After spending some time in Caen, I headed the short distance along the canal towards Ouistreham.

Operation Deadstick

My destination was the Pegasus Memorial. The memorial commemorates one the most crucial events on the Normandy Landings – Operation Deadstick.
Operation Deadstick involved the capture of the Orne river Canal bridges, which would be crucial to defend the left flank of the landings and was vital for the D-Day invasion itself.

The Operation was undertaken by the British Airborne Division. It was an extraordinary operation that involved extreme risk, skill on behalf of the solders and some luck. The operation turned out to be a great success.

The operation involved the landing of three Horsa gliders containing soldiers and equipment on the evening of the 6th of June 1944 near the bridges that cross the Orne River Canal between Ouistreham and Caen. The beach at Ouistreham (Sword Beach) was where the main British Forces were to land on the morning of the 7th of June – D Day.

The capture of the bridges of the Orne River Canal was critical to enabling the soldiers in the landing to exist the beach. It was also critical in thwarting any German counter attacks and the days after the landings.

The link to the National Geographic video (refer below) on the operation highlights the key elements of its remarkable success. (Don’t be put off by the American style of presentation).

The key elements were:

The skill of the glider pilots and their ability to find their targets in poor conditions (cloud and darkness) and to land almost exactly on target.

The glider landings were successful with most of the soldiers not injured and able to fight immediately on landing.

The speed at which the soldiers were able to complete their objectives, e.g. taking out machine gun emplacements.

Some luck, including the being able to blow-up a German tank with a dodgy piece of kit.
After taking the bridges, the Airborne Troops held off German counteracts until they were joined by the Commandoes that had landed on Sword Beach in the early hours of the 7th June.

Operation Deadstick has been the subject of numerous books and is portrayed in the 1962 film – ‘The Longest Day’.

The Pegasus Memorial

The Bénouville Bridge was renamed ‘Pregasus’ Bridge in on honour of the Operation and is the site of the Pegasus Memorial and Museum.

The Museum focuses primarily on Operation Deadstick and highlights its importance in the successes of the D Day Landings. It includes many exhibits including the equipment that soldiers carried and verbal accounts from key players on what happened on the night. There is a short film about the Operation.

The original Bénouville Bridge has been moved into grounds on the Memorial.

There is also a replica of the one of the Horsa Gliders in the grounds.

Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmnuBR9X

Garmin Link
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2902169693

Pegasus Memorial Web Site
http://codegeek.memorial-pegasus.com/en/

National Geographic video on Pegasus Bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JoQoh3Gy4A

Wikipedia Links

Pegasus Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus_Bridge

The Longest Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)

Guide Book Link