The film The Longest Day brought international fame to the D-Day capture of the "Pegasus" bridge by British glider troops.' The Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry were one of six infantry regiments selected to serve as glider units with Britain's two airborne divisions in World War II. Denys Edwards was part of the Oxford and Bucks company that captured Pegasus Bridge and served with the regiment to the end of the war.

Britain's other glider brigade took heavy losses at Arnhem, so Edwards' brigade was assigned the air landing role in Britain's last major offensive of the war, the crossing of the Rhine. While German resistance was crumbling, the Rhine crossing involved flying over a major water obstacle and making rough landings in difficult terrain. Edwards provides a well-written account of his adventures, including many previously unknown incidents.