In the early hours of June 6th, 1944, a banging on the door woke the German Major.

Grabbing his clothes, he swung open the window and shouted down into the darkness below.

Man, vass his das! A German motorbike rider called up Major Schmidt, the bridge is under attack. There is nothing more perplexing, confusing and chaotic than being on the receiving end of a surprise attack.

It's one thing expecting an assault or a raid where

you can consider your options and your courses of action, but it's quite another when you're unprepared.

This is the time for a call but decisive head, otherwise the consequences can be dire.

Cursing, the Major hurriedly grabbed his clothes.

Aton, we've had you.

And ignoring his girlfriend's protestations,

ran down the stairs to join his men in the German half track below.

The men at the bridge knew that a German counter attack would

definitely happen. They were miles inland, totally surrounded and cut off at this

point, and knew that the Germans would throw absolutely everything at them.

Some of them must have realized that they would never see home again.

It would have been terrifying.

The next 12 hours would prove to be decisive for the entire Allied landings at Normandy.

None more so than for the group of men hanging onto a small but vital couple of bridges deep in the French countryside.

They knew that the odds were against them and many of them were unlikely to make it home.

They were the daredevils of D-Day.

I'm Bruce Crompton, history lover, military antique collector and ex-paratrooper. You're listening to the second part of our amazing war story, The Dare Devils of D-Day, which sees a group of

heroic soldiers from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Regiment take a German- held bridge behind enemy lines at the beginning of D-Day.

We join the action after Major Howard and his men have scored the first goal and won an early victory.

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