3rd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)
3rd Parachute Brigade | |
---|---|
Active | 1942–1948 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Parachute Infantry |
Role | Airborne forces |
Size | Brigade |
Part of | 1st Airborne Division 6th Airborne Division |
Nickname(s) | Red Devils [nb 1] |
Engagements | Normandy landings Operation Tonga Battle of Merville Gun Battery 6th Airborne Division advance to the River Seine Battle of the Bulge Operation Varsity Advance to the Baltic Palestine |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Gerald Lathbury James Hill |
Insignia | |
Emblem of the British airborne forces |
The 3rd Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The brigade was initially part of the 1st Airborne Division, but remained in Britain when that division was sent overseas, and became part of the 6th Airborne Division, alongside 5th Parachute Brigade and 6th Airlanding Brigade.
The brigade first went into action on 5 June 1944 during Operation Tonga, part of the Normandy landings. The objective was to destroy the Merville Gun Battery and the bridges over the River Dives. The brigade achieved all its objectives, and remained defending the left flank of the invasion zone until mid August. They then crossed the River Dives and advanced as far as the River Seine before they were withdrawn. While recovering in England, the brigade was moved to Belgium in December 1944, to counter the German attack in the Ardennes. The brigade remained on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands carrying out patrols until March 1945. Their next airborne mission was Operation Varsity, the assault crossing of the River Rhine in Germany. After this, the brigade advanced towards the Baltic Sea, arriving just ahead of the Red Army.
Still part of the 6th Airborne Division, the brigade was sent to the British mandate of Palestine in October 1945 after the end of the war. Carrying out an internal security role with the rest of 6th Airborne Division, it remained in Palestine until it was disbanded in 1947.
Background
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.[2] 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.[3][4]
On 21 June 1940 the
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.[9] 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.[10]
Formation
The 3rd Parachute Brigade was raised on 7 November 1942, under the command of Brigadier Sir Alexander Stanier.[11] Stanier was soon replaced by Brigadier Gerald Lathbury,[11] who in turn was replaced in May 1943 by Brigadier James Hill, previously of the 1st Parachute Brigade.[12] Hill remained in command through the remaining war years until July 1945, when Lathbury once again assumed command.[11] The last commander of the brigade was Brigadier Francis Rome, who took over on 15 November 1946.[13]
The brigade was initially composed of the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion, the 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion and the 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion.[14] On 11 August 1943 the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion arrived in England and was assigned to the brigade, and the 7th Battalion was transferred to the 5th Parachute Brigade which was in the process of forming.[15] At the end of the Second World War, the 1st Canadian Battalion returned to Canada, and was replaced in the brigade by the 3rd Parachute Battalion, which had previously been part of the 1st Parachute Brigade.[12]
The brigade's other units were the 3rd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery from the
On formation the brigade was assigned to the
Operational history
From June to December 1943, the brigade prepared for operations as part of the 6th Airborne Division, training at every level from
In April 1944, under the command of
D-Day
Just after midnight on 6 June 1944, Albemarle aircraft arrived, carrying the brigade's pathfinders, a company from the 1st Canadian Battalion to clear the drop zone (DZ) of obstructions, a group from each battalion, and brigade headquarters.[27] Some planes got lost and failed to reach the DZ or arrived late. Others were damaged before dropping all their paratroops and turned back, and one returned to base after failing to find the drop zone at all.[27]
From around 00:50 the rest of the brigade arrived in Normandy after crossing the English Channel, transported in 108 C-47 Dakotas, along with 17 Horsa gliders carrying their heavy equipment.[26] The 8th Parachute Battalion, landing on DZ-K along with the brigade headquarters, was tasked with destroying the bridges over the River Dives at Bures and Troarn. The 1st Canadian Battalion, landing on DZ-V, was required to destroy the bridges at Varaville and Robehomme. The 9th Battalion, also landing on DZ-V, had arguably the hardest task; neutralising the Merville Gun Battery.[28][nb 2] Due to a combination of poor navigation, heavy cloud cover, and several of the drop zones not being marked correctly, the parachute drop was widely scattered. One group of paratroops landed 10 miles (16 km) away, and another landed on the wrong side of the River Orne, only 1,200 yards (1,100 m) from the invasion beaches.[30] Less than half of each battalion gathered at their individual assembly areas.[31]
In the south, at DZ-K, only 141 men of the 8th Parachute Battalion had assembled.
