Operational History
Conception and Formation
With the words, "We ought to have a Corps of at least five thousand parachute troops", Winston Churchill (at right with Browning) in 1940 ordained the creation of Britain's Airborne divisions. Already work had been done in testing parachuting techniques by the intrepid Major J. F. Rock, Royal Engineers and his partners in the RAF. Now, however, the creation of regular airborne units began in earnest. Ringway Airfield became the locus for parachute training, with the creation of the facilities eventually known as 'Airborne Forces Establishment'. This base was used by all services involved in parachute training; with the first unit-wide training done at Ringway involving an army Commando.
Several important developments had already taken shape before the parachute units had formed. The excellent X-type parachute was adopted, allowing for a safer and more controlled decent than that allowed by their German counterparts. Early gliders were also developed at this time, and proved promising enough to develop more practical and spacious models. In December of 1941 the Glider Pilot Regiment was formed. Composed of all NCOs and officers trained as infantrymen, these pilots (see picture at left) were gruelingly trained in precision flight. The difficulty in piloting such a craft can be understood when one realizes that even a perfect landing was conducted at speeds of 70 mph!
In February 1941 the first parachute operation was conducted. A raid involving under fifty men was undertaken against the Tragino Aqueduct in southern Italy. While all involved were captured or casualties, the raid was a success in its demonstration of the ability to launch airborne operations. In late 1941 the first glider borne airlanding brigades were formed. Soon after Major-General Browning became the GOC of Parachute troops. In February of 1942 the very successful raid against the Bruneval Radar Station (see picture to right) on the French coast was conducted by a small force under one of the preeminent airborne officers, then Major John Frost. In November of 1942 another raid was conducted by 17 glider borne men against a German research plant in Norway. This raid ended in disaster for the participants, and ignominy for the Germans. The nine survivors of the initial glider landing were executed by the Gestapo.Early Campaigns
After the lessons of the early raids, the parachute forces began to grow quickly. In July 1942 the Second Parachute Brigade was added to the first. In August 1942 the Parachute Regiment was officially recognized as a formation within the Army Air Corps. In November 1942 the Third and Fourth Parachute Brigades were created. The Parachute Regiment saw its first major action with the invasion of North Africa. First Parachute Brigade was involved in drops to capture Nazi airfields. These operations were generally successful, with now Lt. Colonel Frost again distinguishing himself with dogged resistance against heavy odds. The brigade fought on as infantry in heavy action against Rommel in Tunisia, earning the sobriquet "The Red Devils" from the Germans.In June 1943 the 1st Airborne Division was brought together for the Invasion of Sicily. The Division was composed of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Parachute Brigades, and the 1st Airlanding Brigade. The attacks were hampered by widely scattered drops and premature glider releases. Despite an unpromising beginning the Division overcame all obstacles to secure its objectives. The 2nd Brigade later fought as infantry after being transferred to Alexander's Italian command.
6th Airborne Division
In May 1943 the 6th Airborne Division was created under Major-General Gale, initially drawing over units from the 1st Airborne Division. These included the 3rd Parachute Brigade, the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Royal Ulster Rifles battalions from the 1st Airlanding Brigade. The 3rd Brigade, under the command of Brigadier S. J. L. Hill (to right), comprised the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Parachute Regiment along with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. The other brigades were the 5th Parachute Brigade (7th, 12th, and 13th Parachute Battalions) and the Airlanding Brigade (2nd Battalion the Oxs & Bucks, 1st Battalion RUR, and the 12th Battalion Devonshires).The 6th Airborne was arranged in the following manner. Divisional HQ, the two parachute brigades, the airlanding brigade, the 22nd Independent Parachute Company (pathfinders), the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (light tanks), the 53rd Airlanding Light Regiment Royal Artillery (75mm pack howitzers), three airlanding anti-tank batteries (6pdr and 17pdr), anti-aircraft batteries, divisional signals, field ambulances, and Royal Engineers.
The 3rd Brigade was composed of a brigade headquarters, three infantry battalions, a parachute engineer squadron and a parachute field ambulance. The three battalions were as follows: the 8th Parachute Battalion, raised from the 13th Battalion The Royal Warwickshire Regiment and commanded by Lt.-Col. Alistair Pearson; the 9th Parachute Battalion, raised from the 10th Battalion The Essex Regiment and commanded by Lt.-Col. Terence Otway and later Lt.-Col. Napier Crookenden; and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion commanded by Lt.-Col. George Bradbrooke and later Lt.-Col. Jeff Nicklin.
Each parachute battalion mustered approximately 550 men. It was composed of a battalion headquarters, a headquarters company, a machine gun platoon with four Vickers medium machine guns, a mortar platoon with six 3-inch mortars, and three regular rifle companies. Each rifle company was composed of five officers and 120 men divided among three platoons and a company headquarters.
