The Parachute Regiment, colloquially known as the Paras, is the airborne infantry regiment of the British Army. The first battalion is part of the Special Forces Support Group under the operational command of the Director Special Forces. The other battalions are the parachute infantry component of the British Army's rapid response formation, 16 Air Assault Brigade. The regiment, along with the Guards, are the only line infantry regiments of the British Army that have not been amalgamated with another unit since the end of the Second World War.
The Welsh Guards, part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. Shortly after the regiment's formation, it was deployed to France where it took part in the fighting on the Western Front until the end of the war in November 1918. During the inter-war years, the regiment undertook garrison duties in the United Kingdom, except between 1929 and 1930 when it deployed to Egypt, and late 1939 when it deployed to Gibraltar.
The Battle of Goose Green was fought from 28 to 29 May 1982 by British and Argentine forces during the Falklands War. Located on East Falkland's central isthmus, the settlement of Goose Green was the site of an airfield. Argentine forces were located in a well-defended position within striking distance of San Carlos Water where the British task force had positioned themselves after their amphibious landing.
The Battle of Wireless Ridge was an engagement of the Falklands War which took place on the night from 13 to 14 June 1982, between British and Argentine forces during the advance towards the Argentine-occupied capital of the Falkland Islands, Port Stanley.
The Battle of Mount Longdon was a battle fought between the British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and elements of the Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the Falklands War. It was one of three engagements in a Brigade-size operation that night, along with the Battle of Mount Harriet and the Battle of Two Sisters. A mixture of hand-to-hand fighting and ranged combat resulted in the British occupying this key position around the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. The battle ended in a British victory.
Major-General John Dutton Frost, was an airborne officer of the British Army best known for being the leader of the small group of British airborne troops that actually arrived at Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem in Operation Market Garden, in World War II. He was one of the first to join the newly formed Parachute Regiment and served with distinction in many wartime airborne operations, such as in North Africa and Sicily and Italy, until his injury and subsequent capture at Arnhem. He retired from the army in 1968 to become a beef cattle farmer in West Sussex.
The Battle of the Imjin River, also known as the Battle of Solma-ri or Battle of Gloster Hill in South Korea, or as Battle of Xuemali in China, took place 22–25 April 1951 during the Korean War. Troops from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) attacked United Nations Command (UN) positions on the lower Imjin River in an attempt to achieve a breakthrough and recapture the South Korean capital Seoul. The attack was part of the Chinese Spring Offensive, the aim of which was to regain the initiative on the battlefield after a series of successful UN counter-offensives in January–March 1951 had allowed UN forces to establish themselves beyond the 38th Parallel at the Kansas Line.
This is a list of British ground forces in the Falklands War. For a list of ground forces from Argentina, see Argentine ground forces in the Falklands War
Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Jones,, known as H. Jones, was a British Army officer and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC). He was awarded the VC after being killed in action during the Battle of Goose Green for his actions as commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, during the Falklands War.
General Sir Richard Nelson "Windy" Gale, was a senior officer in the British Army who served in both world wars. In the First World War he was awarded the Military Cross in 1918 whilst serving as a junior officer in the Machine Gun Corps. During the Second World War he served with 1st Parachute Brigade and then the 6th Airborne Division during the D-Day landings and Operation Tonga in 1944. After the end of the conflict, Gale remained in the army and eventually, in 1958, succeeded Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
The Parachute Regiment is an airborne and special forces regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1945 as part of the British Indian Army but was disbanded after World War II and was re-raised in 1952 as part of the Indian Army. Currently it consists of fifteen Special Forces, two Territorial Army and one Rashtriya Rifles battalions.
The Punjab Regiment is the second oldest regiment still in service in the Indian Army, and is the most senior regional infantry regiment. It was formed from the 2nd Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army in 1947 and has taken part in various battles and wars since, winning numerous honours for the same.
General Sir Anthony Heritage Farrar-Hockley, nicknamed Farrar the Para, was a British Army officer and a military historian who fought in a number of British conflicts. He held a number of senior commands, ending his career as Commander-in-Chief of NATO's Allied Forces Northern Europe. Throughout his four decades of army life, he spoke plainly, and both before and after his retirement in 1982 wrote on the conflicts he had experienced and the Second World War.
The 5th Infantry Brigade was a regular infantry brigade of the British Army that was in existence since before the First World War, except for a short break in the late 1970s. It was an Airborne Brigade from the early 1980s until amalgamating with 24th Airmobile Brigade, in 1999, to form 16 Air Assault Brigade.
General Sir Gerald William Lathbury, was a senior British Army officer who fought during the Second World War, serving with distinction with the British Army's airborne forces, commanding the 1st Parachute Brigade in Sicily, Italy and Holland. He later became Governor of Gibraltar from 1965 to 1969.
The Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment, is a formation of the Parachute Regiment, part of the British Army, and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade.
Charles Hercules Green was an Australian military officer who was the youngest Australian Army infantry battalion commander during World War II. He went on to command the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, during the Korean War, where he died of wounds. He remains the only commanding officer of a Royal Australian Regiment battalion to die on active service. Green joined the part-time Militia in 1936, and before the outbreak of World War II had been commissioned as a lieutenant. He volunteered for overseas service soon after the war began in September 1939, and served in the Middle East and the Battle of Greece with the 2/2nd Battalion. After the action at Pineios Gorge on 18 April 1941, Green became separated from the main body of the battalion, and made his way through Turkey to Palestine, to rejoin the reformed 2/2nd Battalion. The 2/2nd Battalion returned to Australia in August 1942 via Ceylon, to meet the threat posed by the Japanese.
General Sir Kenneth Thomas Darling was a senior British Army officer who after serving with distinction during the Second World War was Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of Allied Forces Northern Europe 1967–69.
Major General Thomas Brodie, CB, CBE, DSO was a British Army officer who saw service in World War II, Palestine and the Korean War. After retirement in 1955, he became involved with the British pressure group, the Economic League.
Captain John Stuart Pettinger DCM is a former officer of the Parachute Regiment in the British Army and a veteran of the Falklands War during which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for bravery. This was a field award for other ranks of the British Army and was the oldest British award for gallantry, at that time ranking second only to the Victoria Cross. His DCM was one of only eight awarded during the conflict, five of which were awarded to the Parachute Regiment. Pettinger was invested with his Distinguished Conduct Medal by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1982.