The 1st Canadian Battalion successfully destroyed the bridges at Varaville and Robehomme after landing on the northern DZ. They then withdrew to defend Le Mesnil, where the brigade headquarters and the field ambulance were located.
Orne bridgehead
On 7 June 9 Parachute Battalion, relieved by the Special Service Brigade commandos, moved southwards to the Bois de Mont near
The Germans still held the village of
During this time the 8th Battalion, located in the thick forest of the Bois de Bavant, were under an almost constant mortar bombardment. Not being directly attacked, the battalion concentrated on night time patrols to harass the Germans, some going as far as the German occupied villages of Troan and Bures.[41]
On 7 June 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion at Le Mesnil was attacked by units from the 857th and 858th Grenadier Regiments, supported by tanks and self-propelled guns. The battalion inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, but only managed to drive them back with a
Advance to the Seine
With the capture of Breville the division was not attacked in force again, apart from an almost continuous artillery bombardment between 18 and 20 June.
On 17 August the Germans started to withdraw northwards.
In nine days of fighting the 6th Airborne Division had advanced 45 miles (72 km),
Ardennes
In England the brigade went into a period of recruitment and training, concentrating on house-to-house street fighting in the bombed areas of
By December the brigade was preparing for Christmas leave, when news of the German offensive in the
Germany
Whereas all other Allied airborne landings had been a surprise for the Germans, the Rhine crossing was expected, and their defences were reinforced in anticipation. The airborne operation was preceded by a two-day round-the-clock bombing mission by the Allied air forces. Then on 23 March, 3,500 artillery guns targeted the German positions. At dusk
In the British sector the 3rd Parachute Brigade would be the first unit to arrive in Germany.[68] Their initial objective was to secure the western edge of the Schneppenberg woods.[69] Brigade headquarters was fully aware of the expected opposition to the landings, and the commander of the 224th (Parachute) Field Ambulance was warned to prepare for around 600 casualties; almost a third of the brigade's manpower.[70] On 24 March 1945 at 07:00 the 122 C-47 Dakotas transporting the brigade took off from England in three waves.[71][72] The first wave carried brigade headquarters and the 8th Parachute Battalion, the second carried the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, and the 9th Parachute Battalion came last.[72] The gliders carrying the brigade's heavy equipment were scheduled to arrive 40 minutes after the third wave.[73] Nine minutes ahead of schedule, the brigade started landing at their DZs. Their premature arrival stopped the Allied artillery and fighter bombers which were engaging targets in the area, especially anti-aircraft gun emplacements. The descending parachutists were met with heavy fire from the German defenders, causing several casualties. One of the dead was the commanding officer of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.[68] It was during the landing that one of the Canadian medics, Corporal Frederick Topham, won a Victoria Cross, becoming the division's only recipient of the award during the war.[68] By 11:00 the 8th Parachute Battalion had secured the DZ, and the other two battalions headed for the Schneppenberg woods, which were secured by 14:00. The 9th Parachute Battalion dug in within the woods, and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on the outskirts.[74] At 15:00 the first troops of the Royal Scots arrived after completing their assault crossing of the Rhine. The day's fighting had cost the brigade 80 dead and 190 wounded, however they had taken around 700 prisoners.[74]
On 27 March the division started advancing further into Germany.
