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1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)

2025-08-04T20:40:37Z

2A02:8012:227B:0:5489:6C63:CA00:997E: Removed Category:Military parachuting as already in Category:Airborne divisions of the United Kingdom

{{Short description|Airborne infantry division of the British Army during WWII}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=1st Airborne Division
|image=Men waiting in ditches.jpg
|image_size =
|caption=Men from the 1st Airborne Division during [[Operation Market Garden]] fighting in the [[battle of Arnhem]], September 1944.
|dates=1941–1945
|country={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|allegiance=
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|type=[[Infantry]]
|role=[[Airborne forces]]
|size=[[Division (military)|Division]], 12,148 men<ref>Gregory, p.50</ref>
|command_structure=[[I Airborne Corps (United Kingdom)|I Airborne Corps]]
|garrison=

|current_commander=
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|notable_commanders={{ubl | [[Frederick Browning]] | [[George Hopkinson]] | [[Ernest Down]] | [[Roy Urquhart]] }}

|identification_symbol=[[File:British Airborne Units.svg|200px]]

|nickname=''Red Devils''{{#tag:ref|The [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]] had been called the "Rote Teufel" or "Red Devils" by the German troops they had fought in [[North African campaign|North Africa]]. The title was officially confirmed by [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]] and henceforth applied to all British airborne troops.<ref>Otway, p.88</ref>|group=nb}}
|patron=
|motto=
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles={{ubl | [[Operation Biting]] | [[Operation Freshman]] | [[Operation Turkey Buzzard]] | [[Operation Ladbroke]] | [[Operation Fustian]] | [[Operation Slapstick]] | [[Battle of Arnhem]] | [[Operation Doomsday]] }}
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
}}
The '''1st Airborne Division''' was an [[Airborne forces|airborne]] [[infantry]] [[Division (military)|division]] of the [[British Army during the Second World War]]. The division was formed in late 1941 during the [[World War II|Second World War]], after the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[Winston Churchill]], demanded an airborne force, and was initially under command of [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Frederick Browning|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 (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]], created in May 1943, using former units of the 1st Airborne Division.

The division's first two missions—[[Operation Biting]], a [[Paratrooper|parachute]] landing in France, and [[Operation Freshman]], a [[Military glider|glider]] mission in Norway—were both raids. Part of the division was sent to [[British airborne operations in North Africa|North Africa]] at the end of 1942, where it fought in an infantry role during the [[Tunisian campaign]] over the next few weeks, and when the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invaded Sicily]] in July 1943, the division undertook two [[brigade]] sized landings. The first, [[Operation Ladbroke]], carried out by [[glider infantry]] of the [[1st Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Airlanding Brigade]] and the second, [[Operation Fustian]], by the [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]], were far from completely successful. The 1st Airborne Division then took part in a mostly diversionary [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious landing]], codenamed [[Operation Slapstick]], as part of the [[Allied invasion of Italy]] in September 1943.

In December, most of the 1st Airborne Division (minus the [[2nd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Parachute Brigade]], left behind in Italy) returned to [[England]], and began training and preparing for the [[Normandy landings|Allied invasion of Normandy]]. It was not involved in the Normandy landings in June 1944, being held in reserve. In September 1944 the 1st Airborne took part in [[Operation Market Garden]]. The division, with the [[1st Independent Parachute Brigade (Poland)|Polish 1st Parachute Brigade]] temporarily attached, landed {{convert|60|mi}} behind German lines, to capture crossings on the [[Rhine|River Rhine]], and fought in the [[Battle of Arnhem]]. After failing to achieve its objectives, the division was surrounded and took very heavy casualties, but held out for nine days before the [[Operation Berlin (Arnhem)|survivors were evacuated]].

The remnants of the 1st Airborne Division returned to England soon after. The division never fully recovered from their losses at Arnhem and the [[4th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Parachute Brigade]] was disbanded. Just after the [[Victory in Europe Day|end of the war in Europe]], the depleted formation took part in [[Operation Doomsday]] in Norway in May 1945. They were tasked with the disarmament and repatriation of the German occupation army. The 1st Airborne Division then returned to England and was disbanded in November 1945.

==Background==
Inspired by the success of German airborne operations during the [[Battle of France]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] directed the [[War Office]] to investigate the possibility of creating a force of 5,000 parachute troops.<ref>Otway, p.21</ref> 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 [[Military glider|glider wing]].<ref>Shortt and McBride, p.4</ref><ref>Moreman, p.91</ref>

On 21 June 1940 the [[No.1 Parachute Training School RAF|Central Landing Establishment]] was formed at [[RAF Ringway|Ringway airfield]] near [[Manchester]]. Although tasked primarily with training parachute troops, it was also directed to investigate the use of gliders to transport troops into battle.<ref>Otway 1990, pp. 28–29</ref><ref name="Smith7">Smith, p.7</ref> At the same time, the Ministry of Aircraft Production contracted [[General Aircraft Ltd]] to design and produce a glider for this purpose.<ref name="Flint73">Flint, p.73</ref> The result was the [[General Aircraft Hotspur]], which was capable of transporting eight soldiers and was used for both assault and training purposes.<ref>Lynch, p.31</ref>

The success of the first British airborne raid, Operation [[Operation Colossus|''Colossus'']], prompted the War Office to expand the airborne force through the creation of the [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]], and to develop plans to convert several infantry battalions into parachute and glider battalions.<ref>Harclerode, p. 218</ref> On 31 May 1941, a joint [[British Army|army]] and [[Royal Air Force|air force]] memorandum was approved by the [[Chiefs of Staff Committee|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.<ref>Tugwell p.123</ref>

==Formation history==
The existing 11th Special Air Service Battalion was renamed the [[1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment|1st Parachute Battalion]] on 15 September 1941, and, together with the newly raised [[2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|2nd]] and [[3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|3rd Parachute Battalion]]s, formed the first of the new airborne formations, the [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]], commanded by [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] [[Richard Gale (British Army officer)|Richard Gale]],<ref name="Otway, p.327">Otway, p.327</ref> who would later command the [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]] from 1943 to 1944.<ref>Mead, pp.154–156</ref> The 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions were formed from volunteers, between the ages of nineteen and forty, who were already serving in infantry units. Only ten men from any one unit were allowed to volunteer. Paratroops were paid an extra 2/- per day.<ref>Greenacre , pp.97–99</ref>

[[File:British parachute troops Norwich 1941.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Three men carrying weapons, walking on a pavement with metal railings behind them|British paratroopers training in [[Norwich]], England, June 1941]]
In October 1941, Brigadier [[Frederick Browning|Frederick Arthur Montague "Boy" Browning]] was promoted to [[Major general (United Kingdom)|major general]], named the Commander Parachute and Airborne Troops, and ordered to form a headquarters to develop and train airborne forces.<ref name=tug125>Tugwell, p.125</ref> The next unit formed was the [[1st Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Airlanding Brigade]] on 10 October 1941, by the conversion of the [[mountain warfare]] trained [[31st Brigade (United Kingdom)|31st Independent Infantry Brigade Group]], commanded by Brigadier [[George Hopkinson|George Frederick "Hoppy" Hopkinson]], later to command the division.<ref name=tug125/><ref name=ferg7>Ferguson, p.7</ref> The brigade comprised four battalions: the 1st [[Border Regiment]], 2nd [[South Staffordshire Regiment]], 2nd [[Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry|Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry]], and the 1st [[Royal Ulster Rifles]].<ref name=ferg15>Ferguson, p.15</ref> The men who were unsuitable for airborne forces were replaced by volunteers from other units.<ref>Blockwell and Clifton, p.63</ref> By the end of the year Browning's command had become the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division.<ref name="tug126" />

Browning expressed his opinion that the force must not be sacrificed in "penny packets", and urged the formation of a third brigade.<ref name="Ferguson, p.8">Ferguson, p.8</ref> Permission was granted, and on 17 July 1942, the [[2nd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Parachute Brigade]], commanded by Brigadier [[Ernest Down]], who would later succeed Hopkinson in command of the division, was formed. The 2nd Parachute Brigade was assigned the existing [[4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment|4th Parachute Battalion]], and two new battalions converted from [[line infantry]] units, the [[5th (Scottish) Parachute Battalion]], converted from the 7th Battalion, [[Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders]], and the [[6th (Royal Welch) Parachute Battalion]], from the 10th Battalion, [[Royal Welch Fusiliers]].<ref>Otway, p.54</ref>

[[File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H19947.jpg|thumb|right|[[George VI|King George VI]] inspects an airborne jeep fitted with a [[Vickers machine gun]] during a visit to the airborne forces in [[Southern Command (United Kingdom)|Southern Command]], 21 May 1942. With him is Major General "Boy" Browning, GOC of the 1st Airborne Division.]]

