First Allied Airborne Army | |
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![]() Badge of the First Allied Airborne Army. | |
Active | 2 August 1944 – 20 May 1945 |
Disbanded | 20 May 1945 |
Allegiance | Allies |
Type | Airborne forces |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Lieutenant General | Lewis H. Brereton |
The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force.
The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western Europe from August 1944 to May 1945. These included the U.S. IX Troop Carrier Command, the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, which controlled the 17th, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and a number of independent airborne units, all British airborne forces including the 1st and 6th Airborne Division plus the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade.
From the time of its creation until the end of World War II, the formation commanded the Allied airborne forces that participated in the Allied advance through North-West Europe, including Operation Market-Garden in September 1944, repelling the German counter-offensive launched during the Battle of the Bulge between December 1944 and January 1945, and Operation Varsity in March 1945.
After the surrender of Nazi Germany, the formation was deactivated, the constituent units reverting to their national armies on 20 May 1945.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force believed that a unified command was required with authority to coordinate all airborne and troop carrier units, direct airborne operations and command attached army, naval and air force units. [1] The organization would be based on the model of a modified corps headquarters and be commanded by a high-ranking officer of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). [2] On 20 May 1944, a sub-section of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) recommended that all British and American airborne forces be unified under a single formation; troop carrier units, however, would still remain independent and under the control of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF). [3] This recommendation was sent to 12th Army Group, 21st Army Group and the AEAF.
The recommendation to create a unified airborne army was criticized and opposed by the Chief of Staff of 12th Army Group, Major General Leven Cooper Allen. Allen argued that the larger number of American airborne troops, the differences in equipment and staff between British and American formations, and the fact that the available transport aircraft only had the capacity to carry the total number of American airborne troops and not British as well, all meant that there was no need for a unified command for both American and British airborne forces. [4]
The Royal Air Force, was an independent organization, unlike the USAAF, and senior British airborne commanders were apprehensive about having an Air Force officer command soldiers, in case the RAF could then use this at a later date as precedent to command British airborne troops. [5] Further objections were raised by officers of the AEAF, regarding the administrative problems of assigning RAF units to the proposed combined headquarters. Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commander-in-chief of the AEAF, argued that the original recommendation should be followed – unifying American and British airborne forces but leaving troop carrier units under the command of the AEAF. [5]
However, the 21st Army Group and the AEAF both agreed to the recommendation, only suggesting a few minor changes to be made, and on 17 June Major General Harold R. Bull, the Assistant Chief-of-Staff, Operations and Plans (G-3) of SHAEF, recommended that a combined airborne troops headquarters be created, albeit one that did not control troop carrier units. [4]
Despite the opposition, Eisenhower remained convinced for the need of a single unified command that would control both airborne forces and troop carrier units, and outlined his proposal in messages to General of the Army George Marshall and General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold asking for the assignment of an USAAF officer as commander of the unified headquarters. Marshall, however, asked for further clarification of the role of the commander, asking whether he would simply function as a corps commander of the airborne divisions or command all air and ground troops, and who would command the airborne forces once they had landed and gone into action. [5] After much discussion the three men agreed that an Air Force commander would control all airborne forces until the situation on the ground permitted normal logistical support for the forces involved, when control would revert to a ground commander. [6]
Having solved the problems of what the commander of the unified headquarters would control, and when, the search then began for qualified personnel who could serve at the headquarters. The United States Department of War indicated that some personnel from the Airborne Center at Camp Mackall would be available for the new headquarters, and that the headquarters of Second Airborne Brigade, would be disbanded and its personnel transferred to the new unit. In addition, the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe would allocate ten officers and fifty enlisted men. [7]
After discussion between Eisenhower, Arnold and Marshall, it was decided that the first commanding officer of the formation was to be USAAF Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton, who was commanding the USAAF Ninth Air Force. [2] Brereton learnt of his appointment on 17 July when in conference with the commanding officer of the USAAF, General Carl Spaatz, and was initially unconvinced of the merits of a combined headquarters, suggesting instead that American airborne forces be placed under the command of the Ninth Air Force, a suggestion which was denied by Eisenhower. [7]
With Brereton having agreed to his appointment, the First Allied Airborne Army was activated on the 2nd of August 1944