The
Palestine
At the end of May 1945, the division was pulled out of Germany and returned to England. It was initially intended to send them to India to form an airborne corps with the
The 3rd Parachute Brigade was the first unit of the Airborne Division to arrive in Palestine, disembarking at Haifa on 3 October 1945.[84] The brigade then moved to Gaza to acclimatise and regain their fitness after the voyage from England.[85] On 21 October the brigade was deployed around the Lydda district, with responsibility for Tel Aviv and Jaffa.[86] The first incident involving the brigade came on 14 November 1945, when the Jewish National Council called for a 12-hour strike, which resulted in rioting in Tel Aviv. By 18:15 the Palestine Police Force was unable to cope and sent for reinforcements from the 8th Parachute Battalion.[87] The complete battalion was deployed and the riot was under control by 21:40 and a curfew imposed for the rest of the night.[88] Early the following day the curfew was broken by large crowds gathering to loot and burn buildings, so the remainder of the brigade was deployed to the city under the codename Operation Bellicose. Night time curfews remained in place until 05:20 on 20 November, when all troops returned to their barracks.[89] All was quiet in the brigade area until the night of 26/27 December, when police stations in Jaffa and Tel Aviv, the railway at Lydda and an armoury at Tel Aviv were attacked. The brigade again imposed a curfew around Tel Aviv. This was followed by cordon and search operations: Pintail on 29 December, Heron on 8 January, and Pigeon on 30 January.[90]
Over the night of 2/3 April 1946, there were several attacks on railway installations around the country. One at Yibna occurred at the same time as a patrol from the 9th Parachute Battalion was entering the village. The patrol's leading two vehicles exploded mines that had been laid on a bridge, wounding three men.[91] At daylight the tracks of around 30 men were found, and a section from the 8th Parachute Battalion eventually cornered 24 armed men. In the firefight that followed, 14 of them were wounded and the remainder surrendered, with no British casualties.[92] On 29 June Operation Agatha started; the brigade had been rotated to cover the south of Palestine, and were to search for arms and arrest any members of the Palmach in Givat Brenner and No'ar Oved.[93] On 22 July the King David Hotel in Jerusalem was bombed, which was the catalyst for Operation Shark, the searching of every house and property in Tel Aviv.[94] For this operation the brigade had all the divisional artillery and the 3rd The King's Own Hussars under their command.[95] The brigade's next tasks were Operations Bream and Eel between 28 August and 4 September, which entailed the search of Dorot and Ruhama in the Negev. For the first time army dogs trained in metal detecting were used during the operations, and they located a large arms cache in both settlements.[96]
In January 1947, the 6th Airborne Division was moved to northern Palestine, swapping locations with the 1st Infantry Division.[97] The 3rd Parachute Brigade took over responsibility for Haifa, which was considered a problem area. The brigade had to guard the docks and port of Haifa, which were the main entry point for immigrants arriving in the country. In addition, the many oil pipelines and installations in the region were a potential target for sabotage.[98] The brigade's first operation was imposing a curfew on the Jewish quarter after the kidnapping of two Britons in retaliation for the death sentence imposed on Dov Gruner.[99] The next major operation was in July, when an indefinite night time curfew was imposed, in response to several attacks in and around the city.[100] The curfew lasted until the end of the month.[101]
In October 1947, the War Office announced its intention to reduce the division's strength by one brigade. The 3rd Parachute Brigade, being more recently established than the other units, was selected to be disbanded. However, instead of disbanding its battalions, it was decided to amalgamate them. The 3rd Parachute Battalion joined with the
Order of battle
- Commanding officers
- Sir Alexander Stanier, 2nd Baronet
- Brigadier Gerald Lathbury
- Brigadier James Hill
- Brigadier Francis Rome[11][13]
- Units
- 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion
- 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion
- 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion
- 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
- 3rd Parachute Battalion
- 224th (Parachute) Field Ambulance–Royal Army Medical Corps
- 3rd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery–Royal Artillery
- 3rd Parachute Squadron–Royal Engineers[12][14][15][17]
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ The 1st Parachute Brigade had been called the "Rote Teufel" or "Red Devils" by the German troops they had fought in North Africa. The title was officially confirmed by General Sir Harold Alexander and henceforth applied to all British airborne troops.[1]
- ^ Some sources claim the 9th Parachute Battalion had the "most critical of all tasks assigned to the 6th Airborne Division."[29]
- Citations
- ^ Otway, p. 88
- ^ Otway, p. 21
- ^ Shortt and McBride, p. 4
- ^ Moreman, p. 91
- ^ Otway, pp. 28–29
- ^ Smith, p. 7
- ^ Flint, p. 73
- ^ Lynch, p. 31
- ^ Harclerode, p. 218
- ^ Tugwell, p. 123
- ^ a b c d "3rd Parachute Brigade". Para Data. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ a b c Ferguson, p. 16
- ^ a b Wilson, p. 86
- ^ a b Horn and Wyczynski, p. 270
- ^ a b Gregory, p. 53
- ^ Horn and Wyczynski, p. 323
- ^ a b Guard, p. 37
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 222–223
- ^ Harclerode, p. 223
- ^ a b Wilson, p. 153
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 225
- ^ a b c Guard, p. 225
- ^ Gregory, p. 100
- ^ Saunders, p. 143
- ^ Gregory, p. 101
- ^ a b c "The British Airborne Assault". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 30 January 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 317
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 306–309
- ^ a b Gregory, p. 108
- ^ a b c Harclerode, p. 322
- ^ Otway, p. 180
- ^ Harclerode, p. 321
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 322–324
- ^ Harclerode, p. 320
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 327
- ^ Saunders, pp. 175–176
- ^ Saunders, p. 176
- ^ Harclerode, p. 328
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 328–329
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 329–330
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 330
- ^ Saunders, pp. 182–183
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 332–333
- ^ Harclerode, p. 333
- ^ Harclerode, pp. 344–346
- ^ Harclerode, p. 347
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 348
- ^ Cole, p. 93
- ^ Otway, pp. 187–188
- ^ Saunders, p. 196
- ^ Cole, p. 98
- ^ Saunders, p. 197
- ^ a b Saunders, p. 198
- ^ Harclerode, p. 356
- ^ Saunders, p. 202
- ^ Saunders, p. 204
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 363
- ^ a b c Otway, p. 191
- ^ Gale, p. 126.
