The second bridge seized by British gliderborne troops in the opening minutes of D-Day, spanning the Orne River a short walk east of Pegasus Bridge. While the canal bridge tends to get all the attention, Horsa Bridge was equally critical to the operation — holding both crossings prevented German armoured units from flanking the Allied beachhead from the east. Major John Howard's D Company took both bridges within minutes of landing, an achievement that military historians still regard as a model of the coup de main raid.
The bridge is quieter and less visited than its famous neighbour, which gives it a particular appeal. There are no museums or cafés here, just the river, the bridge, and the flat Norman landscape stretching toward the coast. A commemorative plaque marks the site. Walking between Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge — a fifteen-minute stroll along the towpath — gives a good sense of the geography the airborne troops had to control and defend through the long day of 6 June before seaborne relief arrived.