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pc953's review against another edition
4.0
Pegasus Bridge is a fascinating small scale look at a key engagement at the start of D-Day. The writing is tight and to the point. The action is quick and can be hard to follow at times, but pointed. Ambrose continues to interplay the personal home lives of individuals with the action. Included within the book is the German perspective of the engagement, which was a pleasant surprise. It's a quick read, and a bit disjointed but definitely a worth read.
chrisb85's review against another edition
5.0
Stephen Ambrose is an amazing author that brings the bravery and horror of ww2 to life. This book is one of his shorter ones but it still packs a punch. Detailed events with how the soldiers felt about. Cracking book.
bookaneer's review against another edition
4.0
Stephen E. Ambrose is a master storyteller. He makes it so easy, interviewing people then write about them. Imagine the editing works, placing one story after another, in the way that the readers would better understand and imagine. Pegasus Bridge is not as special as Citizen Soldiers or Band of Brothers (BoB), but it still delivers.
The story is about a gliderborne unit of the British Ox and Bucks Light Infantry Regiment, 6th Airborne Division, commanded by Major John Howard, who captured two bridges (one rechristened Pegasus) between Bénouville and Ranville, Normandy, and held them until reinforcements came. This is claimed to be the first assault by the Allies as well as the first combat engagements between the opposing parties in Normandy during D-Day. The troops were the first who liberated a French home (whose owners were spies working for the Resistance) and one of its platoon leaders was the first casualty from the Allies side in D-Day. Yes, Howard’s D Company indeed scored many ‘firsts’.
I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed when I read the first pages of the book. I thought I was going a read a book about paratroopers. Blame my silly infatuation on paras due to BoB. I was a bit indoctrinated as well by the impression in BoB that gliderborne troopers were not as qualified and disciplined as the paras. Well, that is not the case with Howard’s men. It surely took lots of courage to surrender your fate on a Horsa whose movement and bearing were not entirely up to your own pilot, but the bomber towing your glider. Paras are more mobile because they have their own chutes.
Along with the glider pilots, the sappers, the paras, Howard and his troopers managed to surprise the Germans who, just like what happened during the D-Day sea invasion, showed a very lousy and ineffective chain of command and communication. It sometimes frustrates me (seriously) to read their ridiculous mistakes in D-Day (thanks to the Fuhrer) whereas they had legendary field marshals like Rommel and Von Rundstedt to lead.
This feat was very influential to the outcome of D-Day, since it blocked the way of a strong panzer division, whose counterattack could destroy the advancing seaborne invaders.
The training part of the book was a bit boring unfortunately. [Ambrose used the same formula with BoB and his other book Wild Blue, i.e. giving many details about the training phase:] I’d like to read more about the action part but it only covers half of the book. I noted that Howard’s D Company was the toughest SOBs in the whole airborne division due to their fanaticism over sports and physical endeavors, but that’s about the only interesting fact I found. More detailed actions, please.
Apparently, this story appeared a bit in the movie version of The Longest Day. Hell, I dislike the movie so much I can not remember anything (but the book is super excellent, mind you). The actor who played John Howard was in fact a part of the operation, a member of the 7th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment who reinforced the British troops in the area.
Anyway, this is still recommended for military buffs, especially the ones who want some light reading or curious about events that are not (presumably) widely covered by other battle accounts.
The story is about a gliderborne unit of the British Ox and Bucks Light Infantry Regiment, 6th Airborne Division, commanded by Major John Howard, who captured two bridges (one rechristened Pegasus) between Bénouville and Ranville, Normandy, and held them until reinforcements came. This is claimed to be the first assault by the Allies as well as the first combat engagements between the opposing parties in Normandy during D-Day. The troops were the first who liberated a French home (whose owners were spies working for the Resistance) and one of its platoon leaders was the first casualty from the Allies side in D-Day. Yes, Howard’s D Company indeed scored many ‘firsts’.
I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed when I read the first pages of the book. I thought I was going a read a book about paratroopers. Blame my silly infatuation on paras due to BoB. I was a bit indoctrinated as well by the impression in BoB that gliderborne troopers were not as qualified and disciplined as the paras. Well, that is not the case with Howard’s men. It surely took lots of courage to surrender your fate on a Horsa whose movement and bearing were not entirely up to your own pilot, but the bomber towing your glider. Paras are more mobile because they have their own chutes.
Along with the glider pilots, the sappers, the paras, Howard and his troopers managed to surprise the Germans who, just like what happened during the D-Day sea invasion, showed a very lousy and ineffective chain of command and communication. It sometimes frustrates me (seriously) to read their ridiculous mistakes in D-Day (thanks to the Fuhrer) whereas they had legendary field marshals like Rommel and Von Rundstedt to lead.