Brereton recommended that the combined headquarters was renamed 'First Allied Airborne Army', which was approved by Eisenhower on 16 August after a brief period of opposition by Major General Bull, who argued that such a name would be inaccurate, as he believed there was no intention of using the organization as an Army. [8] The new organization was assigned operational control over IX Troop Carrier Command, XVIII Corps (Airborne), and British I Airborne Corps and all their subsidiary units. RAF troop carrier units would be assigned as necessary. [2]
As commander of First Allied Airborne Army, Brereton was directly responsible to SHAEF and General Eisenhower. His responsibilities included training and allocation of facilities, development of new airborne equipment, consultation with the commanders-in-chief of the AEAF and the Allied naval forces, and the planning and execution of airborne operations. [9]
During August 1944, American forces under General Omar Bradley launched Operation Cobra, the Allied forces breakout of Normandy to the West after several months grinding down German forces at the eastern end of the lodgement and the capture of the Cherbourg peninsula. The operation had been a success, despite a fierce German counter-attack on 7 August codenamed Operation Lüttich, and a number of German divisions had become trapped near Falaise in what was labelled the Falaise Pocket. Following this, the Allies began to advance rapidly. [10]
Several airborne operations were planned for First Allied Airborne Army in late August and early September to support the rapid advance of Allied ground forces. [11]
Most of the operations were cancelled due to the rapid movement of Allied ground forces as they advanced through France and Belgium, as it did not allow First Allied Airborne Army enough time to plan an operation and deploy its forces before the objectives were overrun by ground forces. This situation changed, however, by the middle of September, as Allied forces came into contact with the German frontier and the Siegfried Line and encountered considerable German resistance, with German forces beginning to set up organized defensive positions and the Allied advance slowing. [13]
Operation Market-Garden was an expanded version of the cancelled Operation Comet utilizing three divisions of 1st Allied Airborne Army (101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division and 1st Airborne Division).
The driving force behind the creation of Market Garden was Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who disagreed with the 'broad front' strategy favoured by Eisenhower, in which all Allied armies in North-West Europe advanced simultaneously. [14] Montgomery believed that a single thrust should be launched against the German forces. Allied forces under Montgomery's overall command would move through the Netherlands over the river crossings captured by the airborne forces, outflank the Siegfried Line, enter the North German Plain, and form the northern arm of a pincer attack on the Ruhr. [14]
Market Garden was to punch a 60 mile long salient from the Dutch/Belgian border to Arnhem on the River Rhine. Market Garden consisted of two components, 'Market' - the airborne assault to seize key bridges which was to be carried out by First Allied Airborne Army, and 'Garden', the ground attack - primarily XXX Corps of the British Second Army - which would relieve the airborne units in turn and establish the corridor. The 101st would take the crossings at the Maas (Meuse), the 82nd the Waal at Nijmegen and British 1st Airborne the Nederrrijn (Lower Rhine) at Arnhem. The landings began on 17 September. The 101st took their objectives and XXX (delayed by a destroyed bridge at Son) crossed the Maas on 20 September. The 82nd did not take the bridge at Nijmegen until 20 September and XXX did not cross in force until the following day.
The operation succeeded in liberating the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen. Although reaching the River Rhine the operation failed in establishing a bridgehead over the river. 1st Airborne Division reached the vital Arnhem bridge denying it to German traffic, however being evacuated on 25 September after sustaining heavy casualties as the ground forces were delayed in relieving them.
With the failure of Operation Market-Garden, the Allied advance came to a halt, replaced by several months of almost static combat against defending German forces, with no Allied airborne operations being planned or executed. This period was broken, however, when a major offensive was launched by the Germans on the orders of Adolf Hitler; on 16 December 1944 Operation "Watch on the Rhine began, with three German armies attacking through the Ardennes, hundreds of thousands of German troops and tanks breaking through Allied line on the American sector. The operation took the Allied forces completely by surprise, and several units under the command of First Allied Airborne Army became involved in the Allied attempt to first halt, and then repel the offensive; these units were principally the 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, 17th Airborne Division and the 6th Airborne Division.
With the end of the participation of the 101st, 17th and 82nd Airborne Divisions in repelling the German counter-attack in the Ardennes between December 1944 and January 1945, the airborne forces under the command of First Allied Airborne Army would not participate in another airborne operation until March.
By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine. The Rhine was a formidable natural obstacle to the Allied advance, [15] but if breached would allow the Allies to access the North German Plain and ultimately advance on Berlin and other major cities in Northern Germany. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commanding the British 21st Army Group devised a plan to allow the forces under his command to breach the Rhine, entitled Operation Plunder and First Allied Airborne Army was tasked to support it in an operation code-named Operation Varsity. [16]
Three airborne divisions were initially assigned to take part in Varsity: the British 6th Airborne Division, the US 13th Airborne Division and the US 17th Airborne Division, subordinate to US XVIII Airborne Corps. However, it became apparent that the 13th Airborne Division would be unable to participate in the operation, as there were only enough transport aircraft available to transport two divisions. [17] The plan for the operation was therefore altered employ only the British 6th Airborne and the US 17th Airborne Division.
