Only some 25 yards from the objective, Stryker was killed, but his initiative saved his platoon. The gliders were neatly placed on the runways, awaiting connection to their tugs. Once a sizable number of troops had been delivered, the defenders quickly lost their will to resist. Several hundred of the missing later turned up to rejoin their units, however. All that preparation had not gone unnoticed by the German high command. Vannatter leveled his carbine at the man and ordered him to drop his weapon and raise his hands. The 17th Airborne Division gained its fourth Medal of Honor on the 28th of March, when Technical Sergeant Clinton M. Hedrick of the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment received the award posthumously after aiding in the … Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Handling such a large number of prisoners became a major logistical problem for the Allies. Military government duties began, 12 April, and active contact with the enemy ceased, 18 April. The division staged at Camp Myles Standish on 12 August 1944 before departing Boston Port of Embarkation on 20 August 1944. The large Horsa and Hamilcar gliders were towed singly, but their size necessitated a longer landing run, making landings even more perilous. Operation Varsity, the Allied airborne assault over the Rhine River at Wesel, Germany, on March 24, 1945, is one of those military actions whose value has sometimes been questioned. In addition to all the problems inherent in a complicated operation such as the Rhine crossing, the Allied commanders were somewhat distracted by the continuous bickering that went on in the American and British high command. The German obeyed, but then Vannatter realized he had failed to insert a magazine into his carbine. In two-and-a-half hours on the morning of March 24, 1945, more than 21,000 men of the U.S. 17th and the U.K. 6th airborne divisions jumped and glided across the Rhine River. Before it could be put into action, however, Montgomery’s Twenty-first Army Group would have to cross the Rhine in the north, trapping the Germans between his forces and those of Hodges and Patton driving in from the south. However, the 596th Airborne Engineer Company is sent to the 17th Airborne and served again as a company within the 139th Airborne Engineer Battalion. Montgomery punched yet another hole in the weakening German front, which eventually developed more leaks than Adolf Hitler could plug. For more great articles be sure to pick up your copy of World War II. Bourne’s 6th Air Landing Brigade arrived at its landing zone with only one mishap. With their heavy loads and long landing runs, the British gliders quite often plowed into other gliders, trees or buildings before their pilots could brake to stop. These elements closed in at Mourmelon. Sergeant Charles Kirck from Richmond Virginia, served in the 17th Airborne and later the 82nd Airborne during WWII. Operation Varsity marked the first time that gliders had landed in zones not already cleared by paratroopers. The 17th Airborne was ordered to attack the small Belgian village of Flamierge in early January. Private Vitautas Thomas of Headquarters, 1st Battalion, 194th Glider Infantry, was especially nervous as his glider banked hard and came in for a rough landing. The Drop Zone of the selected regiment is located … Axis Sally, the ‘Berlin Bitch’ as the GIs called her, even announced in her nightly radio propaganda broadcast that the Germans were expecting the 17th Airborne, and she promised them a hot reception. As the unlucky trooper took stock of his situation, suspended some 20 feet above ground, he was horrified to see a lone German soldier kneeling on the ground only about 30 feet away. Apparently the noise of battle had masked the sound of his landing, and the German was unaware of his presence. George Thies of Roanoke, Texas, was a glider pilot who flew men of the 17th Airborne Division into Germany in 1945. The remainder of the regiment, plus Edward S. Branigan’s 464th Field Artillery Battalion, landed almost directly on their assigned targets. The American paratroopers had already distinguished themselves as a battle-tough outfit, however. The first combat jump by an element of the division in the war, that of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment on Tagaytay Ridge, 3 February 1945, met no resistance. A loud ripping noise filled the plane, and McDonald and the troopers around him were covered in a shower of plastic. By the end of the day, the 513th had taken more than 1,100 prisoners and the division had captured nearly 3,000. But some of them landed exactly on DZ-W. It finished its training on 27 March 1944, and transferred to Camp Forrest on 24 March 1944. It later caused problems for the airborne troops’ landing as well. Brigadier C.K. But the Army is considering doing initial jump training in Germany, in addition to refresher courses. The plastic observation bubble afforded him an excellent view of the vast air armada all around him. From 23 to 25 December, elements of the Division were flown to the … The British and American flights met up near Brussels, Belgium. The 440 British gliders came in from 2,500 feet, dropping through the smoke and into heavy fire. Casualties among the glider pilots and the troop plane pilots and crews included 91 killed, 280 wounded and 414 missing in action. American forces had already crossed the Rhine at two locations when British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery mounted his assault in the