The British 1st Airborne Division was a military unit that fought in World War II. It suffered terrible casualties, especially in Operation Market Garden.
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2 Operation Market Garden 3 Epilogue |
The 1st Airborne was formed on October 31, 1941, placed under the command of Major General Frederick Browning. At first, it consisted of the 1st Parachute Brigade and the 1st Airlanding Brigade, but in July of 1942, it received the 2nd Parachute Brigade, bringing its strength to a full division. However, in late 1942, the 1st Para was sent to North Africa, again depleting the division's strength. The 3rd Parachute Brigade was attached in its absence.
On May 1, 1943, the division, under the command of Maj. Gen. George F. Hopkinson was sent to North Africa, joining the 1st Para. It left 3rd Para behind, which formed the basis of the 6th Airborne Division. 1st Airborne was then used in the invasion of Sicily, but only the 1st Para and 1st Airlanding participated in that action.
On September 9, the unit was given orders to advance on Taranto, Italy. After immediately taking the port, 2nd and 4th Paras (the 4th Parachute Brigade had been attached soon before) advanced inland. However, Maj. Gen. Hopkinson was killed by enemy machine gun fire, and command passed to Brigadier Ernest Down, commanding 1st Para. In November, 1st Airborne was given orders to return to England, although 2nd Para was detached and remained in Italy as a separate unit.
In January of 1944, Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart was given command of the division. On D-Day, 1st Airborne remained in reserve, while 6th Airborne made the airborne drops into France. Between Normandy and Arnhem (Market Garden), about 17 airborne operations were planned for 1st Airborne, but they were all canceled for one reason or another. This caused them to characterize themselves as the "Stillborn Division".
Before Market Garden, 1st Airborne had never fought as a single unit, always separated. However, in this operation, it was given arguably the most important assignment. It had been ordered to hold the city of Arnhem, while XXX Corps advanced from Belgium. In the initial planning stages, Gen. Urquhart had requested a defensible, flat area to land his division. Although a few areas seemed somewhat suitable, they all had disadvantages, and 1st Airborne was forced to land about 12 km. from the crucially important bridge it was supposed to defend.
Also, reconnaissance had spotted some enemy tanks in woods near Arnhem. However, Allied High Command disregarded these photographs, stating that the tanks were "unservicable". In fact, two SS Panzer divisions had been recalled from the southern portion of the German defense. These two divisions, most ironically, had been retreated to Arnhem. 1st Airborne dropped on September 17, 1944.
In order to quickly take the bridge, motorized jeep units had been sent with the gliders. However, many of these jeeps were destroyed in the landing, and others were ambushed on the way to Arnhem. Therefore, 1st Airborne was forced to advance through Arnhem with no support. Also, only half of the division had arrived on the first day (because of a lack of transport planes). 1st Para was sent into Arnhem; however, only 2nd Battalion was able to push through to the bridge. This battalion, under Colonel John Frost, fortified the buildings near the bridge for the fight ahead.
The division made attempts to reinforce Frost at the bridge; however, the Germans had received substantial reinforcements, and were able to push them back. On September 20, the decision was made to abandon Frost, and for the 1st Airborne to occupy a defense position near Oosterbeek. The British had landed on the north side of the river, while XXX Corps was supposed to advance from the south. It was hoped that when XXX Corps arrived, it could secure the south side of the river, while 1st Airborne could somehow attack and take over the north side.
Col. Frost's 700 men were fighting for every inch of Arnhem. Although German tanks and artillery continually barraged and attacked the British positions, they staunchly held. However, on the 21st of September, the battalion's ammunition began to run low. On that day, Frost's battalion finally surrendered. It had held the bridge area for three days and four nights, which was about as long as Allied command had estimated the entire division, consisting of 10,000 elite troops, could hold it.
The Airborne division, with absolutely no armoured forces, was able to defend against a force about four times as large, which had tremendous armoured and artillery support. XXX Corps had arrived on the south side of the river on the 22nd, about three days late. However, the forces were unable to cross the river, and on the 25th, the 1st Airborne was ordered to withdraw across the river. Leaving radiomen, physicians, and the badly wounded behind, Gen. Urquhart and the 2,300 survivors of the 1st Airborne retreated across the river.Formation, North Africa, and Sicily
Operation Market Garden
