Probably the most famous action involving a glider-borne unit was that at Pegasus Bridge, the first landing of troops on D Day that captured the Caen canal and Orne river bridges. On the night of 5/6 June 1944, D Company, 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (2nd Ox &amp; Bucks), led by Major John Howard, together with Royal Engineers and men of the Glider Pilot Regiment (totalling 181 men), were carried in 6 Horsa gliders to capture the vital bridge (later renamed "Pegasus Bridge") over the Caen Canal, and the bridge over the Orne River (since known as Horsa Bridge, and which is east of Pegasus Bridge). This was intended to secure the eastern flank to prevent German armour from reaching the area behind Sword Beach and interfering with the beach landings of the 3rd Infantry Division there.