The [[3rd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Parachute Brigade]] was formed in November 1942 and assigned to the 1st Airborne Division. The brigade, under Brigadier [[Alexander Stanier]], comprised the [[7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion]], previously the 10th Battalion, [[Somerset Light Infantry]], the [[8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion]], converted from the 13th Battalion, [[Royal Warwickshire Regiment]], and the [[9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion]], formerly the 10th Battalion, [[Essex Regiment]].<ref>Otway, p.90</ref>

Soon afterwards, the 1st Parachute Brigade left the division, to take part in [[Operation Torch]], the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] invasion of North Africa and ended up participating in numerous [[British airborne operations in North Africa|operations in North Africa]], including three parachute operations, although it was more often fighting in an infantry role.<ref>Otway, pp.61–62, 87–89</ref>

In April 1943, the commander of the 1st Airlanding Brigade, Hopkinson, was promoted to major general and given command of the division in succession to Browning. Later that year, the division was deployed to Tunisia for operations in the [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean theatre]]. The 3rd Parachute Brigade and two battalions from the 1st Airlanding Brigade—the 1st Ulster Rifles and 2nd Ox and Bucks—remained behind in England, forming the nucleus of the new6th Airborne Division.<ref>Otway, pp.90–95</ref>

The 1st Airborne Division was reinforced by the [[4th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Parachute Brigade]], that had been formed in the Middle East during 1942. In addition to the [[156th Parachute Battalion (United Kingdom)|156th Parachute Battalion]], which had been raised from British troops stationed in India, it comprised the [[10th Parachute Battalion (United Kingdom)|10th]] and [[11th Parachute Battalion (United Kingdom)|11th Parachute Battalion]]s, which had been raised from troops based in Egypt and Palestine.<ref>Otway, pp.107–109</ref>

[[File:Pegasus 1st Airborne beret.jpg|thumb|left|Pegasus 1st Airborne beret]]
The division took part in two brigade sized operations in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], and an amphibious assault at [[Taranto]] in the [[Allied invasion of Italy]]. During the fighting in Italy, Major General Ernest Down became the divisional commander, after his predecessor, Major General Hopkinson, died of wounds received in the fighting. After brief service in Italy, the division returned to England in December 1943, leaving the 2nd Parachute Brigade behind as an independent formation.<ref name=ferg13>Ferguson, p.13</ref>

After the division arrived in England, Down was posted to [[British Raj|India]] to oversee the formation of the [[44th Airborne Division (India)|44th Indian Airborne Division]], and was replaced by Major General [[Roy Urquhart]].<ref>Ferguson, p.16</ref> In September 1944, for Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, the [[1st Independent Parachute Brigade (Poland)|1st Polish Parachute Brigade]] was attached to the division.<ref name="Ferguson">Ferguson, p.21</ref> Following ''Market Garden'', fewer than 2,200 men from the 10,000 that were sent to the Netherlands returned to the British lines.<ref name="Ferguson_a">Ferguson, p.26</ref>

Having suffered such severe casualties, the 4th Parachute Brigade was disbanded, with its survivors being posted to the 1st Parachute Brigade. The division then went through a period of reorganisation, but had still not fully recovered by the end of the war, due to the acute shortage of manpower throughout the British Army in 1944–1945. Still under strength in May 1945 with the [[End of World War II in Europe]], it was sent to Norway to disarm the German army of occupation; returning to Britain in November 1945 where the 1st Airborne Division was disbanded.<ref>Ferguson. p.46</ref>

==Operational history==
===France===
[[Operation Biting]], also known as the Bruneval Raid, was the [[codename]] for a raid by [[Combined Operations (United Kingdom)|Combined Operations]] in 1942.<ref name="ferg7" /> Their objective was a German [[Würzburg radar]] installation at [[Bruneval]] in France. Due to the extensive coastal defences erected by the Germans to protect the array, it was thought a [[British Commando|commando]] raid from the sea would incur heavy losses, and give the [[garrison]] sufficient time for the radar equipment to be destroyed. It was therefore decided that an airborne assault followed by sea-borne evacuation would be the ideal way to surprise the garrison and seize the technology intact.<ref name=tug126>Tugwell, p.126</ref>

[[File:Return from bruneval.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Soldiers crowded on the deck of a Motor Torpedo Boat |Men of 'C' Company returning from the successful [[Bruneval Raid]]]]
On the night of 27 February, 'C' Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion, under the command of [[Major (rank)|Major]] [[John Dutton Frost|John Frost]], parachuted into France a few miles from the installation.<ref name="tug126"/> The force then proceeded to assault the villa in which the radar equipment was kept, killing several members of the German garrison and capturing the installation after a brief fire-fight.<ref>Tugwell, pp.126–127</ref>

A technician that had come with the force partially dismantled the ''Würzburg'' radar array and removed several key pieces to take back to Britain; the raiding force then retreated to the evacuation beach. The detachment assigned to clear the beach had failed to do so, however, and another brief fire-fight was required to eliminate the Germans guarding the beach. The raiding force was then picked up by a small number of landing craft and transferred to several [[Motor Gun Boat]]s which brought them back to Britain. The raid was entirely successful. The airborne troops suffered only a few casualties, and the pieces of the radar they brought back, along with a German radar technician, allowed British scientists to understand German advances in radar and to create counter-measures to neutralise those advances.<ref>Tugwell, p.127</ref>

===Norway===
[[Operation Freshman]] was the first British airborne operation conducted using gliders, its target was the [[Vemork]] ''[[Norsk Hydro]]'' [[chemical plant]] in Norway, which produced [[heavy water]] for Nazi Germany.<ref name=ferg9>Ferguson, p.9</ref> By 1942 the German [[German nuclear energy project|atomic weapons programme]] had come close to being able to develop a [[nuclear reactor]], but in order for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water. The source of this water was the Norsk Hydro plant, which had been occupied in 1940; when the British government learned of the German nuclear developments, it was decided that a raid would be launched to destroy the plant and deny the Germans the heavy water.<ref name=tug139>Tugwell, p.139</ref> Several tactics were discussed and discarded as impractical, and it was finally decided that a small force from the 1st Airborne Division, comprising 30 [[sapper]]s from [[9 Parachute Squadron RE|9 Field Company RE (Airborne)]], [[Royal Engineers]], would land by glider a short distance from the plant, and demolish it with explosives.<ref name="ferg9"/>

