One Night In June (Airlife Classics)

One Night in June is an account of the Glider Pilot Regiment's role in Operation Tonga, the first stage of the airborne assault in the Normandy landings in June 1944. The story is told through the eyes of those who were there - glider pilots, paratroops, pathfinders, tug crews and passengers and covers the Operation from training through to evacuations after D-Day. Operation Tonga was vital to the success of D-Day and included the now famous attacks on the Merville Battery and the bridges over the Orne River and the Caen Canal. The equally important, though less well-known, part of the Operation was to provide an anti-tank screen to protect the southern and eastern flanks of the invasion beaches from counter attacks. The account includes stories of crew who evaded capture by the Germans and pays tribute to the help they received from local Resistance fighters. The contribution of the nine gliders which took part in the 'Coup de Main' landings has been well-documented but of the other eighty-nine gliders which took part little has been written. This book tells the full story.