In the invasion of Normandy in 1944 a reinforced company from the British 6th Airborne Division conducted a special operation with the purpose to capture intact two road bridges. By capturing the two bridges the British force had the task to protect the 3rd Division landing on Sword Beach. The operation was achieved in ten minutes and with low losses from the British force. How was it possible that a reinforced company could achieve success during a gliderassault against a prepared and heavily defended German force?
The purpose of this thesis is to explain what made Operation Deadstick a successful mission. To analyze this William H. McRaven´s three principles simplicity, repetition and surprise and Stephan Biddles`s theory of the modern system will be used in a case study.
The findings shows that McRavens principles can explain how the British force could succeed in the assault by the principle of simplicity thru the good intelligence and by the principle of repetition when comprehensive exercise was conducted. Biddle´s theory on the modern system can also to some extent explain how the British force could succeed in the assault by using tactical methods to seize the two bridges.