Two aircraft, each towing one glider, left Scotland on the night of 19 November 1942. All managed to reach the Norwegian coast, but none were able to reach their objective. The first pair suffered from navigational difficulties and severe weather, which resulted in the tow rope snapping and the first glider crash-landing, with its towing aircraft returning to base; eight airborne troops were killed outright, four were severely injured and five unhurt. The survivors were captured shortly after the crash.<ref>Tugwell, pp.139–140</ref> The second pair fared even worse, with both aircraft and glider crashing into a mountain for unknown reasons; the aircrew and several men were killed outright, and those who survived were taken prisoner.<ref>Tugwell, p.140</ref> None of the prisoners survived for very long, being either poisoned or executed as a result of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Commando Order]], which stated that all [[British Commandos]] personnel were to be killed immediately when captured.<ref name="ferg9"/>

===Sicily===
{{See also|Operation Turkey Buzzard|Operation Ladbroke|Operation Fustian}}
Operation [[Operation Turkey Buzzard|''Turkey Buzzard'']], also known as Operation [[Operation Beggar|''Beggar'']], was a supply mission to North Africa that took place between March and August 1943.<ref>Smith, p.153</ref> The mission was undertaken by the division's [[Glider Pilot Regiment|glider pilots]] and [[No. 295 Squadron Royal Air Force]], as part of the preparations for the invasion of Sicily.<ref name=peters12/> The mission involved [[Handley Page Halifax|Halifax]] bombers towing [[Airspeed Horsa|Horsa]] gliders {{convert|3200|mi}} from England to [[Tunisia]].<ref>Seth, p.77</ref> The Horsas were needed to complement the smaller American [[Waco glider|Waco]] gliders, which did not have the capacity required for the planned operations.<ref name=peters12>Peters and Buist, p.12</ref> During the mission two German [[Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor|Condor patrol aircraft]] located and shot down a Halifax-and-Horsa combination.<ref name=tele>{{cite news|access-date=21 June 2011|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|title=Obituary Tommy Grant|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1354357/His-Honour-D-A-Tommy-Grant.html|location=London|date=7 September 2000}}</ref> Altogether five Horsas and three Halifaxes were lost, but 27 Horsas arrived in Tunisia in time to participate in the invasion of Sicily.<ref>Lloyd, pp.43–44</ref>

[[File:1st Border reg.jpg|thumb|alt=Seven soldiers only one facing the camera, wearing hot climate uniform, in a desert type terrain|Men from the [[Border Regiment]] preparing to take off on [[Operation Ladbroke]], with a [[Folding bicycle|folding airborne bicycle]] in the foreground]]
Operation Ladbroke was a glider assault by the 1st Airlanding Brigade near [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], that began on 9 July 1943 as part of the invasion of [[Sicily]]. The brigade were equipped with 144 Waco and six Horsa gliders. Their objective was to land near the town of Syracuse, secure the Ponte Grande Bridge, and ultimately take control of the city itself with its strategically important docks.<ref>Harclerode, p.256</ref>

On the way to Sicily, 65 gliders were released too early by the towing aircraft and crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men.<ref>Mitcham, pp.73–74</ref> Of the remainder, only 87 men arrived at the Pont Grande Bridge, which they successfully captured and held beyond the time they were to be relieved.<ref name=mitch75>Mitcham, p.75</ref> Finally, with their ammunition expended and only 15 soldiers remaining unwounded, they surrendered to the Italian forces. The Italians sought to demolish the bridge after regaining control of it, but were unable to do so because the airborne forces had removed the explosive charges.<ref name=mitch75/> Other troops from the airlanding brigade, who had landed elsewhere in Sicily, destroyed communications links and captured artillery batteries.<ref>Mrazek, p.79</ref>

Operation Fustian, the division's second mission in Sicily, was carried out by the 1st Parachute Brigade. Their objective was the Primosole Bridge across the [[Simeto|Simeto River]].<ref>Tugwell, p.159</ref> The intention was for the parachute brigade, with glider-borne forces in support, to land on both sides of the river.<ref>Mrazek, p.83</ref> While one battalion seized the bridge, the other two battalions would establish defensive positions to the north and south.<ref name=rey37>Reynolds, p.37</ref> They would then hold the bridge until relieved by the advance of [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|XIII Corps]], part of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|Eighth Army]] which had landed on the southeastern coast three days previously.<ref>Mitcham, p.335</ref>

The start of the operation was a disaster. Many of the aircraft carrying the paratroopers from North Africa were shot down, or were damaged and turned back, due to both friendly fire and enemy action.<ref>Mrazek, p.84</ref> The evasive action taken by the pilots scattered the brigade over a large area, and only the equivalent of two [[Company (military)|companies]] of troops were landed in the correct locations.<ref name=rey37/><ref name=mitch152>Mitcham, p.152</ref> Despite this and the defence by German and Italian forces, the British paratroops captured the bridge. Resisting attacks from the north and south, they held out against increasing odds until nightfall.<ref name=mitch152/>

The relieving force led by the [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]], which was short of transport, found it hard going to reach the parachute brigade and were still {{convert|1|mi}} away when they halted for the night.<ref name=tug165>Tugwell, p.165</ref> By this time, with casualties mounting and supplies running short, the brigade commander, Brigadier [[Gerald Lathbury]], had relinquished control of the bridge to the Germans.<ref name=qua77>Quarrie, p.77</ref> The following day the British units joined forces, and the 9th Battalion, [[Durham Light Infantry]] with armour support attempted to recapture the bridge. It was not finally secured until three days after the start of the operation, when another battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, led by the paratroopers, established a bridgehead on the northern bank of the river.<ref name=qua77/>

===Italy===
{{Further|Operation Slapstick}}
[[File:British crew with 75 mm pack howitzer Italy Nov 1943 IWM NA 8515.jpg|alt=Six men around an artillery gun dug in with another gun in the distance|thumb|left|Men of [[1st Airlanding Light Regiment|1st Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery]] in action in Italy, where their initial deployment was by sea instead of by air.]]
Operation [[Operation Slapstick|''Slapstick'']] was an [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious landing]] at the Italian port of Taranto, part of the invasion of Italy in September 1943.<ref name=cole51>Cole, p.51</ref> The mission had been planned at short notice, following an offer by the Italian government to open the ports of Taranto and [[Brindisi]] on the [[Apulia|heel of Italy]] to the Allies.<ref>Blumenson, p.60</ref> The 1st Airborne Division was selected to undertake the mission, but at the time they were located in North Africa.<ref name=cole51/> A shortage of transport aircraft meant the division could not land by parachute and glider, and all the [[landing craft]] in the area were already allocated to the other landings: [[Allied invasion of Italy#Salerno landings|Operation Avalanche]] at [[Salerno]] on the western coast, and [[Operation Baytown]] at [[Calabria]].<ref>Tugwell, p.168</ref><ref>Blumenson, p.26</ref> Instead, the division had to be transported across the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] by ships of the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>Cole, p.52</ref> The landing was unopposed, and the airborne division successfully captured the ports of Taranto, and later Brindisi on the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] coast, in working order.<ref>Blumenson, p.114</ref>

The only German forces in the area were elements of the [[1st Parachute Division (Germany)|German 1st Parachute Division]],<ref>Molony, p.243</ref> which engaged the advancing British in ambushes and at roadblocks during a fighting withdrawal north. By the end of September, the 1st Airborne Division had advanced {{convert|125|mi}} to [[Foggia]]. Reinforcements from two infantry divisions, the [[8th Infantry Division (India)|8th Indian]] and [[78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|British 78th]], had by then been landed behind them, which allowed the airborne troops to be withdrawn back to Taranto.<ref>Cavendish, p.17</ref><ref>Prasad, p.368</ref>

Despite casualties for the 1st Airborne Division in Italy being relatively light, the [[General officer commanding|General Officer Commanding]] (GOC), [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] George Hopkinson, was killed while watching an assault by the 10th Parachute Battalion where he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine gun fire. He was replaced by Brigadier Ernest Down, previously the commander of 2nd Parachute Brigade.<ref>Otway, p.143</ref>