Normandy: Overlord
The 3rd Brigade landed in France on the night of D-Day (June 5th-6th, 1944) as part of the preliminary airborne invasion. The entire brigade jumped on the same night onto two drop zones east of Caen. They were the furthest allied units east in the invasion, and were tasked with destroying bridges that would allow for German armoured units to counter-attack the Allies' left flank. As with most parachute operations, the flights were severely disrupted by clouds, smoke, ack-ack fire, and poor navigation. The battalions of the 3rd Brigade were widely dispersed, requiring much smaller forces than planned to take unit objectives.The 9th Battalion was tasked with assaulting and silencing the Merville Battery, a fortified artillery emplacement which would threaten the landing beaches as day broke on the 6th. Only 150 men of the battalion could be mustered in the darkness and confusion, and none of the heavy weapons or engineering equipment. Nevertheless, Lt.-Col. Otway attacked at 0430 hours through two breaches in the heavy wire surrounding the emplacement. By 0500 the battery had been silenced. The following description is a firsthand account by Sergeant Harold Long:
The assault was all hell let loose. The wire had been cut for us by an advance party and, firing from the hip and throwing grenades, we went forward to the guns. Our attack was a complete surprise to the Germans but they soon recovered and gave a very good account of themselves. But in the end we overcame them, taking some prisoners. A few got away; the rest were killed or wounded. We lost about eighty killed and wounded in the battle, so by that time we were very weak. No explosives had arrived but we had to silence the guns. We damaged and destroyed them by any means we could.
Anyone who came through that battle was very lucky. By the end of it, out of six hundred and forty men who left England, only about seventy or eighty of us were on our feet and in one piece. You have to have been through something like that to understand what it was really like.
The other battalions of the brigade were also actively engaged. The 8th Battalion attacked the bridges at Bures and Troarn, while the 1st Canadian Battalion attacked the bridges at Varaville and Robenhomme. All units suffered heavy casualties in the initial drops and assaults. The brigade stayed on in positions on the Allies' left flank in an aggressive defensive stance, making constant probing attacks to keep the German mechanized units facing them off balance. In early August the breakout was achieved, and the parachute battalions went onto the offensive. Sporadic hard fighting remained, but rapid advances were made. In early September the 6th Airborne Division was withdrawn to England, having fought continuously since the night of 5-6 June, and having suffered 4457 casualties.
The Bulge
On the 16th December, 1944 the German offensive against the U.S. 12 Army Group began, eventually creating the famous Bulge in the Allied lines. By the 20th of December the need for reinforcement was enough to recall the 6th Airborne from England to Belgium, and into the lines on the north face of the German salient. The Division engaged on the 26th of December, by which time the German attack had been stopped. Fighting continued in the difficult winter conditions as the paratroopers pushed the Germans back, securing the town of Bure in a heavy action. The Division was withdrawn to the front lines in Holland, and in early February 1945 pulled back to England to prepare for another airborne assault.Crossing the Rhine: Varsity
Operation Varsity was the Allies main invasion effort across the Rhine River and into Germany for the Spring of 1945. 6th Airborne Division, along with American 17th Airborne Division, were to jump ahead of the ground forces across the Rhine and secure a beachhead. The plan left little room for the errors that had plagued earlier parachute operations: the jump was conducted in daylight with all units jumping on the first day, and the linkup with ground forces to take place on the first day of the operation. The 3rd Brigade fought on the left of the airborne forces, clearing the area and securing against counter-attack as the ground forces advanced.
It was during the fighting on the 3rd Brigade's landing zones that Corporal George Topham, a medical orderly in the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, won the Victoria Cross. He witnessed two orderlies killed in an attempt to rescue a fallen solider. His citation follows:
Without hesitation, and on his own initiative, Corporal Topham went forward through intense fire to replace the orderlies who had been killed before his eyes. As he worked on the wounded man, he himself was shot through the nose. In spite of severe bleeding and intense pain, he never faltered in his task. Having completed first aid, he carried the wounded man steadily and slowly back through continuous fire to the shelter of a wood.
During the next two hours Corporal Topham refused all offers of medical help for his own wound. He worked most devotedly throughout this period to bring wounded in, showing complete disregard for the heavy and accurate enemy fire. It was only when all casulties had been cleared that he consented to his own wound being treated.
His immediate evacuation was ordered but he interceded so earnestly on his own behalf that he was eventually allowed to return to duty.
On his way back to his company he came across a carrier which had received a direct hit. Enemy mortar bombs were still dropping around, the carrier itself was burning fiercely and its own mortar ammunition was exploding. An experienced officer on the spot had warned all not to approach the carrier.
Corporal Topham, however, immediately went out alone in spite of the blasting ammunition and enemy fire and rescued the three occupants of the carrier. He brought these men back across the open, and although one died almost immediately afterwards, he arranged for the evacuation of the other two who undoubtedly owe their lives to him.
This NCO showed gallantry of the highest order. For six hours, most of the time in great pain, he performed a series of acts of outstanding bravery, and his magnificent and selfless courage inspired all those who witnessed it.
The operation was a success, and the Allied ground forces advanced to the airborne positions and relieved them on the same day. By March 25th the paratroopers were relieved by infantry units, and the Division was brought up to continue the advance with the van of the allied drive into Germany. Supported by tanks of the Guards, 6th Airborne pushed rapidly through Germany to the Baltic port of Wismar. This point was important as it cut off the advancing Russian armies from invading Denmark. On 2nd May paratroopers met with Russian soldiers, effectively ending operations. VE Day on the 8th officially ended the war.
The staff of the 6th Airborne
Division with Montgomery