| 6th Airborne Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | Second World War 3 May 1943 - 1 April 1948 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Airborne |
| Role | Parachute Infantry |
| Size | 12,148 men[1][nb 1] |
| Nickname | Red Devils [nb 2] |
| Motto | Go To It [3] |
| Engagements | Operation Deadstick Operation Tonga Operation Mallard Advance to the River Seine Battle of the Bulge Operation Varsity Mandate of Palestine |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Maj.Gen. Richard Nelson Gale |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
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| Identification symbol |
British airborne forces insignia |
The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne division in the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in Operation Tonga, the airborne landings on the left flank of the invasion beaches in the Normandy Landings. It played a small part in the Battle of the Bulge and was involved in Operation Varsity, the Allied assault across the Rhine river. At the end of the war in Europe it was planned to send the Division to the Far East for operations against Japan, but these plans were cancelled after the Atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese mainland. The Division was instead sent to Palestine on internal security duties, where it remained until being disbanded in April 1948.
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Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a force of 5,000 parachute troops.[4] As a result, on 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando assumed parachute duties, and on 21 November was re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing.[5][6]
On 21 June 1940 the Central Landing Establishment was formed at Ringway airfield near Manchester. Although tasked primarily with training parachute troops, it was also directed to investigate the use of gliders to transport troops into battle.[7][8] At the same time, the Ministry of Aircraft Production contracted General Aircraft Ltd to design and produce a glider for this purpose.[9] The result was the General Aircraft Hotspur, an aircraft capable of transporting eight soldiers, that was used for both assault and training purposes.[10]
The success of the first British airborne raid, Operation Colossus, prompted the War Office to expand the airborne force through the creation of the Parachute Regiment, and to develop plans to convert several infantry battalions into parachute and glider battalions.[11] On 31 May 1941, a joint army and air force memorandum was approved by the Chiefs-of-Staff and Winston Churchill; it recommended that the British airborne forces should consist of two parachute brigades, one based in England and the other in the Middle East, and that a glider force of 10,000 men should be created.[12]
On 23 April 1943, the British War Office ordered that a second airborne division be raised to supplement the original British 1st Airborne Division. The new division consisted initially of key personnel reassigned from 1st Airborne. This included several officers who had fought in North Africa with the 1st Parachute Brigade. For example, Richard Gale had raised and commanded the 1st Parachute Brigade. James Hill had commanded 1st Parachute Battalion. Alastair Pearson had been his second-in-command. Geoffrey Pine-Coffin had been second-in-command of 2nd Battalion.
The core of the new 6th Airborne Division was formed from the 3rd Parachute Brigade and two battalion's from the 1st Airlanding Brigade. The two new division formations were the 6th Airlanding Brigade and the 5th Parachute Brigade. Divisional troops included pathfinders, engineer, anti-tank, reconnaissance, medical, and signals units.
During the last hours of 5 June 1944 as part of Operation Tonga, transport aircraft and towed gliders carried units of the 6th Airborne to Normandy where they would land just prior to the D-Day landings that took place on the morning of 6 June. They were to land behind Sword Beach and secure the eastern flank. Some of the objectives included the seizure of two bridges over the Caen Canal (later renamed "Pegasus Bridge") and the bridge over the Orne River (later renamed "Horsa Bridge") by D Company, 2nd Ox & Bucks (commanded by Major John Howard). And also the destruction of the Merville Battery by Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway's 9 PARA, both of whom were some of the first units to land and achieve their objectives. The landings proved successful, although many units were scattered across much of Normandy. The area around Pegasus and Horsa were successfully defended until they were eventually relieved, having repulsed numerous German counter-attacks, later on 6 June by Lord Lovat's 1 Special Service Brigade, followed by elements of the British 3rd Infantry Division.
On 12 June, during the Battle of Breville, British artillery was bombarding the German positions when a stray shell fell short and hit a group of British officers, killing Lieutenant-Colonel A.P. "Johnny" Johnson (CO 12 PARA) and badly wounding Brigadiers Kindersley (CO 6 Airlanding Brigade) and Lord Lovat (CO 1st Special Service Brigade).
In August 1944, the division was ordered to prepare to advance. Their objective was the mouth of the River Seine a distance of 45 miles (72 km). To assist them in carrying out their mission, the division was reinforced by two British Commando, a Belgian and a Dutch infantry brigade, and increased artillery support. To reach the Seine, the division had to cross three rivers, which had been flooded by the Germans, with only two roads available for transport.
When the German Army started to withdraw on 17 August, the division attacked. Fighting several small battles, by the end of the month they reached their objective at the River Seine. Here the division halted until early in September, when they returned to England to prepare for further airborne operations later in the war.
