Terry Coello
Introduction
Source: http://www.dnd.ca/menu/Fourth_Dimension/2001/mar01/21march01_fd_e.htm
At 10 a.m., more than a million Allied and German ground troops in and around the Rhineland city of Wesel watch as the sky fills with aircraft: 1795 transports and 1050 tugs towing 1305 gliders. This is U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, an American-British formation commanded by General Matthew Ridgeway of the U.S. Army. They are executing Operation VARSITY, the biggest airborne assault in history and the key phase of the Allies' big push across the Rhine.
Unlike previous Allied airborne operations, Op VARSITY takes place in broad daylight, timed to coincide precisely with the ground assaults.
Gen Ridgeway's audacious plan is to drop the Allied front line right into the heart of the German defences-about 6.5 km east of the Rhine, on a heavily defended, tactically crucial ridge abutting the river.
Allied Forces [c. 14,000 airborne troops including 9,387 US]
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US XVIII Airborne Corps (Commander: Major General Matthew Ridgeway) |
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(Deputy Commander: Lieutenant General Sir Richard Gale) |
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US 17th Airborne Division (Major General William E Miley) |
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US 194th Glider Infantry Regiment (Colonel James R Pierce) |
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1st Battalion |
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2nd Battalion |
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3rd Battalion |
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US 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Colonel Edson D Raff) |
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1st Battalion |
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2nd Battalion |
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3rd Battalion |
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US 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Colonel James W Coutts) |
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1st Battalion |
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2nd Battalion (Lieutenant Colonel Allen C Miller) |
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3rd Battalion |
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British 6th Airborne Division (Major General Eric Bols) |
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British 3rd Parachute Brigade (Brigadier James Hill) [2200] |
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9th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Napier Crookenden) |
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8th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel George Hewetson) |
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1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Nicklin) |
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British 5th Parachute Brigade (Brigadier Nigel Poett) |
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7th Battalion The Parachute Regiment |
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12th Battalion The Parachute Regiment |
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13th Battalion The Parachute Regiment |
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British 6th Airlanding Brigade (Brigadier Hugh Bellamy) |
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2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry |
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12th Battalion The Devonshire Regiment |
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1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles |
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German Forces |
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German Army Group H (Colonel General Johannes Blaskowitz) |
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German 1st Parachute Army (General der Fallschirmtruppen Alfred Schlemm) |
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II Parachute Corps (General Eugen Meindl) |
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7th Parachute Division (Lieutenant General Wolfgang Erdmann) |
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19th Parachute Regiment (Colonel Menzel) |
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1st Battalion (Major Pralle) |
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2nd Battalion (Captain Wegenich) |
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3rd Battalion (Captain Diehl) |
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20th Parachute Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Grassmel) |
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1st Battalion (Captain Bayer) |
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2nd Battalion (Major von Keisenberg) |
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3rd Battalion (Captain Gramse) |
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21st Parachute Regiment (Colonel Loytweg-Hardegg) |
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1st Battalion (Captain Hoffman) |
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2nd Battalion (Captain Jaeger) |
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3rd Battalion (Captain Ewald) |
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8th Parachute Division (Major General Wedehn) |
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22nd Parachute Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel von der Tanne) |
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1st Battalion (Major Wiedemann) |
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2nd Battalion (Captain Adrian) |
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3rd Battalion |
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84th Infantry Division (Colonel Siegfried Kossack) |
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1051st Grenadier Regiment |
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1052nd Grenadier Regiment |
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1062nd Grenadier Regiment |
Casualties
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Allied |
German |
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Killed Wounded Captured |
1,100 1,800 |
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N.B. Italics indicate uncertain data