The bridge which join Ranville to Bénouville, in Normandy, and which is now known as Pegasus Bridge was build in 1935. On June 1944, it was one of the first target of the Operation Overlord to be reached by the Allied troops, at 00h16, two Horsa gliders which were carrying 30 men of the British 6th Airborne Division each landed at around 200m of the bridge without been saw by the German troops, the men of the Major R. J. Howard became the seconds troops to land in France for the Operation Overlord, after the men of a French SAS who landed on 5 June for sabotage operations.
The Lieutenant H. D. Brotheridge, who was on board of the first glider which landed near of Pegasus Bridge was the first allied soldier of the D-Day to be killed in action. The airbornes were later joined by the No.4 Commando, leaded by the Brigadier Lord Lovat, which had landed on Sword Beach.
On the left of this photo, those houses were the first to be freed in the whole metropolitan France.

In 1994, the original Pegasus Bridge was removed into the museum, placed next of the river, and was replaced by a longer bridge for allow an extension of the canal.

Find a very well modifiied version of this photo done by  Milouthemagpie here.