8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion
8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion | |
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Insignia | |
The emblem of the Second World War British Airborne Forces, Bellerophon riding the flying horse Pegasus |
The 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was created in late 1942 by the conversion of the 13th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment to parachute duties. The battalion was assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade, serving alongside the 7th (later replaced by the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion) and 9th Parachute battalions, in the 1st Airborne Division before being reassigned to help form the 6th Airborne Division in May 1943.
The 8th Parachute Battalion fought in Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings in France on D-Day, the Normandy Campaign, and the break out to the River Seine. Withdrawn to England in September 1944, the German winter offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge saw the battalion return to the continent. Their final mission during the war was the River Rhine crossing, followed by the advance to the Baltic.
After the war the battalion was sent to Palestine with the 6th Airborne Division until January 1948, when it was amalgamated with the 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion (which had served alongside the 8th in 3rd Para Brigade) to form the 8th/9th Parachute Battalion.
Formation
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 corps of 5,000 parachute troops.[2] On 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November, re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion (later 1st Parachute Battalion), with a parachute and glider wing.[3][4] It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.[5] The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the existing airborne force, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting a number of infantry battalions into airborne battalions in August 1942.[6]
Battalion
The 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion was formed in November 1942, by the conversion of the 13th
All members of the battalion had to undergo a twelve-day parachute training course carried out at
Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy, armed with heavy weapons, including artillery and tanks. So training was designed to encourage a spirit of self-discipline, self-reliance and aggressiveness. Emphasis was given to physical fitness,
Operations
Normandy
On 6 June 1944, the 8th Parachute Battalion landed in Normandy on their own
The 8th Battalion's objective was to hold the woods and disrupt German movements in the area. Isolated from the rest of the division, they were assisted in their defence by the dense woods, which broke up infantry assaults and made armoured vehicle attacks impossible. They did however suffer under artillery bombardments, until their trenches had adequate over-head cover. Adopting a policy of mine laying, setting ambushes, raiding and patrolling, at times the battalion's patrols reached as far as Bures and Troarn.
Ardennes
On 16 December 1944, the Germans launched a surprise counterattack through the forests of the
Germany
The 8th Parachute Battalion were next in action 24 March 1945, in the biggest and most successful airborne operation of the war.
The 6th Airborne Division broke out of the Rhine bridgehead on 26 March. The 8th Parachute Battalion supported by the 6th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment in the lead had by 26 August had reached Lembeck. Putting in a frontal attack the 8th Battalion was stopped by well positioned 20 mm guns. At the same time the 9th Parachute Battalion had secured the left flank and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion also became involved in the battle. By the end of the day the Battalion had gained a foothold in the town.[8]
The Brigade had secured a crossing on the
Palestine
In October 1945, the 6th Airborne Division was sent to the British Mandate of Palestine on internal security duties, the 3rd Parachute Brigade being based in the Lydda district, which included Tel Aviv.[27] On 13 November, the 8th Battalion was sent into Tel Aviv, to deal with riots by the Jewish population, following the publication of a white paper on Palestine.[27] The violence spread and eventually the whole 3rd Parachute Brigade became involved and order was not established until 20 November.[27] The 3rd Parachute Brigade was disbanded in October 1947, and the 8th and 9th Parachute Battalion were amalgamated as the 8th/9th Parachute Battalion. The new battalion was assigned to the 1st Parachute Brigade, however further post war reductions in the British Army saw this battalion disbanded in June 1948.[8]
Notes
- Footnotes
- Midlands region of England.[8]
- ^ Barrage balloons were used to speed up training jumps and meet the target of 5,000 trained parachutists.[13]
- ^ This ability was demonstrated in April 1945. When the 3rd Parachute Brigade advanced 15 miles (24 km) in twenty-four hours, which included eighteen hours of close-quarters fighting.[16] In the same month the 5th Parachute Brigade marched 50 miles (80 km) in seventy-two hours, during which they also carried out two night time assaults.[16]
- Citations
- ^ Otway, p.88
- ^ Otway, p.21
- ^ Shortt & McBride, p.4
- ^ Moreman, p.91
- ^ Guard, p.218
- ^ Harclerode, p. 218
- ^ a b Horn, p.270
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "8th Parachute Battalion". Pegasus Archive. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ a b Guard, p.37
- ^ Peters and Buist, p.55
- ^ "8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion". Para Data. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ a b Guard, p.224
- ^ Reynolds, p.16
- ^ Guard, p.226
- ^ a b c Guard, p.225
- ^ a b Reynolds, p.87
- ^ Ferguson, p.17
- ^ a b Otway, p. 181
- ^ a b Harclerode, p. 321
- ^ Harclerode, p. 322
- ^ Harclerode, p. 327
- ^ Reynolds, pp.55–56
- ^ Reynolds, p.56
- ^ "The Battle for Arnhem (Operation Market Garden)". The Parachute Regiment. 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 1 November 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Operation Varsity, The Rhine Crossing". The Parachute Regiment. 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 1 November 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ a b "3rd Parachute Brigade". Pegasus Archive. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
- ^ a b c "The Kalaniots". Britain's Small Wars. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
References
- Ferguson, Gregor (1984). The Paras 1940–84. Volume 1 of Elite series. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-573-1.
- Guard, Julie (2007). Airborne: World War II Paratroopers in Combat. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84603-196-6.
- Harclerode, Peter (2005). Wings of War – Airborne Warfare 1918–1945. London, United Kingdom: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-36730-3.
- 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.
- Moreman, Timothy Robert (2006). British Commandos 1940–46. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-986-X.
- Otway, Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H. (1990). The Second World War 1939–1945 Army – Airborne Forces. London, United Kingdom: Imperial War Museum. ISBN 0-901627-57-7.
- Peters, Mike; Luuk, Buist (2009). Glider Pilots at Arnhem. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 1-84415-763-6.
- Reynolds, David (1998). Paras: An Illustrated History of Britain's Airborne Forces. Stroud, United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2059-9.
- ISBN 0-85045-396-8.