Horsa Bridge, also known as Ranville bridge

Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...

, over the Orne River

Orne River

The Orne is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées...

, was, with Pegasus Bridge

Pegasus Bridge

Pegasus Bridge is a bascule bridge , built in 1934, that crossed the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham, in Normandy, France....

, captured during Operation Deadstick

Operation Deadstick

Operation Deadstick was the codename for an airborne forces operation by the British Army that took place on 6 June 1944 as part of the Normandy landings. The mission's objective was to capture intact two road bridges in Normandy across the River Orne and the Caen Canal providing the only exit...

 by gliderborne

Military glider

Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...

 troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in a coup de main

Coup de main

A coup de main is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. The United States Department of Defense defines it as:The literal translation from French means a stroke or blow of the hand...

 operation in the opening minutes of D Day, 6 June 1944, before the main Normandy landings. Horsa Bridge, a road bridge, was over 400 yards east of Pegasus Bridge towards the village of Ranville.

Renaming of the bridge

Following the Second World War the bridge over the River Orne became known as Horsa bridge after the Horsa gliders that had carried the troops to the bridge. The original bridge which was a steel lattice swing bridge was replaced in 1971 however some of the original bridge support structure remains. In June 1989, the forty-fifth anniversary of D-Day, the Mayor of Ranville unveiled a plaque to commemorate the capture of the river bridge and the bridge was officially named Horsa Bridge. The memorial plaque was dedicated to the glider pilots and Lieutenant Dennis Fox's and Lieutenant Tod Sweeney's platoons which had captured the bridge before the Allied invasion of the Normandy beaches began.

Book and film

The operation to capture the bridges was portrayed in The Longest Day (book)

The Longest Day (book)

The Longest Day is a book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1959, telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy. It includes details of Operation Deadstick, the coup de main operation by gliderborne troops to capture both Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge before the...

 by Cornelius Ryan

Cornelius Ryan

Cornelius Ryan, was an Irish journalist and author mainly known for his writings on popular military history, especially his World War II books: The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 D-Day , The Last Battle , and A Bridge Too Far .-Early life:Ryan was born in Dublin and educated at Synge Street CBS,...

 and The Longest Day (film)

The Longest Day (film)

The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....

of 1962.