This feat was very influential to the outcome of D-Day, since it blocked the way of a strong panzer division, whose counterattack could destroy the advancing seaborne invaders.
The training part of the book was a bit boring unfortunately. [Ambrose used the same formula with BoB and his other book Wild Blue, i.e. giving many details about the training phase:] I’d like to read more about the action part but it only covers half of the book. I noted that Howard’s D Company was the toughest SOBs in the whole airborne division due to their fanaticism over sports and physical endeavors, but that’s about the only interesting fact I found. More detailed actions, please.
Apparently, this story appeared a bit in the movie version of The Longest Day. Hell, I dislike the movie so much I can not remember anything (but the book is super excellent, mind you). The actor who played John Howard was in fact a part of the operation, a member of the 7th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment who reinforced the British troops in the area.
Anyway, this is still recommended for military buffs, especially the ones who want some light reading or curious about events that are not (presumably) widely covered by other battle accounts.
sjchaima's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.25
ncrabb's review against another edition
4.0
Think D-day 1944, and you likely conjure up audio images of General Eisenhower broadcasting invasion orders to troops. American involvement in the invasion of Europe was widely and well taught in the schools in the time when I grew up.
But what about the British involvement in the invasion? Most of us don’t learn much about that—we get the broad-brush stuff, but the details are largely illusory. That’s true until you read this book.
This is the detailed and highly readable account of a group of British airborne troops who were the first men to touch enemy soil on D-Day Morning. Ambrose asserts that, had this small group of Brits failed, the entire invasion at Normandy could easily have collapsed in failure. The reality that we likely owe much success to this tiny cadre of men is both sobering and fascinating.
As is Ambrose’s excellent style, you meet the human side of the war equation. This is the account of John Howard, the commander of this paratrooper unit, and those who labored with him. It is the up-close view of their lives—both the soldier and the men who left pregnant wives and much more back home. You will read this and never again see D-Day in quite the same light.
These young Brits trained for months and months in preparation for the early morning hours when their gliders would fly soundlessly behind enemy lines. Sometimes those gliders crashed noisily; sometimes they landed off course; but always, they delivered men who were well trained for the job.
The goal was to capture the Pegasus Bridge and ensure that the Germans didn’t destroy it. That was a valid concern for the allies, who feared that the Germans had indeed armed the bridge for destruction at the first sign of an allied invasion. You’ll read here about valor and cowardice, about the value of the French resistance movement and a couple in particular who operated a diner near the bridge—a couple well versed in English who were particularly helpful in providing the allied forces with information that helped in their training. The book never bogs down whether you’re reading about the meticulous training or the hand-to-hand combat.
But what about the British involvement in the invasion? Most of us don’t learn much about that—we get the broad-brush stuff, but the details are largely illusory. That’s true until you read this book.
This is the detailed and highly readable account of a group of British airborne troops who were the first men to touch enemy soil on D-Day Morning. Ambrose asserts that, had this small group of Brits failed, the entire invasion at Normandy could easily have collapsed in failure. The reality that we likely owe much success to this tiny cadre of men is both sobering and fascinating.
As is Ambrose’s excellent style, you meet the human side of the war equation. This is the account of John Howard, the commander of this paratrooper unit, and those who labored with him. It is the up-close view of their lives—both the soldier and the men who left pregnant wives and much more back home. You will read this and never again see D-Day in quite the same light.
These young Brits trained for months and months in preparation for the early morning hours when their gliders would fly soundlessly behind enemy lines. Sometimes those gliders crashed noisily; sometimes they landed off course; but always, they delivered men who were well trained for the job.
The goal was to capture the Pegasus Bridge and ensure that the Germans didn’t destroy it. That was a valid concern for the allies, who feared that the Germans had indeed armed the bridge for destruction at the first sign of an allied invasion. You’ll read here about valor and cowardice, about the value of the French resistance movement and a couple in particular who operated a diner near the bridge—a couple well versed in English who were particularly helpful in providing the allied forces with information that helped in their training. The book never bogs down whether you’re reading about the meticulous training or the hand-to-hand combat.
mepitts's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Interesting short history from Stephen Ambrose based on extensive interviews with participants (British, French and German) in the pre-D-day events surrounding what’s now called the Pegasus Bridge in honor of the British troops who liberated it and the small French town nearby. This is excellent, “ground level” history, revealing the very human sacrifices and emotions of men at war. Highly recommended.