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The official report of this event by the British 6th AB...
It required flying of pinpoint accuracy, and an approach which had to be accurate to a few feet. Too much height and the three gliders of Howard's section would smash into the roadway embankment at the far end of the field. If they landed substantially short, the screeching and tearing noise of the gliders, as they came down, would alert the bridge defenses and the dazed glider troops could undoubtedly expect a warm reception.
The flying and navigation of the glider pilots was exemplary, in weather conditions which were far from ideal. Released at 8,000 feet over the Normandy coast, the three gliders clipped through the tops of a belt of poplars, which skirted the field and crashed and bounced to a halt only a few yards from each other, at 0016 hours precisely.
Although shaken by the impact, the glider troops poured out of the wreckage of their aircraft and, with Howard at their head, rushed the bridge. They were spotted by a young conscript of the German 716th Infantry Regiment who screamed 'Fallschirmjager!' as a warning to his comrades before firing a verey flare into the air. It was his last act on earth; he was instantly cut down by a burst of Stengun fire from the Ox and Bucks men.
A furious firefight now ensued, with the chattering of the German Spandaus interspersed with the crackle of Bren and Sten gun fire. But the assault of the Ox and Bucks was irresistible, and the surprise complete. The occupants of the dugouts on the periphery of the bridge were disposed of with high explosive and phosphorus grenades, while the bridge itself was raked with a hail of 9mm and .303 fire. By 0026 hours, the action was over and bridge was in British hands. To the East, the Orne River bridge had been secured in just a short time, even though one of the gliders of the assault had gone astray.
The firefight had lasted just 10 minutes, while the first objective of D-Day's airborne operations had been achieved, six hours before the troops of the seaborne armada arrived at the beaches.
-The British 6th Airborne
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