The Mission
The mission, in the opening minutes of the Normandy landings 6th June 1944, was to capture the Bénouville Bridge and the nearby Ranville Bridge in order to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the beaches, where Allied forces were pouring ashore.
180 men, led by Major John Howard, landed close to their targets in gliders. Using the element of surprise, they were tasked with seizing the bridges, and more importantly, hold them against the inevitable German counter attack.
Bénouville Bridge was later renamed Pegasus Bridge, in reference to the shoulder emblem worn by the British Airborne forces.
The Movie
Yes the movie is coming and as proud sponsors Warlord Games will be keeping uptodate with progress over the coming months, or follow the crew as filming commences:
The Battlefield
Using the contents of the battle set, you can really set the scene for this pivotal battle. The centrepiece is a laser-cut model of the bridge itself, accompanied by models of the Cafe Gondree, as well as a pill box, a gun pit and even two telegraph poles! Sarissa Precision have done us proud with these incredible laser-cut constructions and they have to be seen to be believed!
The Forces
Next come the forces themselves – for the defenders, 20 German infantry, backed up with a 5cm KwK 39 anti-tank gun and MG42 machine gun team. The attackers are a 10-man British Airborne squad plus a 2-man PIAT team, and an exclusive model of Major John Howard, which is only available in this set. You’ll also get decal sheets for both the sides to help you prepare your forces for battle.
The Free Figure
Like with our Bolt Action Rulebooks you’ll receive a free & exclusive figure with this set of Major John Howard DSO himself to lead the way!
Collector’s Edition
The Ham & Jam! Collector’s Edition adds even more to the main Pegasus Bridge battle-set –
- 6 resin sandbag emplacements (which can be put together into 3 machine gun emplacements).
- 3 more German MG42 machine gun teams.
- 6 dead livestock models.
- a resin sandbag emplacement for the top of the control tower.
- 8 more telegraph poles and 12 resin Dragon’s teeth tank traps.
- 20 more plastic Germans.
- A Marder III Ausf. M tank destroyer.
- 20 plastic Royal Marine Commandos led by Lord Lovat and Piper Millin.
The Rules
Last but not least the box includes a special scenario booklet that describes how to set up and fight the historical battle for Pegasus Bridge in the early hours of June the 6th 1944.
These massive sets contain everything you need to recreate the daring raid that paved the way for the Allied D-Day invasion. The main boxed set contains all the fundamental features whilst the collector’s edition adds in loads more goodies.
Head over to the store to for the full contents lists and more photos!
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
Craig Nixon