===England===
[[File:1stairbornedivisionitaly1943.jpeg|thumb|Men of the 1st Airlanding Brigade signal section and Italian civilians posing with a captured German flag, Italy, October 1943.]]
By December 1943 the division had returned to England and begun training for operations in North-West Europe under the supervision of [[I Airborne Corps (United Kingdom)|I Airborne Corps]]. Although the 1st Airborne Division was not scheduled to take part in the [[Normandy landings]], a contingency plan, Operation Wasteage, was drawn up whereby the division would be parachuted in to support any of the [[Invasion of Normandy|five invasion beaches]] if serious delays were experienced. This plan turned out not to be required.<ref>Peters and Buist, p.10</ref>

While the 6th Airborne Division were still fighting in Normandy, numerous plans to parachute the 1st Airborne Division into France were formulated, all to no avail. In June and July 1944, the plans included Operation Reinforcement, which was a landing to the west of [[St Sauveur-le-Vicomte]] to support the [[82nd Airborne Division|US 82nd Airborne Division]], and Operation Wild Oats that would have seen the division land south of Caen to meet the advancing 7th Armoured Division moving from Villers-Bocage and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and 4th Armoured Brigade advancing south out of the Orne bridgehead in a move to encircle and capture Caen. Such an airborne operation was vetoed by Trafford Leigh-Mallory, as being too risky for the aircraft involved. At any rate, the land portion of the attack (generally considered to be part of [[Operation Perch]]) bogged down due to German resistance and the delayed deployment of troops to Normandy.<ref>Buckley, Monty's Men: The British Army and the Liberation of Europe, pp. 64–65</ref>

[[File:Montgomeryvisits133paraambulance.jpeg|thumb|left|General Montgomery, accompanied by senior officers, visits men of the 133rd (Parachute) Field Ambulance at Oakham, March 1944.]]
There was also Operation Beneficiary, intended to support the American [[VIII Corps (United States)|VIII Corps]] in capturing [[St Malo]], and Operation Lucky Strike which had the objective of seizing bridges across the [[River Seine]] at [[Rouen]]. In Operation Sword Hilt, the division was to isolate the port of [[Brest, France|Brest]] and destroy the [[Morlaix]] viaduct. Operation Hands Up was intended to support the [[United States Army Central|US Third Army]] by seizing the [[Meucon Airport|Vannes airfield]].<ref>Peters and Buist, p.19</ref>

By August the division was still waiting to be deployed, but now plans envisioned using them as part of a larger force. Operation Transfigure involved the division, the [[52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division]], the [[101st Airborne Division|US 101st Airborne Division]], and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade landing at [[Rambouillet St Arnoult]], to close the gap between [[Orléans]] and Paris. Operation Axehead, using the same force, was to seize the bridges over the River Seine in support of [[21st Army Group]]. Operation Boxer, with the same force, was to seize [[Boulogne]] and assault [[V-1 (flying bomb)|V1 flying bomb]] sites.<ref>Peters and Buist, p.21</ref>

Near the end of the month, Operation Linnet, with the same units as before, was formulated to seize crossings over the Escaut. Operation Infatuate, drawn up in early September, involved the entire I Airborne Corps landing in Belgium to trap the retreating German armies in the [[Scheldt|Scheldt estuary]], as well as aiming to threaten [[Antwerp]].<ref>Peters and Buist, p.26</ref>

Finally, in September, there was Operation Comet, in which the division's three brigades were to land in the Netherlands and each capture a river crossing. The first of these was the bridge over the [[River Waal]] at [[Nijmegen]], the second the bridge over the [[River Maas]] at [[Grave, Netherlands|Grave]], and the last was the bridge over the [[River Rhine]] at [[Arnhem]].<ref>Peters and Buist, p.28</ref> Planning for ''Comet'' was well advanced when on 10 September the mission was cancelled. Instead, a new operation was proposed with the same objectives as ''Comet'' but to be carried out by three divisions of the [[First Allied Airborne Army]].<ref>Peters and Buist, pp.40–41</ref>

[[File:British paratroopers in Oosterbeek cropped.jpg|thumb|alt=Four men in a bombed and gunshot building, walking towards the camera over rubble|Men of [[156th Parachute Battalion (United Kingdom)|156th Parachute Battalion]] in [[Oosterbeek]], where the majority of 1st Airborne Division became trapped]]

===Arnhem===
[[Operation Market Garden]] was an airborne assault by three divisions in the Netherlands in September 1944, including the British 1st and the American 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division, to secure key bridges and towns along the expected Allied axis of advance. Farthest north, 1st Airborne, supported by the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade, landed at Arnhem to secure bridges across the [[Nederrijn]]. Initially expecting an easy advance, [[XXX Corps (United Kingdom)|XXX Corps]], under [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[Brian Horrocks]], to reach the airborne force at Arnhem within two to three days.<ref name="Ferguson" />

The 1st Airborne Division landed some distance from its objectives and was quickly hampered by unexpected resistance, especially from elements of the [[9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen|9th SS]] and [[10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg|10th SS Panzer Division]]s.<ref name=ferg22>Ferguson, p.22</ref> Only a small force was able to reach the [[Arnhem road bridge]], while the main body of the division was halted on the [[Rural-urban fringe|outskirts]] of the city.<ref name=ferg22/> Meanwhile, XXX Corps was unable to advance north as quickly as anticipated and failed to relieve the airborne troops.<ref name=ferg25>Ferguson, p.25</ref>

After four days, the small British force at the bridge was overwhelmed and the rest of the division became trapped in a pocket north of the river, where they could not be sufficiently reinforced by the Poles, or by XXX Corps when it arrived on the southern bank.<ref name=ferg25/> After nine days of fighting, the shattered remains of the airborne forces were eventually withdrawn south of the Rhine. 1st Airborne lost 8,000 men during the battle and never saw combat again.<ref name="Ferguson_a" />

===Norway post-war===
{{Further|Operation Doomsday}}
In May 1945, immediately after the Allied [[Victory in Europe Day]], the 1st Airborne Division was sent to disarm and repatriate the 350,000-strong German occupation army in Norway.<ref name=modvarsity>{{cite web |access-date=12 August 2011 |publisher=[[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)]] |title=Operation Varsity |date=26 March 2004 |url=http://www.army.mod.uk/para/history/rhine.htm |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20061101003926/http://www.army.mod.uk/para/history/rhine.htm |archive-date=1 November 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the occupation force, Force 134. During its time in Norway, the division was tasked with supervising the surrender of the German forces in Norway, as well as preventing the sabotage of important military and civilian facilities.<ref name=ferg30>Ferguson, p.30</ref>

The [[German Instrument of Surrender]] was delivered on 8 May to General [[Franz Böhme]], the commander of all German forces stationed in Norway; the 1st Airborne Division landed near [[Oslo]] and [[Stavanger]] between 9 and 11 May.<ref>Hart, p.228</ref><ref name="Otway, p.327"/> Most of the transport aircraft carrying the division landed safely, but one crash caused several fatalities.<ref>Otway, p.326</ref> The division encountered little of the expected German resistance.<ref name=otway328>Otway, p.328</ref> Operational duties included welcoming back King [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon]], looking after Allied ex-prisoners of war, arresting war criminals and supervising the clearing of minefields.<ref name=otway328/> While in Norway, the division was also able to investigate what happened to the airborne troops who had taken part in Operation Freshman.<ref name="ferg30"/> The division returned to Britain, and was disbanded on 26 August 1945.<ref name=modvarsity/>

