The 1st Airlanding Brigade was an airborne infantry brigade of the

British Army during the Second World War At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its ene ...

and the only

glider infantry Glider infantry (also referred to as airlanding infantry esp. in British usage) was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy-controlled territory via military glider. Initially developed in the l ...

formation assigned to the 1st Airborne Division, serving alongside the

1st Parachute Brigade The 1st Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade formed by the British Army during the Second World War. As its name indicates, the unit was the first Paratrooper, parachute infantry brigade formation in the British Army. Formed from thre ...

and 4th Parachute Brigade. The brigade was formed in late 1941 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, through the conversion of an existing infantry brigade previously stationed in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, the

31st Independent Infantry Brigade The 31st Infantry Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army, which participated in both the First and the Second World Wars. The brigade was later reformed after the end of the war serving in the British Army of the Rhine until the en ...

. Two of the initial four infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

s left in May 1943 to form the new

6th Airlanding Brigade 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smal ...

of the

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being ...

and were replaced by a single new battalion, thereby reducing the brigade's strength by one quarter. The brigade only saw action on two occasions during the Second World War, in

Operation Ladbroke Operation Ladbroke was a glider landing by British airborne troops during the Second World War near Syracuse, Sicily, that began on 9 July 1943 as part of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily. The first Allied mission usin ...

, as part of the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

, in July 1943 and later in

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

in September 1944. During the second operation, in the fighting around Arnhem, 1st Airlanding Brigade along with the rest of 1st Airborne Division held out against overwhelming German odds, sustaining very heavy losses. Only around 20 percent of the brigade were evacuated south of the

River Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

. The rest had either been killed, were missing or became

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

. Following the German surrender in mid-1945, 1st Airlanding Brigade were sent to Norway to disarm the German garrison. Later the same year the brigade was disbanded.

Formation

Under the command of Brigadier

George F. Hopkinson Major General George Frederick Hopkinson OBE MC (14 December 1895 – 9 September 1943) was a senior British Army officer who commanded the 1st Airborne Division during World War II, where he was killed in action in Italy in September 1943 ...

, the 1st Airlanding Brigade Group was formed on 10 October 1941 through the re-designation of the

, which had just returned to the United Kingdom after training for

mountain warfare Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Upon formation, the brigade consisted of the 1st Battalion,

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...

(Borders), the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment (Staffords), the 2nd Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence ...

(OBLI), the 1st Battalion,

Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County ...

(Ulsters) and supporting units. These were the brigade's original infantry battalions and all remained part of its

order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the armed ...

. Men in the battalions who were unsuitable for airborne service were weeded out and replaced by volunteers. Royal Air Force Flying Training Command, 1940-1945

Royal Air Force Flying Training Command, 1940-1945

The strength of the airlanding brigade almost equalled that of an airborne division's two parachute brigades. To support the four infantry battalions, the brigade also had its own artillery, engineer and reconnaissance units until 1942, when they became divisional assets. Another change that affected the brigade occurred in May 1943, when the Ulsters and the OBLI left to form the

, of the

. When the brigade returned to the United Kingdom, it was assigned the 7th Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's O ...

(KOSB) in December 1943, a 2nd Line Territorial Army unit, which had until then been on home defence duties, stationed in the

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

islands. The brigade's glider infantry battalions consisted of 806 men in four rifle companies, each with four

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

s along with a support company consisting of two

Anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

platoons each with four 6 pounder guns, two mortar platoons armed with six 3 inch mortars, and two

Vickers machine gun The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more men to move and o ...

platoons.Peters and Buist, p.55 Transport for the brigade was normally the

Airspeed Horsa The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century ...

glider, piloted by two men from the

Glider Pilot Regiment The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War, which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre in support of All ...

. With a wingspan of and a length of , the Horsa had a maximum load capacity of —space for two pilots, a maximum of twenty-eight troops or two

jeeps Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motor ...

, one jeep and an artillery gun or one jeep with a trailer. Sixty–two Horsa and one General Aircraft Hamilcar gliders were required to carry the airlanding battalion into action. The Hamilcar carried the battalion's two

Universal Carrier The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and othe ...

s used to support the mortar and machine-gun platoons.