north. The 17th entered the battle of the Ruhr Pocket, relieving the 79th Infantry Division. The noise of that tire deflating was enough for Thomas. The division also participated in the Second Army maneuvers in the Tennessee Maneuver Area from 6 February 1944. The troopers were served a breakfast of steak and eggs, then were loaded into trucks for the ride to the planes. On the 25th, the Division had secured bridges over the Issel River and had entrenched itself firmly along the Issel Canal. Angered by the death of their commanding officer, the Canadians stormed the woods, their designated objective, and in less than two hours killed or captured all the defending Germans. The 507th Parachute Infantry, commanded by Colonel Edson Raff, led the drop for the 17th Airborne, followed by Colonel James ‘Lou’ Coutts’ 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment and, on their heels, the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment of Colonel James R. Pierce. Hitler was not completely unaware of the bickering that was going on in the Allied ranks. The chutes had a safety pin to prevent this from happening, but the troopers worried anyway. The supply and administrative units of the 17th Airborne were to cross by LVTs (landing vehicles, tracked) — amphibious personnel carriers the British called ‘Buffaloes’ — once the beachhead was secure. He fought in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge and Invaded Germany. If you have any stories or thoughts on the subject, please contact me. The Americans, on the other hand, saw Montgomery as a pompous and overly conservative commander. The entire area was only 5 miles deep and 6 miles wide, and a total of nearly 18,000 airborne troops had to be inserted, making the airhead east of the Rhine the most congested airborne assault ever attempted at that time. Germany: After the successful airborne assault north of Wesel, Germany, a series of leapfrogging moves took place during which the 224th maintained a Clearing Station and Medical Collecting Points continuously in support of the 17th Airborne Division. Stryker, armed with only a carbine and shouting to his fellow troopers to follow him, charged the German position. While other American troops were driving on Manila from the north, the 11th Airborne made an amphibious landing 60 miles south of Manila, 31 January 1945, at Nasugbu, and began to drive north. Seventy-two of the new C-46s carried Colonel Coutts’ 513th Parachute Infantry and its attached 466th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Kenneth L. Booth. When military strategists debate the outcomes of great battles, one of the toughest questions is whether the advantage gained by the victor was worth the cost. Watch the skytrain fly across the Rhine and the paratroopers jump into Germany. Some artillery and engineer units landed directly on German gun positions and had to function as infantry to clear the areas before they could move to their assembly points. As soon as the troopers had responded to the command, ‘Stand up and hook up!’ the sharp crack of German anti-aircraft fire filled the air. It crossed the Rhine-Herne Canal, 6 April, and set up a … News of the Rhine crossing would be withheld for almost 24 hours, and the identity of the divisions involved in the operation would be temporarily withheld in Allied press releases. Was Operation Market Garden in Holland truly ‘a bridge too far,’ as Lieutenant General Frederick A.M. Browning called it? Amid the smoke and din of battle, Vannatter plummeted through the branches of two tall trees near the edge of a wooded area. Well-known for his insistence on meticulous planning and attacking only with an overwhelming advantage in manpower, Montgomery set the opening round of Plunder for March 23, 1945. The new double-door C-46s, used for the first time to drop paratroopers in combat, did not have self-sealing fuel tanks. The 1st Battalion, under Major William J. Boyle, was filled in April 1943, and the 2nd Battalion, under Major Richard J. Seitz, was nearly filled in May. The crossing had been an overwhelming success; the enemy was on the run back into Germany. What if the shock of the opening chute caused them to accidentally hit the quick release? He scrambled back to the ditch, and there he stayed until other troopers had cleared the building. The troopers watched with horror as first one then another troop plane nosed over and headed down. From there on it was a straight, 100-mile run to the drop areas, four to six miles east of the Rhine. The British 6th Airborne came under heavy fire as the troopers began to land. The men prepared for battle, cleaning their weapons, sharpening their knives and otherwise readying their equipment for the mission ahead. The company served as one of the subordinate units of the 173d Separate Airborne Brigade during hostilities in Vietnam from 1963-69. The airhead was secure, as was the beachhead over the Rhine, and troops and supplies were moving briskly inland. The airborne assault over the Rhine (Operation Varsity), was the largest single airborne operation in the history of airborne warfare and also involved the U.S. 17th Airborne Division. Not only did he have to load his weapon before the German realized it was empty, he also had to find a way to get out of his chute and onto the ground. Operation Plunder was set in motion on the night of March 22, 1945, just as Montgomery had planned, and the land elements began to move toward the Rhine. The conflict raged on, and Eisenhower eventually threatened to resign his command unless Montgomery tempered his remarks. Their second jump was in conjunction with the British 6th Airborne in the area of Wesel, Germany called 'Operation Varsity.' Before dark, the 17th Airborne made contact with the British 1st Commando Brigade in Wesel, and the 6th Airborne linked up with the British 15th Division in Hamminkeln, six miles east of the Rhine. 