1st Airborne Division

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Memorial to the British 1st Airborne Division in Oosterbeek

The 1st Airborne Division ( German  1st Airborne Division ) was an airborne unit of the British Army that existed from 1941 to 1945 and was used in various theaters of war during World War II . He was best known for his service during Operation Market Garden in 1944.

history

Deployment and deployment in the Mediterranean area until 1943

Major General Frederick Browning

The 1st Airborne Division was formed on October 31, 1941 and placed under the command of Major General Frederick Browning . Initially it consisted of a parachute ( 1st Parachute Brigade ) and an airborne brigade ( 1st Airlanding Brigade ), from July 1942 it was supplemented by the 2nd Parachute Brigade and thus reached the full division strength .

The 1st Parachute Brigade was transferred to North Africa in November 1942 , where it took part in Operation Torch and the subsequent campaign in Tunisia . The 3rd Parachute Brigade temporarily took their place. On May 1, 1943, the rest of the division was flown to North Africa under the command of Major General George F. Hopkinson , where they reunited with the 1st Parachute Brigade. The 3rd Parachute Brigade stayed behind and formed the basis of the 6th Airborne Division . In addition, the 4th Parachute Brigade set up in Egypt was subordinate to the division.

The 1st Airborne Division took part in Operation Husky , the invasion of Sicily , in July 1943 , but only the 1st Airborne Brigade and the 1st Parachute Brigade were used in two independent operations (Operation Ladbroke and Fustian ). Both ventures turned out to be costly failures due to a lack of cooperation with the Royal Air Force and triggered various organizational changes.

The division's next deployment took place during the invasion of mainland Italy in September 1943. In Operation Slapstick , two brigades of the division of warships of the Royal Navy landed in the port of Taranto on September 9 , later followed by the rest of the division. After taking the port, the troops advanced further inland and secured Bari and Brindisi and the Gioia del Colle military airfield . The only resistance worth mentioning was provided by parts of the German 1st Fallschirmjäger Division . Major General Hopkinson fell on this advance, and Brigadier General Ernest Down took command in his place . After participating in the advance of the 8th Army on Foggia , the division was taken from the front and moved back to England in November , where it was combined with the 6th Airborne Division to form the 1st Airborne Corps. The 2nd Parachute Brigade remained in Italy as an independent association.

Use on the Western Front from 1944

Landing in Normandy and planned missions

In January 1944, Major General Robert Urquhart became the division's command. This was followed by intensive training in preparation for Operation Overlord , the landing in Normandy . On D-Day it was held in reserve while the British 6th Airborne Division jumped over France as part of Operation Tonga .

On August 2, 1944, the division became part of the newly formed 1st Allied Airborne Army under the command of American General Lewis H. Brereton . Between the Allied landing in Normandy and Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands , 17 airborne operations were planned for the 1st Airborne Division, but all of them were canceled for various reasons - mostly because the ground units advanced so quickly that the operations could no longer be carried out were necessary.

Arnhem

British parachute troops at Oosterbeek

In Operation Market Garden , the 1st Airborne Division was given a key role. The order was to hold the city of Arnhem and the bridge there over the Nederrijn , while the XXX. Corps of the 2nd Army of Belgium should advance. The aim of the overall operation, in which a total of three Allied airborne divisions took part, was to have strong Allied forces advance across the Rhine into the North German Plain as early as 1944. The Polish 1st Paratrooper Brigade and the air-transportable 52nd (Lowland) Division were provided as reinforcements for the 1st Airborne Division.

During the planning phase, General Urquhart had asked for an easy-to-defend flat area to land his troops. Although some areas appeared suitable as landing points, each of them had disadvantages and the 1st Airborne Division was forced to land approximately 12 kilometers from the bridge to be held. This decision contradicted the findings of the landings in Normandy and Sicily, which had shown the importance of deploying airborne troops as close as possible to their targets.

Reconnaissance flights and the Dutch resistance had also discovered some enemy tanks in the forest near Arnhem. However, the Allied High Command ignored these findings on the grounds that these tanks were not operational. In fact, the 9th  and 10th SS Panzer Divisions , which had suffered heavy losses in the fighting back in France, were withdrawn from the front to refresh themselves and stationed in the supposedly quiet area around Arnhem.

In order to take the bridge quickly, a unit equipped with jeeps had been deployed as part of the 1st Airborne Brigade. After landing, however, this unit was only able to organize itself very slowly and the lead vehicles drove into an ambush on the way to Arnhem. As a result, the 1st Airborne Brigade had to advance on foot on Arnhem. Because of a lack of transport aircraft, only half of the division had arrived on the first day.

The three battalions of the 1st Parachute Brigade were sent to Arnhem, but only the 2nd Battalion was able to get through to the bridge. This battalion, led by Lt. Col. John Frost , occupied the buildings near the bridge for the battle ahead.

The division made various attempts to support Frost at the bridge, but thanks to the proximity to the border, the German side was able to fall back on fast and regular supplies and subsequently push the rest of the division away from the bridge and the 2nd battalion. On September 20, the decision was made to stop the relief attempts for the 2nd Battalion; the 1st Battalion took up a defensive position near Oosterbeek . The British had landed north of the river while the XXX. Corps advanced from the south. It was hoped that the XXX. Corps, if it reached the south side of the river, the 2nd Battalion could save.

Frost's 700 men fought for their lives and to keep the bridge within the city. Despite all the attacks on their positions, the British held out. However, they ran out of ammunition on September 21, and Frost eventually capitulated. His troops had held the area around the bridge for three days, roughly the time that this area should have been held by the entire division with 10,000 elite soldiers. The 1st Airborne Division had held out without armored units against an opponent who was about four times superior and had artillery support and tanks at their disposal.

After attempts to reinforce the 1st Airborne Division by the Polish Parachute Brigade, which had meanwhile landed south of the river, failed, on September 25 the decision to abandon the bridgehead was decided and the division was ordered to withdraw, although parts of the XXX. Corps had meanwhile reached the river. The 2300 survivors left doctors and wounded and crossed the river.

Since fewer than 25 percent of the men returned from this assignment, no further assignments were planned for the division.

Deployment in Norway in 1945 and dissolution

Immediately after the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945, the 1st Airborne Division was flown to Norway in order, together with the Norwegian resistance ( Milorg ), to disarm the over 300,000 Wehrmacht soldiers of the 20th Mountain Army still there ( Operation Doomsday ).

The division returned to the United Kingdom in August 1945. In November of this year it was officially dissolved, with some parts being transferred to the 6th Airborne Division.

Commanders

literature

  • Hilary St. George Saunders : By air to battle: the official account of the British First and Sixth Airborne Divisions. His Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1945.