==Commanders==
Commanders of the division were;
* 1941–1943: Major General [[Frederick Browning|Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning]] GCVO KBE CB DSO<ref>Mead, pp.84–87</ref>
* 1943: Major General [[George Frederick Hopkinson]] OBE MC<ref>Mead, pp.465–469</ref>
* 1943: Major General [[Ernest Edward Down]], KBE, CB<ref>Mead, p.515</ref>
* 1944–1945: Major General [[Robert Elliott Urquhart]] CB DSO<ref>Mead, pp.207–210</ref>

==Order of battle==
The division had the following composition:<ref>Joslen, pp. 104–105</ref><ref>Otway, pp.438–439</ref>
* [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]]
* [[1st Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Airlanding Brigade]]
* [[2nd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Parachute Brigade]]
* [[3rd Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|3rd Parachute Brigade]]
* [[4th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Parachute Brigade]]
* Divisional troops
** Divisional headquarters and signal squadron
** [[1st Airlanding Light Regiment]], [[Royal Artillery]]
** 1st Airlanding Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
*** [[1st Argyll and Bute Artillery Volunteers#204 (Oban) Anti-Tank Battery|204th (Oban) Independent Anti-Tank Battery]] (later 2nd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery)
*** 1st Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery
*** 5th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery
** [[283rd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery|283rd Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Battery]] (later 1st (City of London Yeomanry) Airlanding LAA Battery) (''left 21 February 1944'')
** 1st Forward (Airborne) Observation Unit, Royal Artillery
** [[Pathfinder (military)#History|21st Independent Parachute Company]], [[Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)|Army Air Corps]]
** 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron
** [[9 Parachute Squadron RE|9th (Airborne) Field Company]], [[Royal Engineers]]
** [[1st Somersetshire Engineers|261st (Airborne) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers]]
** [[591st (Antrim) Airborne Squadron, Royal Engineers]] (''from 1 June 1945'')
** 1st Airborne Division Postal Unit, Royal Engineers
** 250th (Airborne) Light Company, [[Royal Army Service Corps]]
** 93rd Company, Royal Army Service Corps
** Detachment Ordnance Field Park
** Detachment, [[Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]] Workshop
** 89th Field Security Section, [[Intelligence Corps (United Kingdom)|Intelligence Corps]]
** 1st Airborne Division, Provost Company, [[Royal Military Police]]

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom}}
* ''[[Theirs is the Glory]]''
* [[List of British divisions in World War II]]

==Notes==
;Footnotes
{{Reflist|group=nb}}
;Citations
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|24em}}
* {{cite book|last1=Blockwell|first1=Albert|last2=Clifton|first2=Maggie|title=Diary of a Red Devil: By Glider to Arnhem with the 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers|publisher=Helion & Company|location=Solihill, United Kingdom|year=2005|isbn=1-874622-13-2|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Blumenson|first=Martin|year=1969|location=Washington, D.C.|series=[[United States Army in World War II]], Mediterranean Theater of Operations |title=Salerno to Cassino|publisher=Department of the Army |oclc=631290895|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Cavendish|first=Marshall|title=Global Chaos World War II|year=2010|location=New York|publisher=Marshall Cavendish Benchmark|isbn=978-0-7614-4948-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/globalchaos0000unse|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Cole|first=Howard N|title=On wings of healing: the story of the Airborne Medical Services 1940–1960|publisher=William Blackwood|location=Edinburgh|year=1963|oclc=29847628|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Ferguson|first=Gregor|title=The Paras 1940–84|series=Volume 1 of Elite series
|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford, UK|year=1984|isbn=0-85045-573-1|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Flint|first=Keith|title=Airborne Armour: Tetrarch, Locust, Hamilcar and the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment 1938–1950|location=Solihull, UK|publisher=Helion & Company Ltd|year=2006|isbn=1-874622-37-X|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last1=Guard|first1=Julie|title=Airborne: World War II Paratroopers in Combat|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford, UK|isbn=978-1-84603-196-0|year=2007|ref=none }}
* {{cite book |last=Greenacre |first=John |title=Churchill's Spearhead: The Development of Britain's Airborne Forces During the Second World War |publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation |location=Barnsley |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84884-271-7|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last1=Gregory|first1=Barry|last2=Batchelor|first2=John|title=Airborne warfare, 1918–1945|publisher=Exeter Books|year=1979|location=Exeter, Devon|isbn=978-0-89673-025-0|ref=none }}
* {{Cite book|last=Harclerode|first=Peter|title=Wings Of War – Airborne Warfare 1918–1945|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|location=London|year=2005|isbn=0-304-36730-3|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|first1=Bernd|last1=Horn|first2=Michael|last2=Wyczynski|title=Paras versus the Reich Canada's paratroopers at war, 1942–45|location=Toronto, Canada|publisher=Dundurn Press |year=2003|isbn=978-1-55002-470-8|ref=none }}
* {{Joslen-OOB|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Lynch|first=Tim|title=Silent Skies: Gliders At War 1939-1945|location=Barnsley, UK|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7503-0633-1|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Lloyd|first=Alan|title=The Gliders: The Story of Britain's Fighting Gliders and the Men who Flew Them |publisher=Corgi|location=Ealing, United Kingdom|year=1982|isbn=0-552-12167-3|ref=none }}
* {{cite book |last=Mead |first=Richard |title=Churchill's Lions: A Biographical Guide to the Key British Generals of World War II |year=2007 |publisher=Spellmount |location=Stroud |isbn=978-1-86227-431-0 |oclc=171539131|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last1=Mitcham|first1=Samuel W|last2=Von Stauffenberg|first2=Friedrich|title=The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory|series=Stackpole Military History Series|publisher=Stackpole Books|location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8117-3403-5|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|first3=Major-General H.L.| last3=Davies| last2=with Flynn| first2=Captain F.C. (R.N.)| last1=Molony| first1=Brigadier C.J.C.| last4=Gleave| first4=Group Captain T.P.|editor-last=Butler| editor-first=Sir James| editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler |series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series| title=The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944| publisher=Naval & Military Press |location=Uckfield, UK |year=2004| orig-year=1st. pub. [[HMSO]]:1973| isbn=1-84574-069-6| name-list-style=amp|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Moreman|first=Timothy Robert|title=British Commandos 1940–46|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford, UK|year=2006|isbn=1-84176-986-X|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Mrazek|first=James|title=Airborne Combat: Axis and Allied Glider Operations in World War II|series=Military History Series|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2011|location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-0-8117-0808-1|ref=none }}
* {{cite book| last=Otway| first=Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H.|author-link=Terence Otway| title=Army – Airborne Forces in the Second World War| publisher=Imperial War Museum|location=London|year= 1990| isbn=0-901627-57-7|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last1=Peters|first1=Mike|last2=Luuk|first2=Buist|title=Glider Pilots at Arnhem|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|location=Barnsley, UK|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84415-763-1|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Pettibone |first=Charles D.|title=The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II|date=2005|publisher=Trafford|isbn=9781412074988|location=Victoria, B.C.|volume=II - The British Commonwealth |ref=none}}
* {{cite book|first=Bisheshwar|last=Prasad|title=The Campaigns in the Western Theatre Official History of the Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War, 1939–1945|publisher=Combined Inter-Services Historical Section|location=Calcutta|year=1956|oclc=164872723|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Quarrie|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Quarrie|title=German Airborne Divisions: Mediterranean Theatre 1942–45|series=Volume 15 of Battle Orders|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford, UK|year=2005|isbn=1-84176-828-6|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Reynolds|first=David|title=Paras: An Illustrated History of Britain's Airborne Forces|publisher=Sutton Publishing|location=Stroud, UK|year=1998|isbn=0-7509-2059-9|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Saunders|first=Hilary Aidan St. George|author-link=Hilary Saint George Saunders|title=The Red Beret: the Story of the Parachute Regiment at War, 1940–1945|edition=4|publisher=Michael Joseph|location=Torrington, UK|year=1950 |oclc=2927434|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Seth|first=Ronald|author-link=Ronald Seth|title=Lion with Blue Wings: The Story of the Glider Pilot Regiment, 1942–1945|publisher=Gollancz|location=London|year=1955|oclc=7997514|ref=none }}
* {{Cite book|last1=Shortt|first1=James|last2=McBride|first2=Angus|title=The Special Air Service|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford, UK|year=1981|isbn=0-85045-396-8|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Claude|title=History of the Glider Pilot Regiment|location=London|publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation|year=1992|isbn=1-84415-626-5|ref=none }}
* {{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=Major-General Julian|author-link=Julian Thompson (Royal Marines officer)|title=Ready for Anything: The Parachute Regiment at War|publisher=Fontana Press|location=Fontana, California|year=1990|isbn=0-00-637505-7|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Tugwell|first=Maurice|title=Airborne to Battle: A History of Airborne Warfare, 1918–1971|publisher=Kimber|location=London|year=1971|isbn=0-7183-0262-1|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Urquhart|first=Robert|author-link=Roy Urquhart|title=Arnhem|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|location=Barnsley, UK|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84415-537-8|ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last=Wilson|first=R. D|title=Cordon and Search: with 6th Airborne Division in Palestine|publisher=Pen & Sword Military|year=2008|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84415-771-6|ref=none }}
{{Refend}}

