Reviews of The Pegasus and Orne Bridges

Below are a selection of reviews that I hope you will find of interest.
I would welcome a review from anybody that has read The Pegasus and Orne Bridges, and have created a review form for those that are kind enough to do so: Write a review.

The following is a section of the review by David Brook, Editor of The Eagle, The Magazine of The Glider Pilot Regimental Association.

“This is a book which will fascinate all Glider Pilots and ‘Friends of The Eagle.’ In The Pegasus and Orne Bridges Neil Barber tells the complete story in far greater detail than has been achieved before. And he tells it superlatively well. We, as Glider Pilots are well aware of our comrades’ great achievement in landing their gliders close to these two bridges, but this glider pilot reviewer has no hesitation in giving his opinion that none of us, let alone historians in general, possess one quarter of the full story of not only the capture but the defence and later relief and fighting which occurred for the rest of that day.

The thoughts and fears of those involved are told by them through their reports and audio interviews given soon after the war. Neil Barber has married these in with his own text so well that the content runs smoothly and is a joy to read. The sayings and descriptions of the soldiers from their Divisional Commander, Major General Gale, downwards to the many named troops and their officers, Major John Howard and his Ox and Bucks Infantry, the Parachute Battalions, their comrades and the specialised units, are brought to life with the photographs of several hundred of the soldiers involved.

This book is highly recommended and we, as members of the Glider Pilot Regimental Association, are aware that had it not been for our gliders, it could not have been written.”

The full review is available via The Eagle Magazine.

I did not arrive at Le Port until late on D-Day, but I now know the full story of what went on before, thanks to the thorough research of Neil Barber. He relates the story so clearly it is easy to locate the positions and read the participants own words and fully grasp the heroism and brutallity of real war. I have read many books dealing with Pegasus & Horsa Bridges but only now do I understand the full story.

Jim Holder Vale (92nd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery)

This is a superb book that brilliantly chronicles the massive British Airborne attack which secured the eastern flank of the Normandy invasion area in the early hours of D-Day.

It tells in unprecedented detail the story of Major John Howard's famous glider-borne coup de main force, which shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944, seized Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge - the vital crossings over the Caen Canal and River Orne that had to be captured to prevent the later seaborne invasion being jeopardised.

But the book's greatest achievement is to piece together the wider story of the huge force of British paratroopers who dropped shortly after the coup de main force and whose main task was to secure the villages of Benouville and Ranville, creating a bridgehead which would deny the Germans access to the invasion beaches.

The operation was complicated, confused and sometimes chaotic. But, through meticulous research and using extensive interviews with veterans, the author has produced a compelling narrative which is as easy to follow as it is thrilling to read.

For anyone with an interest in this aspect of the Normandy operation, such as myself, this book is a must-have and I am sure it will become the definitive account of the Airborne operations in the Orne bridgehead.

But it is also an excellent read in its own right and a fitting tribute to those brave young men who for a few fateful hours in the darkness of D-Day held the future of Europe in their hands.

Tom McCarthy

There is only one way to describe the book “The Pegasus and Orne Bridges” by Neil Barber: tremendous.

His book follows the men tasked with the capture of the bridges over the River Orne and Caen Canal on D-Day, through their training, planning, landing, capture and relief of the bridges.

This book gives the much deserved credit to the men of the 7th, 12th and 13th parachute battalions, which haven’t had as much exposure as the famed Ox and Bucks have, who were the first allied troops to land on D-Day.

Neil Barber has drawn from veteran accounts to paint a clear picture of the actions that took place around the bridges. This is a big bonus over other books because it is like having many small autobiographies throughout the book. There are also many photos of the men whose stories are told. This really helps the reader get a sense of who the men were.

This moves me onto another great feature of Neil’s book. There are period aerial photos dotted throughout the text, with overlays of the troops positions and where the main action took place. This not only helps in following the ebb and flow of battle when reading the book, but it would also be useful for anyone planning a visit to the battlefields, as it shows where all the action took place.

However, for me the best part of the book is the style of writing. At no point while reading the book did I have to flick back through pages to remind myself of who said what? and what happened where?

The writing captures you from the first page and cleverly builds up the picture of what the men went through during training and how they coped with combat.

This book is a must for anyone with an interest in the Normandy invasion, in particular the Airborne battles. I am delighted to have a copy on my shelf and it is a constant source of reference.

Matthew Pellett