Operation Varsity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Varsity
Part of World War II
Date 24 March 1945 Location Wesel, Germany Result Allied victory
Combatants
United States United Kingdom Canada	Nazi Germany
Casualties
1,111 Dead; 1,625 wounded or missing

Western Front (World War II)
France - The Netherlands - Dunkirk - Britain - Dieppe - Villefranche-de-Rouergue - Normandy - Dragoon - Siegfried Line - Market Garden - Aintree - Scheldt - Hurtgen Forest - Aachen - Bulge - Colmar Pocket - Plunder

Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine in western Germany as a part of Operation Plunder. It involved two divisions and 1,700 transport aircraft. This was the single largest airborne drop in history, and is used at West Point as "the" example of how an airborne operation should be executed.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Order of battle 2.1 Units 2.2 Aircraft 3 Outcome 3.1 Objectives 3.2 Casualties 4 Appearance In TV/Movies 5 External links

[edit] Overview

The operation took place on 24 March 1945, led by the British 6th Airborne Division (including Canadian troops) with Lt. R.M. Nelson, KIA leading a small company across the River Maas and the US 17th Airborne Division, in concert with a ground offensive. The US 82nd Airborne Division had originally been scheduled to participate in the jump as well until a shortage of transport aircraft forced the use of just two divisions. For the first time C-46 Commando transport aircraft (one group) operated with the reliable C-47 Skytrain used in previous airborne operations. In all 4,978 British and 9,387 American troops were either dropped or flown in.

Called "perhaps the most successful Allied airborne operation in Europe" it demonstrates primarily that extremely weak opposition is the only real guarantee in war. The German estimations of their own forces before the battle, were merely "twenty-six infantrymen, one to two artillery pieces, and less than one antitank gun" per kilometer of front. Their northern army group possessed less than 200 armored vehicles. German Army Group G in the South was still worse off. German air forces were almost absent. Even so, losses in aircraft were at times heavy: of the 72 C-46s of the 313th Troop Carrier Group participating, 19 were shot down by antiaircraft fire, although all but one completed their paratroop drop.

Even so, gathering resistance to the crossing over the next three days caused nearly three thousand allied casualties.

[edit] Order of battle

[edit] Units

• British 6th Airborne Division
  • 6 Parachute Battalions, 5 British, 1 Canadian
  • Air Landing Brigade
• US 17th Airborne Division
  • 6 parachute battalions

[edit] Aircraft

• C-47 Skytrain ("Dakota"): 540
• C-46 Commando: 72
• Gliders: 1,300
  • Airspeed Horsa :392
  • General Aircraft Hamilcar: 14
  • Waco/Hadrian

[edit] Outcome

[edit] Objectives

All objectives for the brigade had been achieved in 24 hours; the bridges over the river were secured and the village of Hamminkeln, near Wesel. The division was joined by ground forces of the 21st Army Group.

[edit] Casualties

• After the first day 1,078 men of the 6th Airborne Division had been either killed or wounded.
• 50 aircraft and 11 gliders shot down.
• 60% of glider pilots killed were RAF "draftees"

[edit] Appearance In TV/Movies

Captain Lewis Nixon of the 506th PIR 101st Airborne was involved in the operation in the TV miniseries Band of Brothers. The plane he was in was shot down and only he and 3 others made it out, while the rest died. Nixon was the jump-master. He was sent along as an observer.

[edit] External links

• Operation Varsity
• US Army in World War II, Forrest C. Pogue