{{British parachute units of the Second World War}}
{{British Army Divisions}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Airborne Division}}
[[Category:British World War II divisions]]
[[Category:Airborne divisions of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941|Airborne Division UK]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945|Airborne Division UK]]
[[Category:Operation Market Garden]]

Silent Unseen

2025-08-04T20:27:18Z

2A02:8012:227B:0:5489:6C63:CA00:997E: Removed Category:Paratroopers as Category:Cichociemni is already a subcategory of the same

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name = Silent Unseen
|image = POL Dębowiec Pomnik Cichociemnych po rocznicy.JPG
|image_size = 280px
|caption = Monument to the Silent Unseen in [[Dębowiec, Cieszyn County|Dębowiec]]
|dates = 16 February 1941 – 27 December 1944
|country = [[occupied Poland]]
|allegiance = [[Polish government-in-exile]]
|type = [[Special operations]] paratroops<ref name="Encykl">{{cite web | url=http://www.cichociemni.ovh.org/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208033858/http://cichociemni.ovh.org/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=2006-02-08 | title=Cichociemni | publisher=Encyklopedia skoczków AK | work=Sezony operacyjne. Ekipy Spadochronowe | date=2015 | access-date=18 October 2015 | author=KubaWinter | at=Introduction with Index of Individual Subpages }}</ref>
|role = Armed forces of [[Polish Underground State]]/[[Polish government-in-exile]]
|size =
|command_structure =
|past_commanders =
|notable_commanders =
|identification_symbol = [[File:Znak spadochronowy AK.png|80px]]
|nickname =
|march =
|mascot =
|battles = [[World War II]]
* [[Operation Tempest]]
* [[Operation Ostra Brama]]
* [[Lwów Uprising]]
* [[Warsaw Uprising]]
|anniversaries =
|decorations =
|battle_honors =
}}

The '''Silent Unseen''' ([[Polish language|Polish]]: ''Cichociemni'', {{IPA|pl|t͡ɕixɔˈt͡ɕɛmɲi}}) were elite [[special operations|special-operations]] paratroopers of the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]], created in [[Great Britain]] during [[World War II]] to operate in [[occupied Poland]] (''Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej'').<ref name="Osmecki350">[[Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki]], ''The Unseen and Silent: Adventures from the Underground Movement, Narrated by Paratroops of the Polish Home Army'', Sheed and Ward, 1954, p. 350.</ref>

A total of 2,613 Polish Army soldiers volunteered for training by Polish and British [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] operatives. Only 606 people completed the training, and eventually 316 of them were secretly parachuted into occupied Poland.
The first operation ("air bridge", as it was called) took place on 15 February 1941. This operation was conducted by Captain Józef Zabielski, Major Stanisław Krzymowski and political courier Czesław Raczkowski. After 27 December 1944 further operations were discontinued, as by then most of Poland had been occupied by the [[Red Army]].

Of 316 Cichociemni, 103 perished during the war: in combat with the Germans, executed by the [[Gestapo]], or in crashes. A further nine were executed after the war by the [[Polish People's Republic]]; the communist regime was hostile to the Cichociemni, considered to be British ideologised infiltrators.<ref name=guardian>{{Cite news |title=Families of Poland's secret army asked to share stories of wartime Britain |last1=Bakare |first1=Lanre |newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 February 2021 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/15/families-of-polands-secret-army-asked-to-share-stories-of-wartime-britain}}</ref> Ninety-one ''Cichociemni'' operatives took part in the [[Warsaw Uprising]] of 1944.

==Name==
The origins of the name are obscure and may never be known with certainty. "Silent Unseen" probably related to how some soldiers seemingly disappeared from their line units overnight to volunteer for special operations service, and it also describes those "who appear silently where they are least expected, play havoc with the enemy and disappear whence they came, unnoticed, unseen."<ref>[[:pl:Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki|Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki]], ''The Unseen and Silent, p. 350.</ref>

The Silent Unseen were trained initially in Scotland in preparation for missions for the Polish underground in occupied Poland, such as building-clearance and bridge-demolition. In 1944, training was also carried out in [[Brindisi]], Italy, which had fallen to the Allies.

Initially, the name was informal and was used mainly by soldiers who volunteered to parachute into Poland. However, from September 1941 the name became official and was used in all documents. It was applied to the secret Polish Headquarters training unit created to provide agents with necessary knowledge, money and equipment and to agents who were transported to Poland and other [[German-occupied Europe|German-occupied countries]].

==History==
On 30 December 1939 [[Captain (land)|Captain]] Jan Górski, a Polish Army officer who had escaped to France after the [[invasion of Poland]], drew up a report for the Polish Chief of Staff. Górski proposed creating a secret unit to maintain contact with the underground ''[[ZWZ]]'', using a group of well-trained envoys. After his report was ignored, Górski resubmitted it several times. Finally the commander of the [[Polish Air Force]], General Zając, replied that, while creation of such a unit would be a good move, the Polish Air Force had no means of transport and no training facilities for such a unit.

Górski and his colleague [[Maciej Kalenkiewicz]] continued studying the possibility of paratroops and [[special forces]]. After the capitulation of [[France]], they managed to reach the United Kingdom. They studied documents on German paratroops and drafted a plan to create in exile a Polish [[airborne force]] to be used in covert support operations. The force was to be employed solely in aid of a future [[Operation Tempest|uprising]] in occupied Poland. Their plan was never adopted, but on 20 September 1940 the Polish [[commander-in-chief]], General [[Władysław Sikorski]], ordered the creation of Section III of the Commander-in-Chief's Staff (''Oddział III Sztabu Naczelnego Wodza''). Section III's purpose was [[contingency planning]] for [[covert operations]] in Poland, air delivery of arms and supplies, and training of paratroops.

===Training===
Soon after, the General Staff's Section III began recruiting volunteers. Those selected left their erstwhile units in secret, silently and at night – hence, the perhaps at first facetious name, ''Cichociemni'' ("Silent Unseen"). Of 2,413 candidates, only 605 managed to complete the training and pass all the tests; of those, 579 qualified for airlift.

