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Horsa Bridge
Horsa Bridge, also known as Ranville Bridge, over the Orne river, was, along with Pegasus Bridge, captured during Operation Tonga by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in a ''coup de main'' operation in the opening minutes of D-Day, 6 June 1944. The seizing of both bridges was considered to be critical to securing the eastern flank of the Normandy landings area, preventing German armour from reaching the British 3rd Infantry Division which was due to start landing on Sword at 07.25hrs. Horsa Bridge, a road bridge, was over 400 yards east of Pegasus Bridge towards the village of Ranville. Renaming of the bridge Following the capture of the bridge over the Orne, members of the ''coup de main'' operation supported naming the bridge 'Light Infantry Bridge'. The captured Benouville Bridge had been sign-boarded Pegasus Bridge. After the Second World War the bridge over the Orne became known as Horsa Bridge, in recognition of the Hor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ranville
Ranville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Ranville was the first French village liberated on D-Day. The village was liberated by the British 13th Parachute Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Luard. The ''château du Heaume'' in the village was subsequently used by the headquarters of the British 6th Airborne Division. The village features prominently in the book ''13 - Lucky For Some'' which is about the history of the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion. There are many then and now photographs as well as maps and diagrams of battles that took place in the region. Population Sights *Château de Guernon-Ranville *Memorial Pegasus * Ranville War Cemetery Gallery File:Bailey bridge element, Ranville 01 09.jpg, A Bailey bridge section at the Memorial Pegasus museum in Ranville File:1 Château de Guernon-Ranville, côté cour.jpg, The Château de Guernon-Ranville File:FranceNormandieRanvilleCimetiereMil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Airborne Landings In Normandy
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ..., an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Longest Day (film)
''The Longest Day'' is a 1962 American epic war film, shot in black and white and based on Cornelius Ryan's 1959 non-fiction book of the same name about the D-Day landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, who paid author Ryan $175,000 for the film rights. The screenplay was by Ryan, with additional material written by Romain Gary, James Jones, David Pursall, and Jack Seddon. It was directed by Ken Annakin (British and French exteriors), Andrew Marton (American exteriors), and Bernhard Wicki (German scenes). ''The Longest Day'' features a large international ensemble cast including John Wayne, Kenneth More, Richard Todd, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, Steve Forrest, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Red Buttons, Peter Lawford, Eddie Albert, Jeffrey Hunter, Stuart Whitman, Tom Tryon, Rod Steiger, Leo Genn, Gert Fröbe, Irina Demick, Bourvil, Curd Jürgens, George Segal, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka, and Arletty. Many of these actors played rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornelius Ryan
Cornelius Ryan (5 June 1920 – 23 November 1974) was an Irish-American journalist and author known mainly for writing popular military history. He was especially known for his histories of World War II events: '' The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D-Day'' (1959), ''The Last Battle'' (1966), and '' A Bridge Too Far'' (1974). Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he began working as a journalist in London in 1940. He became involved in covering World War II and travelled with troops in Europe. After the war, he covered the establishment of Israel. He immigrated to the United States in 1947 to work for ''Time''. In 1951 Ryan became a naturalized US citizen and lived there for the remainder of his life. Early life and education Ryan was born in Dublin and educated at Synge Street CBS, Portobello, Dublin, Ireland. He was an altar boy at St Kevin's Church, Harrington Street and studied the violin at the Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. He was a boy scout in the 52nd Troop of the Catholic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Longest Day (book)
''The Longest Day'' is a 1959 book by Cornelius Ryan telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy. It details the ''coup de main'' operation by gliderborne troops, which captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges (Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge) before the main assault on the Normandy beaches. It sold tens of millions of copies in eighteen different languages. It is based on interviews with a cross-section of participants, including U.S., Canadian, British, French and German officers and civilians. Overview The book begins and ends in the village of La Roche-Guyon. The book refers to the village as being the most occupied village in occupied France and states that for each of the 543 inhabitants of La Roche-Guyon there were more than three German soldiers in the village and surrounding area. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commander-in-chief of Army Group B had his headquarters in the castle of the village which was the seat of the Duc de La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tod Sweeney