Operations

Sicily

The 1st Airborne Division, including the 1st Airlanding Brigade, left England for North Africa in June 1943. The brigade now comprised only two battalions, the 1st

and the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment, with Brigadier Philip "Pip" Hicks, in command, Brigadier Hopkinson having been promoted to major-general and given command of the 1st Airborne Division from Major-General Browning. The 1st Ulster Rifles and the 2nd Ox and Bucks remained in England to help create the

. Once they arrived in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

the brigade was based in the

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

area on the north-western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

coast of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Now part of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Force ...

, training for the

, code-named Operation Husky, started in earnest. Major-General Hopkinson had persuaded General

Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence an ...

, commander of the Eighth Army, to include the 1st Airborne Division in the invasion of Sicily, against the wishes of both the commander of the British Airborne Forces, Major-General Browning and the commander of the

, Lieutenant Colonel Chatterton. Both men were concerned that they had insufficient aircraft for the complete division to take part while British pilots and infantry were not familiar with the Waco CG-4 gliders that were to be used. Their concerns proved correct as there were only enough aircraft for two of the division's four brigades to take part in the invasion. The

was assigned to

Operation Fustian Operation Fustian was an airborne forces operation undertaken during the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 in the Second World War. The operation was carried out by Brigadier Gerald Lathbury's 1st Parachute Brigade, part of the British 1st ...

with orders to seize and hold the Primosole Bridge over the River Simeto. Prior to that, the 1st Airlanding Brigade was to take part in

, a glider assault on the Ponte Grande bridge across the Anapo river south of

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy * Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

. The brigade was to hold the bridge until relieved by the advance of the

British 5th Infantry Division The 5th Infantry Division was a regular army infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. It was established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, and ...

.Ferguson, p.11Mitcham and Von Stauffenberg, p.73 The 1st Airlanding Brigade was allocated 136 Waco and eight

gliders for the operation. Six of the Horsas carrying two infantry companies were scheduled to land at the bridge at 23:15 on 9 July in a coup-de-main operation. The remainder of the brigade would arrive at 01:15 on 10 July using a number of landing-zones between away, then converge on the bridge to reinforce the defence. Jeep being loaded into waco glider

On 9 July, 2,075 men of the brigade along with seven

Willys MB The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, -ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503,According to i ...

s, six artillery guns and ten mortars, boarded their gliders in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and took off at 18:00 bound for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds, poor visibility and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and 65 of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. Of the remaining gliders only 12 landed at the correct landing-zones. Another 59 landed up to away while the remainder were either shot down or failed to release and returned to Tunisia. Only one Horsa with a platoon of infantry from the Staffords landed near the bridge. Its commander, Lieutenant Louis Withers, divided his men into two groups then swam across the river with half of them to take up positions on the opposite bank. Thereafter the bridge was captured following a simultaneous assault from both sides. The platoon then dismantled demolition charges that had been fitted to the bridge and dug in to wait for reinforcement or relief.Mitcham and Von Stauffenberg, p.74 Another Horsa landed about from the bridge but exploded on landing, killing all on board. Three of the other Horsas carrying the coup-de-main party, landed within of the bridge—their occupants eventually finding their way to the site. Reinforcements began to arrive at the bridge but by 06:30 they numbered only 87 men. Elsewhere, about 150 men landed at Cape Murro di Porco and captured a radio station. Based on a warning of imminent glider landings transmitted by the station's previous occupants, the local Italian commander ordered a counter-attack but his troops failed to get the message. The scattered nature of the landings now worked in the brigade's favour as they were able to cut all telephone wires in the immediate area. Forces at the bridge came under repeated attacks from the Italians while the expected 5th Infantry Division relief did not appear at 10:00 as planned. By 15:30 only 15 of men at the bridge remained fit to fight and they were out of ammunition, as a result the Italians then recaptured the bridge. The first unit from the 5th Division, the 2nd

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

of the 17th Brigade, arrived at the bridge at 16:15 and mounted a successful

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

. The prior removal of demolition charges from the bridge had prevented the Italians from destroying it.Tugwell, p.161 The brigade then took no further part in the fighting and was withdrawn back to North Africa on 13 July.Mitcham and Von Stauffenberg, p.78 During the landings in Sicily, the losses by the 1st Airlanding Brigade were the worst of all the British units involved so far. They amounted to 313 killed and 174 missing or wounded. The accompanying glider pilots lost 14 killed, and a further 87 were missing or wounded.

