel a thing and it was only when one of his corporals who was nearby asked if he was all right that Lt Sandy Smith noticed the holes in his Denison smock and trousers; he had been hit by the grenade’s fragments and the wrist of his trigger hand had lost all of its flesh, but he could still use his trigger finger.

At 00.21 hrs, the fighting at the Caen Canal Bridge started to die down and Pte Parr made his way to the Café that was the rallying point for 25 Platoon. As he ran past the end of the bridge he saw one of his comrades lying on the ground in the middle of the road. Knowing that he had to report to Lt Brotheridge he continued on for a few more paces before he pulled up short. Turning around he realised that the soldier on the ground was Lt Brotheridge. He went back and knelt down beside his Platoon Commander; Lt Brotheridge had been shot in the neck, his eyes were open and his lips were moving, but not a sound came out; as Wally Parr put his hand under Lt Brotheridge’s head to lift it up his eyes just rolled back.

24 Platoon had finished clearing the trenches on the home bank of the canal and Lt Wood decided to report to Maj Howard that his task was complete. With Sgt Leather and a runner he was moving back towards Maj Howard’s position when a burst from a German schmeisser rang out. Three bullets caught Lt David Wood in the leg and he fell to the ground. Bleeding profusely, frightened and shaken up he tried to stand but found he was unable to so. Both Sgt Leather and the runner had also been hit and lay on the ground nearby. Cpl Godbold one of his section commanders took over command of the platoon.

It was about this time that a shaken, but none too seriously injured S/Sgt Jim Wallwork started to regain consciousness; he was lying on his stomach with his seat on top of him. He could hear John Ainsworth calling out his name and asking if he was all right. Looking around he saw S/Sgt Ainsworth pinned under the wreckage of the glider’s nose and when he asked him if he could crawl out he replied, “No.” He asked if he lifted the nose of the glider could he crawl out, to which he received the reply, “I’ll try” and as he lifted the wreckage John Ainsworth crawled out. After getting a medic to see to John Ainsworth’s injuries, Jim Wallwork began his secondary task of unloading ammunition and carrying it forward to the men on the bridge.

It was now 00.22 hrs, six minutes after the first glider had landed, and reports of what was happening started to reach Maj Howard. The first information to come in was about Den Brotheridge; this was devastating news, as they were the best of friends. The next piece of news he received was that Lt David Wood and his Platoon Sergeant had also been hit; two of his three platoons at the bridge were now without their Platoon Commander. This was followed up with a report from 14 Platoon that informed him of Lt Smith’s injuries. Whilst Sandy Smith was still on his feet Maj Howard could not help thinking that he had effectively lost all three of his Platoon Commanders at the canal bridge; added to this he did not know what was happening at the Orne River Bridge.

The River Orne Bridge.

At the Orne River Bridge the action was nowhere near as dramatic and at 00.26 hrs, ten minutes after glider 91 had landed, Lt Todd Sweeney report to Maj Howard that it had been captured. John Howard had the news he had been waiting for; D Coy 2 OBLI had seized both bridges intact. Exuberant Maj Howard turned to his radio operator Cpl Tappenden and told him to send the message that the bridges had been captured. “HAM and JAM, HAM and JAM, HAM and JAM” out over the radio the codewords went; “HAM and JAM, HAM and JAM, HAM and JAM” Cpl Tappenden continued to send. What Maj Howard and Cpl Tappenden did not know was that Brig Poett was unable to receive the message.

The Caen Canal Bridge was named “Pegasus Bridge” after the Pegasus emblem worn by the British 6th Airborne Division in memory of this action. The River Orne Bridge was renamed “Horsa Bridge” after the gliders that carried the men who landed here.

Pegasus Bridge one month after the assault.

Dedication

This article is dedicated to the memory of Lt Herbert Denham Brotheridge, L/Cpl Fred Greenhalgh, Major John Howard and the men who took part in the Pegasus Bridge coup-de-main assault.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

An extract from "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon

Ian R Gumm
at Willowmead

If you would like to visit Pegasus Bridge or the other battlefield sites associated with D-Day 6th June 1944 please visit Our D-Day Tour page.

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