Colonel Henry John Sweeney MC (1 June 1919 – 4 June 2001), known as Tod Sweeney, was an officer of the British Army. During the Second World War he was a platoon commander in the coup de main operation, by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd), on D-Day, 6 June 1944, tasked to seize Horsa Bridge and Pegasus Bridge before the main assault on the Normandy beaches began. The following day he was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing a wounded member of his platoon while under heavy fire near Escoville. Sweeney commanded the 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) at Penang from April 1962 to January 1964; during the Brunei Revolt and Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. Early life and the Second World War Henry John Sweeney was born in Blyth, Northumberland, England, on 1 June 1919, and educated at Douai School, Berkshire. He entered Douai Abbey as a novice monk. At the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Fox
Major Dennis Barraclough Fox MBE (1920-1993) was an officer of the British Army. During the Second World War he led the first platoon to land at Horsa Bridge in the gliderborne 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) coup de main operation, during the opening minutes of D-Day, 6 June 1944, which captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges (Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge). These bridges were considered to be critical to securing the eastern flank of the Normandy landings area. Early life Dennis Barraclough Fox was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Fox was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in April 1941 and was posted to the 7th Ox and Bucks. He transferred to the 2nd Ox and Bucks (the 52nd) in February 1942. Originally from B Company, he joined Major John Howard's D Company as a platoon commander in April 1944. Horsa bridge On D-Day, 6 June 1944, Fox's No 17 platoon was one of three platoons tasked with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horsa Glider
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century conqueror of southern Britain. Having been greatly impressed by the effective use of airborne operations by Germany during the early stages of the Second World War, such as during the Battle of France, the Allied powers sought to establish capable counterpart forces of their own. The British War Office, determining that the role of gliders would be an essential component of such airborne forces, proceeded to examine available options. An evaluation of the General Aircraft Hotspur found it to lack the necessary size, thus Specification ''X.26/40'' was issued. It was from this specification that Airspeed Limited designed the Horsa, a large glider capable of accommodating up to 30 fully equipped troops, which was designated as the ''AS 51''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied France commenced on 6 June 1944. Stretching from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, the beach proved to be the easternmost landing site of the invasion after the abortion of an attack on a sixth beach, code-named Band. Taking Sword was to be the responsibility of the British Army with sea transport, mine sweeping and a naval bombardment force provided by the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Polish, Norwegian and other Allied navies. Among the five beaches of the operation, Sword is the nearest to Caen, about from the goal of the 3rd Infantry Division. The landings were achieved with low Allied casualties but the advance from the beach was slowed by traffic congestion and resistance in defended areas behind the beach. Furthe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orne River
The Orne () is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It is long. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées. Its main tributaries are the Odon and the Rouvre. The Orne flows through the following departments and towns: *Orne (named after the river): Sées, Argentan *Calvados: Thury-Harcourt, Caen, Ouistreham Name The name of the Orne in Normandy, which is referred to as the ''Olinas'' by Ptolemy, is a homonym of Fluvius Olne, the Orne saosnoise in Sarthe, which Xavier Delamarre traces back to the Celtic olīnā (elbow). Hydrology and water quality The waters of the Orne are typically moderately turbid and brown in colour. pH levels of the Orne have been measured at 8.5Hogan, C Michael, ''Water quality of freshwater bodies in France'', Lumina Press, Aberdeen 2006 at the town of St. Andre sur Orne where summer water temperatures approximate 18 degrees Celsius. Electrical conductivity of the Orne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
The 3rd (United Kingdom) Division is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as the Fighting 3rd under Sir Thomas Picton during the Napoleonic Wars. The division fought at the Battle of Waterloo, as well as during the Crimean War and the Second Boer War. As a result of bitter fighting in 1916, during the First World War, the division became referred to as the 3rd (Iron) Division, or the Iron Division or Ironsides. During the Second World War, the division (now known as the 3rd Infantry Division) fought in the Battle of France including a rearguard action during the Dunkirk Evacuation, and played a prominent role in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944. The division was to have been part of a proposed Commonwealth Corps, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945–46, and later served in the British Mandate of Palest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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