Ham and Bloody Jam

One of the first objectives of Operation Overlord was the seizure of the bridges over the Orne River and Canal de Caen just west of Ranville. The bridges were vital links to the British 6th Airborne’s bridgehead over the Orne on the Allied left flank. Major John Howard’s …

1944-06-06

PB01

One of the first objectives of Operation Overlord was the seizure of the bridges over the Orne River and Canal de Caen just west of Ranville. The bridges were vital links to the British 6th Airborne’s bridgehead over the Orne on the Allied left flank. Major John Howard’s reinforced D Company was given the task of seizing the bridges in a glider-borne coup de main attack. D Company would land almost simultaneously with pathfinders for the main parachute force of the 6th Airborne. As the men of D Company boarded gliders at 2230 hours on 5 June, they shook hands and passed along the greetings “Ham” and “Jam”. Those words were the codes to alert the paratroopers that the canal and river bridges had been captured intact.

Benouville, France

Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the centrepiece of the Memorial Pegasus museum at nearby Ranville. It was replaced in 1994 by a modern design which, like the old one, is a bascule bridge.

British

German

Scenario Type = Standard