The Devil's Own Luck - Pegasus Bridge to the Baltic 1944-45

Early in the morning of 6 June 1944, Denis Edwards landed by glider at Pegasus Bridge in the daring operation that opened the Allied invasion of Nazi occupied Europe. Over the coming nine months he kept a detailed record of the dramatic events that he experienced as a member of the indomitable Major John Howard's Company of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. These included the near disastrous Rhine crossing and finally linking up with the Russians in Spring 1945.

Denis Edward's book also includes useful sections which relate to the POW experiences of his friend Bob Ambrose - who was captured in Normandy; Harry Clarke's story of the landing at Hamminkeln Railway Station; and a full list of the load and crews of the six gliders in the 'Coup de main' force 5th June 1944.

The full table of contents is:

Part 1 - The Hand of Destiny
Chapter 1 - Early Days
Chapter 2 - Training
Chapter 3 - Into the Fray

Part 2 - A Normandy Diary
Chapter 4 - The Longest Day
Chapter 5 - Herouvillette and Escoville
Chapter 6 - The Chateau St Come and Breville
Chapter 7 - Mostly Hellfire Corner
Chapter 8 - The Advance to the Seine

Part 3 - Belgium and Germany
Chapter 9 - The Ardennes
Chapter 10 - Across the Rhine

Endnote
Appendix

From my perspective, if you have any interest in the 2nd Bn. Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and their participation in the action at Pegasus Bridge, the battle for Normandy and the Rhine Crossings, you can do no better than to refer to The Devil's Own Luck. There are very few personal memoirs from this unit but this is an exceptional book. Indeed, when I met a veteran of the 2nd Bn. in 2016, he said he refers to this book when trying to recollect details of his experiences - so that sounds like a good recommendation to me.

Available from:
Pen and Sword