Learning from the failure of Operation Market-Garden, the plan for Operation Varsity altered the Airborne Army's tactics:
The ground forces taking part in Operation Plunder began their attack at 21:00 on 23 March 1945, and secured a number of crossings on the eastern bank of the Rhine overnight. The two airborne divisions then deployed for Operation Varsity, landing at 10:00 on 24 March 1945, near the town of Hamminkeln. They were tasked with a number of objectives: seizing the Diersfordter Wald, a forest that overlooked the Rhine and had a road linking several towns together; securing several bridges over the River IJssel, and capturing Hamminkeln. [20]
All of the objectives were captured and held within a few hours of the operation beginning, and by nightfall of 24 March, 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division had joined up with elements of 6th Airborne. By 27 March, the Allies had 14 divisions on the east bank of the river. [21] General Eisenhower later stated that Operation Varsity was "the most successful airborne operation carried out to date".
Several airborne operations were planned for the divisions under the control of First Allied Airborne Army after the end of Operation Varsity.
The First Allied Airborne Army was officially deactivated on 20 May 1945, with the British units under its command returning to the United Kingdom and the American units being renamed as First Airborne Army and taking over command of the American Sector of Occupation in Berlin.
Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the German-occupied Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. Its objective was to create a 64 mi (103 km) salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the Nederrijn, creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing nine bridges with combined US and British airborne forces ("Market") followed by British land forces swiftly following over the bridges ("Garden").
Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers.
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is an air assault infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute battalion-sized air assault operations to seize terrain. These operations can be conducted by mobile teams covering large distances, fighting behind enemy lines, and working in austere environments with limited or degraded infrastructure. It was active in, for example, foreign internal defense and counterterrorism operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan in 2015–2016, and in Syria, as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in 2018–2021.
The Battle of Arnhem was fought during the Second World War, as part of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It took place around the Dutch city of Arnhem and vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Allies had swept through France and Belgium in August 1944, after the Battle of Normandy. Market Garden was proposed by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, who favoured a single push northwards over the branches of the Lower Rhine River, allowing the British Second Army to bypass the Siegfried Line and attack the important Ruhr industrial area.
The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America's Contingency Corps." Its headquarters are at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
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 using large numbers of the aircraft, the operation was carried out from Tunisia by glider infantry of the British 1st Airlanding Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Philip Hicks, with a force of 136 Hadrians and eight Airspeed Horsas. The objective was to establish a large invasion force on the ground near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge and ultimately take control of the city itself with its strategically vital docks, as a prelude to the full-scale invasion of Sicily.
The 1st Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was formed in late 1941 during the Second World War, after the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, demanded an airborne force, and was initially under command of Major-General Frederick A. M. "Boy" Browning. The division was one of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, with the other being the 6th Airborne Division, created in May 1943, using former units of the 1st Airborne Division.
The 13th Airborne Division was an airborne forces formation of division-size of the United States Army that was active during World War II. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Major General Elbridge G. Chapman. It was officially activated in the United States in August 1943 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, remaining active until February 1946, however it never saw combat.
The 17th Airborne Division, "The Golden Talons", was an airborne infantry division of the United States Army during World War II, commanded by Major General William M. Miley.
XXX Corps was a corps of the British Army during the Second World War. The corps was formed in the Western Desert in September 1941. It provided extensive service in the North African Campaign and many of its units were in action at the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942. It then took part in the Tunisia Campaign and formed the left flank during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.
Operation Slapstick was the code name for a British landing from the sea at the Italian port of Taranto during the Second World War. The operation, one of three landings during the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943, was undertaken by airborne troops of the British 1st Airborne Division, commanded by Major-General George Hopkinson.
Operation Varsity was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it is the largest airborne operation ever conducted on a single day and in one location.
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Lewis Hyde Brereton was a military aviation pioneer and lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. A 1911 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he began his military career as a United States Army officer in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps prior to World War I, then spent the remainder of his service as a career aviator.
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The 501st Infantry Regiment, previously the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment and 501st Airborne Infantry Regiment, is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army with a long history, having served in World War II and the Vietnam War, both as part of the 101st Airborne Division, as well as the War in Afghanistan. It is the first airborne unit by designation in the United States Armed Forces. Its 1st Battalion is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, located at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Its 2nd Battalion is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, located at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
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Paul Langdon Williams was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force general. As head of the IX Troop Carrier Command during World War II, he was responsible for the airlift of the airborne landings in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy, southern France, the Netherlands and Germany.
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