On 16 December the Germans launched Operation Wacht am Rhein, a last-ditch offensive against the Allies via the Ardennes forest. The division was rushed to Belgium shortly afterward to assist in repulsing the attack. The fighting took place in awful weather conditions and ended in mid-January 1945.
By March 1945, the Allies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine. The Rhine was a formidable natural obstacle to the Allied advance,[13] but if breached would allow the Allies to access the North German Plain and ultimately advance on Berlin and other major cities in Northern Germany. Following the 'Broad Front Approach' laid out by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, it was decided to attempt to breach the Rhine in several areas.[14] Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commanding the British 21st Army Group devised a plan to allow the forces under his command to breach the Rhine. To ensure that the operation was a success, Montgomery insisted that airborne forces support the operation. The airborne operation was code-named Operation Varsity.[15]
The division's objective was to seize the high ground east of the town of Bergen, to attack and capture the town of Hamminkeln, and finally to take control of several bridges over the River Issel. It would then hold the territory it had captured until it linked up with units from the American 17th Airborne Division, which would land to the south of them.[16] Once these objectives were taken, the airborne troops would consolidate their positions and await the arrival of Allied ground forces, defending the territory captured against the German forces known to be in the area. The division would then advance alongside the 21st Army Group once the Allied ground forces had made contact with them.
To avoid the heavy casualties incurred by the British 1st Airborne Division that had occurred during Operation Market-Garden, both Allied airborne divisions would only be dropped after Allied ground units had crossed the Rhine and secured crossings; the two divisions would also be dropped only a relatively short distance behind German lines, to ensure that reinforcements would be able to link up with them after only a few hours and they would not be isolated.[17]
The first element of the division to land was the 3rd Parachute Brigade, commanded by Brigadier James Hill.[18] The brigade actually jumped nine minutes earlier than it was scheduled, but despite this the unit was successfully delivered to Drop-Zone A, where it was engaged by heavy small-arms and 20 mm anti-aircraft fire. A number of casualties were suffered as it engaged German forces in the Diersfordter Wald, but by 1100 hours the drop-zone was practically clear of enemy forces and all battalions of the brigade had formed up.[19] The key town of Schnappenberg was captured by the 9th Parachute Battalion in conjunction with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, the latter unit having lost its commanding officer to German small-arms fire only moments after he had landed.[18] Despite taking casualties the brigade cleared the area of German forces and by 1345 hours Brigadier Hill reported that the brigade had secured all of its objectives.[19]
The next formation to land was the 5th Parachute Brigade commanded by Brigadier Nigel Poett.[20] The brigade was designated to land on Drop-Zone B and achieved this, although not as accurately as 3rd Parachute Brigade due to poor visibility around the drop-zone, which also made it more difficult for paratroopers of the brigade to rally. The drop-zone came under heavy fire from German troops stationed nearby and was subjected to artillery and mortar fire which inflicted casualties in the battalion rendezvous areas.[21] However 7th Parachute Battalion soon cleared the drop-zone of German troops, many of whom were located in farms and houses. The 12th and 13th Parachute Battalions rapidly secured the rest of the brigades' objectives.[21] The brigade was then ordered to move due east and clear the area near Schnappenberg, as well as engaging German forces who were gathered to the west of a farmhouse, which had been taken over as the headquarters for the division. By 1530 hours Brigadier Poett reported that the brigade had secured all of its objectives and linked up with other units of the division.[21]
The 6th Airlanding Brigade, commanded by Brigadier R. H. Bellamy,[22] was tasked with landing in company-sized groups and capturing several objectives, including the town of Hamminkeln.[23] The gliders landed in landing-zones P, O, U and R under considerable anti-aircraft fire, the landing being made even more difficult due to the presence of a great deal of haze and smoke. This caused a number of glider pilots to mis-identify their landing areas and lose their bearings, resulting in a number of gliders landing in the wrong areas or crashing.[21] The majority of the gliders survived, allowing the battalions of the brigade to secure three bridges over the IJssel that they had been tasked with capturing intact, as well as the town of Hamminkeln with the aid of the US 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which had been dropped by mistake near the town. The brigade secured all of its objectives shortly after capturing Hamminkeln.[21]
The division was moved to Palestine, starting on 15 September 1945 and finishing on 6 November.[24] Originally the aim of the move was to allow the division to make use of the air training facilities in southern Palestine.[24] The deteriorating security situation resulted in the division taking part in internal security duties against Zionist organisations known as Irgun, Haganah, and the Lehi, who were attempting to expel the British. The 6th Division continued to carry out operations against the groups in very difficult circumstances until they were disbanded on 1 April 1948 just before the termination of the British Mandate and the independence of the State of Israel.
The division order of battle for the invasion of Normandy was as follows:
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