Pegasus Bridge by Stephen E. Ambrose is the fascinating story of the role of British Company D in the Allied invasion of France. Company D was a small detachment of one 181 men under the command of Major John Howard. Their assignment was to secure the bridges over the Orne River and the Caen canal and to hold them until they were relieved by the beach landing forces. The Company D men were the first ones on French soil at midnight, June 5-6, in advance of the invasion by sea. If they failed to capture the bridges or if the bridges were down, the 6th Airborne would be trapped and vulnerable to German armory.

In the book, Ambrose explains the amount of training the men did for the mission. They trained for two years, since that's how long the invasion was planned for. Everyone knew that there would be an invasion. They just didn't know where or when. Howard believed in physical fitness and sports and all of his men did extensive physical training and participated in sports. Howard formed the men the way he wanted to. When the British Army formed its airborne forces, Howard and most of the company volunteered.

The Normandy landing site was decided on two years in advance of the invasion and Howard was

was told that he and his company would have an assignment capturing and holding bridges. He couldn't tell his men of their assignment, but he trained them intensely. He also trained them to fight at night. Most importantly, he wanted all of them to be able to think quickly. Every man was trained to lead in case the officers were hit. They trained in gliders, and the glider pilots learned to land by navigating with a stop watch.

All of this practice and training made Company D one of the most special trained and most fit units in the British Army. They performed very well in capturing and securing the Pegasus Bridge, which contributed to the success of the Normandy invasion.

The men of Company D returned to Bouenville each year on the anniversary of the D-Day invasion. In 1984, on the fortieth anniversary, the event became public and has remained so since then.

Ambrose constructed the events of June 6 by interviewing the different people who were involved. The book is very interesting and informative reading and the reader will consider the time well spent reading the book.