17th Parachute Maintenance Company: 00.00.0000-00.00.0000: 139th Airborne Engineer Battalion: 00.00.0000-00.00.0000: 224th Airborne Medical Battalion Inspired by his bravery, Stryker’s comrades joined him. Troop Carrier men along with the men of the 17th Airborne Division load the planes and gliders with their equipment and weapons. Commandos had already slipped across during the night of March 23 and were engaged near Wesel. They believed he sought to enhance his public image and tried to take credit for success even when it was not due him. The Allied governments were aware of the success of these operations (but not of the heavy German casualties incurred, particularly during the assault on the Netherlands and the invasion of Crete) and decided to form their own airborne formations. C-47 Skytrain and C-46 Commando transport planes drop 17th Airborne paratroopers north of Wesel, Germany, March 24, 1945. At the time of Montgomery’s decisive thrust, Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges’ First Army had already seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen and Lt. Gen. George Patton’s Third Army had established a bridgehead near Oppenheim. It crossed the Rhine-Herne Canal, 6 April, and set up a secure bridgehead for the attack on Essen. The 6th Airborne had suffered 590 killed and another 710 wounded or missing. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by Historynet LLC, the world's largest publisher of history magazines. However, constant pressure and aggressive patrolling caused the enemy to retreat to the Ourthe River. In a fiery split second, he was free of the doomed plane. The Division came under the XXII Corps 24 April. Although 416 made it into the landing zone and delivered their loads safely, the other 24 crashed, raked by enemy fire. McDonald did not have time to reflect on his good fortune, however, because the plane was on fire. Just better. The number of prisoners taken soon outnumbered the Canadians. The glider pilots also dived into the void, knowing they could crash into other gliders, trees or obstacles that would smash their light craft to pieces. The smoke screen, several miles long by the time the airborne troops arrived, had been meant to cover only the river crossing, but it had also drifted over the drop zones and landing zones. With the enemy caught in that vise, Eisenhower figured the time would be ripe for a daring operation like Eclipse, which could probably end the war. The 17th Airborne Division, ... General Miley ordered the jump altitude to be reduced to 400 feet. Patton told Gen. William “Bud” Miley, commander of the 17th, there were would be … The German gun raked the glider, and the men held their breath, fearing that the ammunition on the plane would explode at any minute. The 6th Airborne troopers were veterans of the D-Day drop in Normandy, but Varsity would be the 17th Airborne’s first airborne combat assault. He swallowed hard when he found that a German round had passed through his helmet, leaving two gaping holes. Operation Varsity, the airborne phase of Plunder, would include the British 6th Airborne Division ‘Red Devils,’ commanded by Maj. Gen. Eric L. Bols, and the U.S. 17th Airborne Division ‘Thunder From Heaven,’ commanded by Maj. Gen. William ‘Bud’ Miley, in the largest airborne drop made in a single day — and would establish many other airborne warfare records that remain unchallenged. Activated 15 Apr 1943  •  Entered Combat 25 Dec 1944 at Ardennes  •  Days of Combat 45  •  Casualties 6,745, Maj. Gen. William M. Miley   (Apr 43 - inactivation), Rhineland (15 Sep 44 - 21 Mar 45)Ardennes-Alsace (16 Dec 44 - 25 Jan 45)Central Europe (22 Mar 45 - 11 May 45). The troopers moved swiftly, and all of their objectives were secured within about an hour. It continued its occupation duties until 15 June 1945 when it returned to France for redeployment. The Royal Ulster Rifles and the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry brigades spilled out and quickly gained control of their areas. The chaplains held services, and most everyone attended. He attended this week's reunion with other World War II airborne veterans. Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President of the United State (1861-1865). Allied paratroopers jumping across the Rhine river into Germany near Wesel during Operation Varsity on 23-24 March, 1945. D/16th Armor provided the anti-tank protection for the 173d BDE. It was a dangerous place to be even without the threat of enemy fire. Peering through the doors, he could see nothing but flames. In all, the sky train stretched nearly 200 miles and took two hours and 37 minutes to pass any given point. Eighty planes were shot down, and only 172 of the 1,305 gliders that landed in Germany were later deemed salvageable. The airborne operation was undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps of the British Second Army. Montgomery has been accused of using the airborne troops to ‘put on a good show’ and to further his own reputation. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines.

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