The volunteers included 1 general, 112 staff officers, 894 officers, 592 [[non-commissioned officer]]s (NCOs), 771 privates, 15 women, and 28 civilian emissaries of the [[Polish Government in Exile]]. The training established by the General Staff's Section VI (''Oddział VI Sztabu Naczelnego Wodza'') and the British [[Special Operations Executive]] (SOE) comprised five courses:
* workout course (''kurs zaprawowy'')
* psychological and technical investigations course (''kurs badań psychotechnicznych'')
* parachuting course (''kurs spadochronowy'')
* covert-operations course (''kurs walki konspiracyjnej'')
* briefing course (''kurs odprawowy'')

During the first phase of training, all the volunteers were taught to use every kind of weapon (British, Polish, German, Russian and Italian weapons) and mines. In additional courses, the soldiers were trained in basic covert operations, topography, cryptography, and sharpshooting. They were also taught details of life in occupied Poland, from German-imposed laws to current fashions in occupied Warsaw. The fourth course included all kinds of covert operations, [[jujitsu]], and shooting at invisible targets. The briefing course included learning a new, false identity. All soldiers who passed the training were sworn in as members of the [[Armia Krajowa|Home Army]].

===Air bridges===
[[Image:Cichociemni Radom-Kielce 22Sept1944.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''Cichociemni'' after delivery to [[Home Army]] [[Radom]]-[[Kielce]] inspectorate, 22 September 1944]]
The first [[airbridge (logistics)|air-bridge operation]] took place on 15 February 1941. The Allied air commands carried out 483 air-bridge operations all together, losing 68 planes to crashes and enemy fire. Apart from the Silent Unseen themselves, some 630 tons of war [[materiel]] were delivered in special containers. In addition, agents delivered the following sums of money to the Home Army:
* 40,869,800 forged [[Polish zloty|zlotys]];
* US$26,299,375 in [[banknote]]s and gold;
* [[pound sterling|£]]1,755 in gold;
* [[Reichsmark|RM]] 3,578,000.

Through 27 December 1944, 316 soldiers and 28 emissaries successfully parachuted into Poland. Additionally, 17 agents were dropped into Albania, France, Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia. An unknown number of Poles (including the best known, [[Krystyna Skarbek]]) were also parachuted into France by the British Special Operations Executive to start an underground movement among the half-million-strong [[Polish diaspora|Polish minority]].

Though the Silent Unseen were organized in collaboration with SOE, it was largely independent. The Polish section of SOE was the only one which freely chose its own men and operated its own radio communications with an occupied country. Additionally, the identities of the Polish agents were known only to the Polish General Staff. Those transported to Poland included soldiers of all grades. The oldest was 54 years old, the youngest was 20. As a rule, all volunteers were promoted one rank at the moment of their jump.
[[Image:Ponury group Wykus.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Silent Unseen of a [[Home Army]] ''[[Kedyw]]'' unit, [[Radom]]-[[Kielce]] Home Army area, 1944]]

===The fight===
In Poland the Silent Unseen were assigned mostly to special units of the ''[[ZWZ]]'' and [[Armia Krajowa|Home Army]]. Most of them joined ''[[Wachlarz]]'', ''[[Zwiazek Odwetu|Związek Odwetu]]'' and ''[[KeDyw]]''. Many became important staff officers of the Polish Secret Army and took part in [[Operation Tempest]] and uprisings in [[Operation Ostra Brama|Wilno]], [[Lwów Uprising|Lwów]] and [[Warsaw Uprising|Warsaw]].

The Silent Unseen assumed various duties in [[German-occupied Europe]]. Some 37 worked in intelligence, 50 were radio operators and emissaries, 24 were staff officers, 22 were airmen and [[airdrop]] coordinators, 11 were instructors of armored forces and instructors in anti-tank warfare at secret military schools, 3 were trained in forging documents, 169 were trained in covert operations and [[Partisan (military)|partisan warfare]], and 28 were emissaries of the Polish government.<ref name="Osmecki350"/>