- ^ Hagerman, p. 164
- ^ a b Saunders, p. 279
- ^ Hastings, p. 239
- ^ Gregory, p. 118
- ^ a b c Harclerode, p. 549
- ^ Saunders, p. 283
- ^ Gregory, p. 85
- ^ Harclerode, p. 551
- ^ a b c Saunders, p. 288
- ^ Saunders, p. 284
- ^ Cole, p. 159
- ^ Saunders, p. 285
- ^ a b Cole, p. 160
- ^ Cole, p. 161
- ^ a b Saunders, p. 289
- ^ Saunders, p. 291
- ^ Saunders, pp. 294–295
- ^ Saunders, p. 296
- ^ Saunders, p. 297
- ^ Saunders, pp. 297–298
- ^ a b Saunders, p. 299
- ^ Gregory, p. 125
- ^ Wilson, p. 3
- ^ Wilson, p. 4
- ^ Cole, p. 202
- ^ Wilson, p. 5
- ^ Wilson, p. 22
- ^ Wilson, p. 27
- ^ Wilson, p. 28
- ^ Wilson, p. 29
- ^ Wilson, p. 35
- ^ Wilson, p. 44
- ^ Wilson, pp. 44–45
- ^ Wilson, pp. 57–58
- ^ Cole, pp. 204–205
- ^ Wilson, p. 74
- ^ Wilson, p. 80
- ^ Wilson, p. 92
- ^ Cole, p. 208
- ^ Wilson, p. 98
- ^ Wilson, p. 140
- ^ Wilson, p. 143
- ^ Wilson, p. 152
- ^ Wilson, pp. 207–211
References
- Cole, Howard N (1963). On Wings of Healing: The Story of the Airborne Medical Services 1940–1960. Edinburgh, United Kingdom: William Blackwood. OCLC 29847628.
- Ferguson, Gregor (1984). The Paras 1940–84. Volume 1 of Elite series. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-573-1.
- Flint, Keith (2006). Airborne Armour: Tetrarch, Locust, Hamilcar and the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment 1938–1950. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company Ltd. ISBN 1-874622-37-X.
- OCLC 464063862.
- Gregory, Barry; Batchelor, John (1979). Airborne Warfare, 1918–1945. Exeter, UK: Exeter Books. ISBN 978-0-89673-025-0.
- Guard, Julie (2007). Airborne: World War II Paratroopers in Combat. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-196-0.
- Hagerman, Bart (1990). USA Airborne: 50th Anniversary. New York: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-938021-90-2.
- Harclerode, Peter (2005). Wings Of War –Airborne Warfare 1918–1945. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-36730-3.
- ISBN 0-330-49062-1.
- Horn, Bernd; Wyczynski, Michel (2003). Paras versus the Reich: Canada's Paratroopers at War, 1942–45. Toronto, Canada: Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-55002-470-8.
- Lynch, Tim (2008). Silent Skies: Gliders At War 1939–1945. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-0-7503-0633-1.
- Moreman, Timothy Robert (2006). British Commandos 1940–46. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-986-X.
- ISBN 0-901627-57-7.
- Peters, Mike; Luuk, Buist (2009). Glider Pilots at Arnhem. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84415-763-1.
- ISBN 0-450-01006-6.
- ISBN 0-85045-396-8.
- Smith, Claude (1992). History of the Glider Pilot Regiment. London: Pen & Sword Aviation. ISBN 1-84415-626-5.
- Tugwell, Maurice (1971). Airborne to Battle: A History of Airborne Warfare, 1918–1971. London: Kimber. ISBN 0-7183-0262-1.
- ISBN 978-1-84415-771-6.