Pegasus Bridge III

A close up of the statue of the commanding officer. Howard would survive the war and today the roadway going over the renamed Pegasus Bridge is called Esplanade Major John Howard. After capturing the bridge, the Germans launched a counter-attack to retake their lost possession. In one of the single greatest shots of the war, a Piat, a handheld rocket gun fired by Sgt. M.C. "Wagger" Thornton, knocked out the lead German Mark IV tank from 30 yards distance, stopping the assualt. The gliderman would be reliefed later that day by Lord Lovat 's commandos who landed on Sword Beach and came to their rescue with bagpipes aplaying. Wagger Thornton, who was captured at Arnhem Bridge, later lived in London and cursed the inaccurate and difficult to operate Piat as "a load of rubbish". Dave stands next to a German gun emplacement along the canal.