Well Past Trouble: Normandy Battle of Pegasus Bridge

Description

D-Day landings biopic, based on the Normandy experiences of the author's grandfather in 6th Airborne Division. As depicted in 'The Longest Day', this is the story of the key night-time glider mission preceding the landings, aimed at taking and holding the iconic Pegasus Bridge. Succeed behind enemy lines against overwhelming odds, and British armour will advance on Caen from Sword Beach. Fail, and German armour will wreak havoc on the beaches... Foreword by Major Justin Featherstone MC Operation Overlord, the Battle of Normandy which included the D-Day landings or Operation Neptune, was launched with an airborne assault involving 1,200 aircraft, preceding the 5,000 vessels and 160,000 troops that would cross the channel on the 6th of June. These advanced operations to seize key infrastructure points in the Normandy hinterland included the battle to secure the Bénouville Bridge by glider-borne forces, as described in this book. The bridge was renamed Pegasus Bridge in 1944, in honour of the operation, the success of which led to the limiting of the counter-attack capability of German forces. Robert Lofthouse writes with passion and a compelling eye for detail which is informed by his family connection with the operation, and his experiences as a soldier in 5 Airborne Brigade in the 1990s. At this time, his unit was in the Tactical Airland Operations role, which might be seen as one of the legacies of glider-borne operations. This intimate and deeply personal understanding of the history and environment is captured in his ability to propel the reader into sensory assaults experienced by the troops of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, as they were towed towards their drop zone in the hostile night skies over France. This book was written in the year of the seventieth anniversary of Operation Overlord, and there is a poignancy and sense of place and time embedded in Robert's writing. Although his descriptions of the individual actions are meticulous and exceptional in their adherence to authenticity and accuracy, it is the author's portraits of the men at the heart of the story that drive the emotional intensity which grips the reader so staunchly, and prevents the narrative becoming mechanistic. In Robbie Stokes, Robert creates a highly believable character with depth and an ability to connect with the reader, whose back story is more than that of an everyman, but helps to inform his approaches, demeanour, decisions and actions as a soldier. I believe it is possible for soldiers throughout the history of the British Army in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries to identify with Robbie, and to feel a deep-rooted connection and sense of reflected self in his experiences, thoughts and motivations. It is the moments of tenderness, fatigue, humour, inactivity and frustration that form the most affecting passages, and lend a deep sense of understanding to the place of moral agency amongst soldiers flung into the maelstrom of fierce fighting at the very beginning of probably the greatest single military endeavour in modern history. Yet again, Robert Lofthouse has propelled his readership into the heart of modern military operations, and allowed them a rare glimpse into the heart and mind of a young man in close combat. J B Featherstone MC Rob Lofthouse succeeds in creating a likeable character and bringing the horrors of battle to life. SOLDIER MAGAZINE The first in a series of three books; adventures at Arnhem and the Rhine Crossing to follow.

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