Red Devils on D-Day
Red Devils on D-Day
The River Dives Bridges – From Drop Zone to Destruction
by Neil Barber
Foreword by Al Murray
Published June 2026 – Sabrestorm Publishing.
To order: https://www.sabrestorm.com/book-item/red-devils-on-d-day/
Book Launch – 10.30am, Thursday 4th June, Memorial Pegasus Museum, Ranville, Normandy.
D-Day, the greatest seaborne assault ever seen, took place on the morning of 6th June. However, what sometimes ‘goes under the radar’ are the landings before this, the arrival of the Airborne forces to protect the flanks of the proposed seaborne beachhead. For the Americans in the west, the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were to perform the role, but in the crucial east, beyond which lay the bulk of the German armoured reserve, a sole Airborne Division was given the responsibility. This was the British 6th Airborne Division.
The British Airborne on D-Day may conjure up popular images of the capture of Pegasus Bridge as depicted in Daryll Zanuck’s 1961 film version of Cornelius Ryan’s book, The Longest Day, but generally not much else, as if that was all the Division had to do ! And yet alongside its overall role of acting as a defensive buffer against flank attacks on Sword Beach, the capture and holding of the Caen Canal (Pegasus) and River Orne (Horsa) bridges, the only crossing points of the waterways between the Channel and the city of Caen, was only the first of three primary objectives for the Division during the early hours of D-Day. The second was the silencing of the guns protected by concrete casemates within a fortified Battery position at Merville, which had the ability to bombard the proposed Sword Beach with a lethal barrage of shells. The third was to destroy five bridges to the east, four across the River Dives and one across a tributary, the Divette. Their destruction would not only help to protect the flank, but would also force the majority of German armoured reserve to divert to the south, around the 6th Airborne perimeter, to reach Caen itself, subsequently buying time for the seaborne forces to grow within the fledgling beachhead. Consequently, the destruction of these bridges was absolutely crucial…..
In the words of the men themselves, Red Devils on D-Day describes the beginnings of the 6th Airborne Division, the formation and training of the men, the preparations for D-Day of those involved in the operations to destroy the bridges; from the Pathfinders of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company to those actually carrying out the tasks – the sappers of the 3rd Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers, protected by the 1st Canadian and 8th Parachute Battalions. It also covers the fighting by the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in capturing the Varaville Strongpoint, and the setting up of the 3rd Parachute Brigade defensive position on the vital Breville Ridge.
This is not only a book that explains the actions in detail, in the words of the men themselves, it also remembers them for posterity, with over 130 portrait photos alongside a plethora of others showing the battle locations. More than five years of research has gone into the research and writing of Red Devils on Day. Sabrestorm Publishing; 448 pages; ISBN: 9781781220283.