Arnhem

After service in the Mediterranean the brigade returned to

Woodhall Spa Woodhall Spa is a former spa Village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south-west of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle, west of Skegness, east-south-east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Li ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, where it was reinforced by the arrival of the 7th Battalion,

in November 1943. During the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, the 1st Airlanding Brigade was part of the strategic reserve, on standby to deploy wherever they were needed to support the invasion. The division and brigade were next assigned to

at Arnhem in the Netherlands. This entailed three airborne divisions capturing bridges to be used subsequently by the British Second Army. Prior to the operation, more than 15 planned airborne missions into France and Belgium had been cancelled due to the speed of the Allied advance. A shortage of transport aircraft meant that it would take three days to transport the division to Arnhem. The plan called for the majority of the 1st Airlanding Brigade and the 1st Parachute Brigade to land on day one. The parachute brigade would head for Arnhem and capture the bridges over the Lower Rhine while the airlanding brigade secured drop zones for units arriving on the second and third days. When all the division's units had arrived the brigade would take up defensive positions to the west of Arnhem. The 1st Airlanding Brigade units arriving on the second lift were to be two companies plus one mortar, one machine gun and one anti-tank platoon of the Staffords, along with three platoons and

sections Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

from the mortar, machine gun and anti-tank platoons of the KOSB.Peters and Buist, pp.328–330 The Borders contingent amounted to a further eight platoons. On 17 September 1944, the first lift successfully carried the majority of the brigade to Arnhem—only 12 gliders failed to arrive due to technical problems. While the 1st Parachute Brigade headed for Arnhem the airlanding brigade dug in to secure the landing grounds. The Staffords dug in around landing zone 'S', the KOSB around drop zone 'Y' and the Borders around landing zone 'X'.Peters and Buist, p.127 Also under command of the brigade, co-located with brigade headquarters at

Wolfheze Wolfheze is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, 10 km northwest of the city of Arnhem.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. History Stone Age-Midd ...

were the Glider pilots of No. 2 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment, the equivalent of a small infantry battalion. The British Airborne Division at Arnhem and Oosterbeek in Holland BU1091

The British Airborne Division at Arnhem and Oosterbeek in Holland BU1091

On the night of 17–18 September, divisional commander Major-General

Roy Urquhart Major General Robert Elliot "Roy" Urquhart, (28 November 1901 – 13 December 1988) was a British Army officer who saw service during the Second World War and Malayan Emergency. He became prominent for his role as General Officer Commanding th ...

was reported missing. Brigadier

Philip Hugh Whitby Hicks Brigadier Philip Hugh Whitby Hicks, (25 September 1895 – 8 October 1967) was an officer of the British Army during both the First and Second World Wars. Hicks was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1 ...

assumed command of the divisionTugwell, p.258 while Colonel Hilaro Barlow replaced Hicks as brigade commander.Urquhart, p.61 On day two, problems in Arnhem forced Hicks to change the divisional plan. Only the

2nd Parachute Battalion The Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), is a battalion-sized formation of the Parachute Regiment, part of the British Army, and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade whose Commanding Officer for the period 2013-2016 was Li ...

had reached the road bridge—strong German defences had halted the other battalions so Hicks decided that the Staffords would link up with the 1st Parachute Brigade in an attempt to reach their objective. However, the Staffords also failed to break through the German defenders.Urquhart, p.72 Bad weather over England kept the planned second lift on the ground. The first troops did not arrive until 15:00, a delay that gave the Germans time to approach the landing grounds and engage the KOSB in numerous probing attacks on the northern perimeter. At one stage KOSB commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Payton-Reid led a bayonet charge to clear the Germans from the area. Meanwhile, the Borders were repeatedly attacked from the south of landing zone's 'X' and 'Z', and were eventually forced to call on the 75 mm guns of the

1st Airlanding Light Regiment The 1st Airlanding Light Regiment was an airborne forces unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery during the Second World War. The regiment was raised in 1943, by the expansion of an existing airborne artillery battery. Attached to the 1st Ai ...

