Operation VARSITY
70 Years ago today on the 24th March 1944, Operation VARSITY, the last major Allied airborne operation of World War Two was launched. VARSITY is widely recognised as the war’s most successful airborne drop. Carried out by 17,000 men of the XVIII Airborne Corps - made up of American, British and Canadian airborne troops, the objective was to seize and hold a strategic ground between the Rhine and Issel
rivers and establish bridgeheads for the ground forces to advance across. The men were dropped in a massive single lift (wave of transport aircraft) of 1,500 C-46 & C-47 transports and 1,300 gliders in conjunction with a amphibious assault across the Rhine by the 21st Army Group.
The operation was carefully planned and put into practice many of the lessons learnt from earlier
operations. The landings took place during the day, in a single lift with drop
zones located closely to the objectives and following the lessons learnt from MARKET GARDEN better air support was provided which prevented effective enemy counter-attacks.
Despite these efforts scattering and heavy losses were suffered as the drop zones were badly obscured by smoke and ground fire was intense. In contradiction to the recommendations made following Operation HUSKY (the airborne debacle during the Invasion of Sicily) troops were dropped into stiff German opposition from elements of the 1st Fallschirm-Armee (German paratroop) which were expecting an airborne assault. All of the objectives had been taken within five and a half hours of the landing. However, while the operation was successful 2,500 casualties were suffered by the XVIII Airborne Corps and three quarters of the aircraft and gliders involved were damaged in an operation which arguably did not require an airborne element.
Sources:
Airborne To Battle: A History of Airborne Warfare, M. Tugwell, (1971)
Sky Men, R. Kershaw, (2010)
Wings of War, P. Harclerode,(2005)
Operation Varsity (source)
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