to break up the attacks. Hicks had previously decided to send the Staffords on the second lift to join their battalion fighting in Arnhem, while he also sent the 11th Parachute Battalion on the same lift to support 1st Parachute Brigade. The KOSB, until then responsible for defending the landing ground, were attached to 4th Parachute Brigade to replace the 11th Parachute Battalion. However they were still responsible for defending landing ground 'L', for the arrival of the Poles gliders on day three. This left only the Borders, No. 2 Wing GPR and the field ambulance under brigade command. As day three dawned, the Staffords, and the 1st Parachute Battalion attacked at 04:00, their first objective being to link up with the 3rd Parachute Battalion trapped around St Elizabeth's Hospital. The attack failed but allowed Urquhart to rejoin the division from a position where he had been trapped by the Germans. This allowed Hicks to resume command of the brigade,Clark, p.170 whereupon Urquhart dispatched Colonel Barlow to take over command of 1st Parachute Brigade and co-ordinate the attack in Arnhem. He left in a jeep and was killed in a mortar barrage just outside Arnhem. The 1st Airlanding Brigade, still holding landing zone 'L' for the expected Polish and resupply gliders, then came under attack from the west and north-west. During the night the KOSB had tried to take the high ground at Koepel, but were stopped by heavy machine gun fire and instead dug in. The remainder of 4th Parachute Brigade advancing north of the railway line also encountered a strong German defence line and were unable to progress any further. All three battalions were ordered to withdraw south of the railway line towards Wolfheze. Although the northernmost battalion of the KOSB had thus far enjoyed a quiet morning, in the two hours it took them to advance south of the railway, two companies were now cut off and the entire battalion transport lost. Still under fire from the pursuing Germans, the battalions crossed landing zone 'L' just as the third lift gliders were landing. While attempting to unload the gliders the Poles came under fire. Assuming the approaching men were Germans, they opened fire and caused some casualties.

With no one in command, around 100 men, the remnants of the Staffords, along with about 400 troops from the 1st Parachute Brigade, pulled back towards Oosterbeek. Here they were gathered together in an ad hoc formation known as the "Lonsdale Force" after Major Richard Lonsdale who was put in command. The Lonsdale Force deployed to the south-east of Oosterbeek to defend the division's artillery line. Here, as dusk approached, Lance Serjeant John Baskeyfield of the Staffords, although wounded and with the rest of his men dead or wounded, engaged three tanks as they emerged from the woods with his anti-tank gun. He destroyed the first tank and disabled the second before his own weapon was destroyed. Moving to a nearby gun where the crew were already dead, he continued to fight the third tank alone. Shortly after he managed to disable it, he was killed a shell from a German tank. For his actions Baskeyfield received a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

, the highest British military decoration. The KOSB had by now arrived at the perimeter being formed around Oosterbeek and took up positions south of the railway line just north of division headquarters.Urquhart, p.101 1st Airlanding Brigade Arnhem 18 September 1944

1st Airlanding Brigade Arnhem 18 September 1944

By day four, the battalions of the 1st Airlanding Brigade were dispersed over a wide area. While the Borders were to the west on a line from the River Rhine east of Heveadorp to the

Heelsum Heelsum is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, west of Arnhem.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. Part of the Battle of Arnhem was fought in and aroun ...

road, the remaining KOSB companies lay to the north with the remnants of the Staffords forming part of Lonsdale Force in the east. Brigade headquarters was established on open ground at the centre of the divisional area. On day five (21 September), defence of the divisional area was divided between the two remaining brigade headquarters. The 1st Airlanding Brigade in the west now commanded the remaining three companies of Borders, the remnants of the KOSB, and what remained of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

, 21st Independent Company, Glider Pilots and Poles. Lonsdale Force Major

Robert Henry Cain Major Robert Henry Cain VC TD (2 January 1909 – 2 May 1974) was a Manx recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Cain grew up on the Is ...

of the Staffords disabled a tank with a PIAT and then, although wounded by machine gun fire, positioned one of the division's artillery guns and destroyed it. This was the first of a number of actions by Major Cain which led to the award of a Victoria Cross. This second medal for the Staffords meant it became the only British battalion to receive two Victoria Crosses in one battle during the Second World War. The Campaign in North West Europe 1944-45 BU1099

The Campaign in North West Europe 1944-45 BU1099

The Germans did not mount an all-out infantry assault on the divisional area, which was under continuous mortar and artillery attack. Instead, each sector was subjected to small scale assaults at times supported by tanks or self-propelled guns. Enemy troops first attacked the Independent Company, then the Borders who were forced off the high ground overlooking the river, and finally the KOSB. The Germans mounted a strong assault following the landing of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade south of the river beside

Driel Driel is a village in the municipality of Overbetuwe, approximately four kilometers southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine, in the Netherlands. History On 21 September 1944, Driel was the drop zone of the Polish 1st Independent Para ...

. This attack forced the KOSB out of their positions, which were only regained after a bayonet charge. Fighting was so fierce that first reports suggested the KOSB had been annihilated, although it turned out that the counter-attack had in fact reduced the battalion's strength to only 150 men. By day six, 22 September, the battle had settled into a routine of mortaring and small probing attacks at times supported by armoured vehicles and sniper fire. The Poles, dug in south of the river, relieved part of the pressure on the division, as some German forces were diverted to confront them. The following day began in a similar way to previous days with a mortar and artillery bombardment, followed by infantry and armour trying to find a gap in the perimeter. The KOSB, Glider Pilots and the 21st Independent Company who were all defending the brigade area were repeatedly attacked. Furthermore, food and water shortages also took their toll on the men, with foraging parties subjected to sniper fire. On day eight, 24 September, although German attacks continued, the enemy were engaged by artillery of the XXX Corps south of the river and aircraft from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. This broke up most assaults before they got started. On 25 September Lieutenant-General

Brian Horrocks Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World W ...

, commander of XXX Corps, decided not to reinforce the position north of the Rhine and instead prepare for the evacuation of all survivors in Operation Berlin. The evacuation took place on the night of 25–26 September. Of the 2,526 men of 1st Airlanding Brigade that left England for Operation Market Garden, there were 230 killed, 476 evacuated and 1,822 were missing or

.Nigl, p.75

Norway

After Arnhem, replacements for the 1st Airlanding Brigade began to bring the brigade up to strength. Among the replacements was Brigadier

Roger Bower Lieutenant General Sir Roger Herbert Bower, (13 February 1903 – 9 January 1990) was a senior British Army officer who served in the Second World War and later became General officer commanding (GOC) Malaya Command from 1956 to 1957. Militar ...

who took the place of the injured Brigadier Hicks. However, the Germans surrendered before they were involved in further action. The 1st Airborne Division including the airlanding brigade, the Special Air Service Brigade and an ad hoc brigade formed from the divisional artillery were sent to disarm the German occupation forces in Norway in May 1945. On entering Norway, the division would be responsible for maintaining law and order in the areas it occupied, ensuring that German units followed the terms of their surrender, securing and then protecting captured airfields, and finally preventing the sabotage of essential military and civilian structures.Otway, p.325 After landing nearby, 1st Airlanding Brigade occupied the Norwegian capital

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, where Brigadier Bower became Commander, Oslo Area for the duration of the division's time in Norway. The city was chosen because as well as being the Norwegian capital it was also the centre of the Norwegian and German administration. The brigade returned to the United Kingdom in August 1945, when the 1st Airborne Division was disbanded and the airlanding battalions returned to a conventional infantry role.

Brigade composition

Commanding Officers

* Brigadier

On formation 1941

* 1st Battalion,

* 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment * 2nd Battalion,

* 1st Battalion,

* 1st Airlanding Reconnaissance Squadron,

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

* 9th Field Company (Airborne),

* 223rd Anti-Tank Battery,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* 458th Light Battery, Royal Artillery

From December 1943

* 1st Battalion, Border Regiment * 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment * 7th (Galloway) Battalion,

* 181st Airlanding Field Ambulance,

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

Ferguson, p.15

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{British parachute units of the Second World War Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Airborne infantry brigades of the British Army in World War II Airborne infantry brigades of the United Kingdom 1941 establishments in the United Kingdom 1945 disestablishments in the United Kingdom