==Famous Silent Unseen==
The most notable Silent Unseen included:
{| width="98%" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: middle;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;background:#B0C4DE"|Rank
! style="text-align:center;background:#B0C4DE"|Name and pseudonym
! style="text-align:center;background:#B0C4DE"|Dropped
! style="text-align:center;background:#B0C4DE"|Note
|-
|Captain
|[[:pl:Józef Zabielski (cichociemny)|Józef Zabielski]] - ''Żbik''
|15 February 1941
|Dropped into Poland in the first Cichociemni operation, the night of 15–16 February 1941, with Stanisław Krzymowski and Czesław Raczkowski.
|-
| Colonel
| [[Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki]] - ''Antoni''
| {{nobreak|14 March 1943}}
| Commander of [[Armia Krajowa|Home Army]] General Staff Section II ([[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] and [[counterintelligence]]); discovered the German [[V-1 (flying bomb)|V-1]] and [[V-2 rocket|V-2]] testing facility at [[Peenemünde]]; fought in the Warsaw Uprising.
|-
| General
| [[Leopold Okulicki]] - ''Niedźwiadek''
| 14 March 1943
| Last commander of the [[Home Army]]; commander of the ''[[NIE (resistance)|Nie]]'' organization; arrested by the [[NKVD]] and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in the staged [[Trial of the Sixteen]], he was murdered on 24 December 1946 in [[Moscow]]'s [[Butyrka prison]].
|-
| Second Lieutenant, later Lieutenant (now Brigadier-General rtd., an honorary rank)
| [[Stefan Bałuk]] - ''Starba''; ''Kubuś''
| {{nobreak|10 April 1944}}
| Specialist in document-forging and microphotography, an operative of the "Agaton" legalization section, participant in [[Armia Krajowa|Home Army]] intelligence operations. During the Warsaw Uprising, he was deputy commander of "Agaton" Platoon, and finally commander of "Communications Unit 59", a detachment protecting the Home Army General Staff.
|-
| Captain
| Tadeusz Klimowski - ''Klon''
| 7 January 1942
| Chief of Staff of the [[Polish 27th Home Army Infantry Division]]
|-
| Second Lieutenant
| [[Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt]] - ''Sulima''
| 28 December 1941 and 4 April 1944
| Operation Jacket and Operation Salamander—the only Silent Unseen to go on two parachute missions and return to base
|-
| Captain
| Adam Borys - ''Pług''
| 2 October 1942
| organizer of the [[Batalion Parasol|Agat]] group fighting against the [[Gestapo]]. The unit's best-known operation was the assassination of [[Franz Kutschera]], [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] and [[Reich]] Police Chief in [[Warsaw]], in an operation known as '''[[Operation Kutschera]]'''
|-
| Captain
| [[Władysław Kochański]] - ''Wujek / Bomba''
| 2 September 1942
| organizer of the Huta Stepańska and 700 strong Huta Stara (Bomba's Unit) self-defences. Kidnapped by Soviet Partisans in December 1943 and imprisoned in the Soviet gulags. Released in 1956 and returned to Poland, worked and studied at the Higher School of Economics, graduating in 1963 with a master's degree. Awarded the Silver Cross of Military Virtue.
|-
| Warrant Officer
| [[Adolf Pilch]] - ''Góra'', ''Dolina''
| 17 February 1943
| organizer of a 1000-strong cavalry partisan unit in the [[Nowogródek]] area, broke through to the [[Kampinos]] forest near [[Warsaw]] and liberated it with his men, fighting 235 battles between 3 June 1943 and 17 January 1945.
|-
| Lieutenant Colonel
| [[Maciej Kalenkiewicz]] - ''Kotwicz''
| 28 December 1941
| organizer of the Cichociemni and the main planner of the [[Operation Ostra Brama]], [[Killed in action|KIA]] in the [[Battle of Surkonty]] against [[NKVD]] forces on 21 August 1944.
|-
| Lieutenant
| Józef Czuma - ''Skryty''
| 18 February 1943
| organizer of a partisan unit of his name in the Warsaw area, arrested by the [[Gestapo]] on 12 July 1944, probably tortured to death in [[Pawiak]] prison.
|-
| Lieutenant, later Captain
| [[Stanisław Jankowski]] - ''Agaton''
| 3 March 1942
| forgery specialist, help set up the Home Army's document forgery department, codenamed 'Agaton section'; commander of 'Agaton Platoon' during the Warsaw Uprising; later he became an aide-de-camp to the Home Army's C-in-C, [[Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski]]; he survived the war to become a notable architect
|-
| Colonel
| Józef Spychalski - ''Grudzień'', ''Luty''
| 31 March 1942
| commander of the [[Kraków]] [[Armia Krajowa|AK]] Area, arrested by Gestapo on 24 March 1944.
|-
| Colonel
| Roman Rudkowski
| 26 January 1943
| commander of the 3rd Detachment of the Home Army General Staff (air forces and aerial deliveries).
|-
| Major
| [[Bolesław Kontrym]]
| 2 September 1942
| organizer of the secret police force, took part in the Warsaw Uprising. After the war, he was arrested by Poland's [[Urząd Bezpieczeństwa|Security Service]] and executed in January 1953.
|-
| Major
| [[Hieronim Dekutowski]] "Zapora" "Odra", "Reżu", "Stary", "Henryk Zagon"
| 16–17 September 1943
| Dropped on the night of 16–17 September 1943, along with Bronisław Rachwał "Glin" and Kazimierz Smolaker "Nurek", as part of Operation “Neon 1”. Initially he was a staff officer in a Home Army unit commanded by Tadeusz Kuncewicz "Podkowa". Eventually, he became commanding officer of the 4th company of the 9th Pułk Piechoty Legionów AK of the Local Inspectorate of Home Army "Zamość". In addition to [[sabotage]] and his regular fighting against German anti-partisan units, he organized hideouts for Jewish refugees in his partisan camps. After the war, he joined ''[[Wolność i Niezawisłość]]''. He was arrested by the [[Urząd Bezpieczeństwa|Security Service]], tortured, and tried in secret on 3 November 1948. He was sentenced to death and executed on 7 March 1949. His burial place is unknown.
|-
| Major (posthumously)<ref name="Libra">{{cite book |url=http://libra.pl/?wpsc-product=major-waclaw-kopiso-cichociemny-oficer-ak-sybirak |title=Major Wacław Kopisto - Cichociemny Oficer AK Sybirak |publisher=Wydawnictwo Libra PL sp. z o.o., Rzeszów |access-date=19 April 2014 |author=Krzysztof A. Tochman |year=2010 |isbn=9788389183583 }}</ref>
| [[Wacław Kopisto]] "Kra"
| 2 September 1942
| Dropped into Poland on 2 September 1942. Commander of [[Kedyw]] in the [[Łuck]] Inspectorate,<ref name="SBPL">{{cite web|url=http://www.powiat-lancut.com.pl/?biografie&litera=K |publisher=Słownik biograficzny powiatu łańcuckiego |title=Wacław Kopisto |access-date=19 April 2014 |author=S.B.P.L. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419215900/http://www.powiat-lancut.com.pl/?biografie&litera=K |archive-date=19 April 2014 }}</ref> organized Polish [[Depolonization of Volyn|self-defence in Wołyń]]. He was captured by the Soviets in 1944 and sentenced to death, commuted to 10 years in [[Gulag|Siberia]]. He returned to Poland in 1955.<ref name="SBPL"/>
|-
| Major
| Jan Piwnik "Ponury"
| 7 November 1941
| Dropped into Poland on 7 November 1941. He was commanding officer of [[KeDyw]] in the Radom-Kielce [[Home Army]] district. He organized a large Home Army unit, Zgrupowania Partyzanckie Armii Krajowej "Ponury". He was killed in action near the village of Jewlaszcze on 16 June 1944.
|-
| Brigadier-General rtd. (an honorary rank)
| [[Elżbieta Zawacka]] - "Zelma", "Zo"
| 10 September 1943
| the only female Silent Unseen agent to be dropped into occupied Poland; she served as a courier between Home Army Headquarters and the [[Polish Government in Exile]]. After the war, she was [[arrested]] and [[tortured]] by the [[Urząd Bezpieczeństwa|Security Service]] and spent a long period in prison. After the war, she pursued academic research, earning a [[doctorate degree|doctorate]] from [[Gdańsk University]].
|-
| Lieutenant Colonel
| Stanisław Dmowski - "Podlasiak"
| 27 December 1944
| Dropped into Poland to drop point Wilga during Operation ''Staszek 2'', he subsequently fought in Battalion ''"Andrzej"'' operating in Silesia, disrupting German communications and harassing their retreating forces. After the arrival of Russian forces, he was at the disposal of Area Commander Kraków, where he was Chief of Action 2 and Military Intelligence, Home Army Headquarters.
Arrested and interrogated by the [[Urząd Bezpieczeństwa|Security Service]], he was released and escaped from Poland in 1946.
|}

==Losses==
Of 344 men transported to Poland, 113 were [[killed in action]]:
* 84 in fighting against the Germans, or arrested and tortured to death by the Gestapo;
* 10 committed suicide in German prisons or concentration camps;
* 10 were executed by the Communists during or after the war;
* 9 were shot down with their planes before reaching their targets.

Of 91 Silent Unseen who took part in the [[Warsaw Uprising]], 18 were killed in action.

==Postwar==
The first book on the Silent Unseen was published in England in 1954. The Polish edition, ''Drogi cichociemnych: opowiadania zebrane i opracowane przez koło spadochroniarzy Armii Krajowej'', was published by Veritas; and an English edition, ''The Unseen and Silent: Adventures from the Underground Movement, Narrated by Paratroops of the Polish Home Army'', was published by Sheed and Ward.

The Polish edition was republished in England several times, last in 1973. A miniature version of ''Drogi cichociemnych'' was published in two volumes in communist Poland in 1985 by ''Kurs''.

[http://ahm.1944.pl/Stefan_Baluk General Stefan Bałuk]'s memoir, ''Byłem Cichociemnym'' (''I was a Cichociemny''), was published in 2008. He was 94 years old when it first appeared in bookstores. In 2009 it was translated into English as ''Silent and Unseen: I was a WW II Special Ops Commando''.

On 4 August 1995, the Polish special-forces unit ''[[GROM]]'' adopted the name and traditions of the ''Cichociemni''.

[[Telewizja Polska|Polish TV]] has produced a series, ''[[Czas honoru]]'' (Time of Honour), about the Silent Unseen.

An urban park commemorating the paratroopers, known as the [[Silent Unseen Park]], was established in 2016 in [[Warsaw]].

==See also==
{{Commons category|Cichociemni}}
* [[Home Army]]
* [[Kedyw]]
* [[Polish government-in-exile]]
* [[Stanisław Sosabowski]]
* [[Warsaw Rising Museum]]
* [[Western betrayal]]
* [[GROM Military Unit]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Ian Valentine, ''Station 43: Audley End House and SOE's Polish Section'', The History Press, 2006, p. 224, {{ISBN|0-7509-4255-X}}.
* Hubert Królikowski, ''Tobie Ojczyzno – Cichociemni: Wojskowa Formacja Specjalna GROM im. Cichociemnych Spadochroniarzy Armii Krajowej, 1990-2000'', Gdańsk, 2001.
* P. Bystrzycki, ''Znak cichociemnych'', Warsaw, 1985.
* ''Drogi cichociemnych'', Warsaw, 1993.
*[[:pl:Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki|Kazimierz Iranek-Osmecki]], ''The Unseen and Silent: Adventures from the Underground Movement, Narrated by Paratroops of the Polish Home Army'', Sheed and Ward, 1954.
* Jędrzej Tucholski, ''Cichociemni'', Warsaw, Instytut Wydawniczy PAX, 1984, {{ISBN|83-211-0537-8}}..
* Jan Szatsznajder, ''Cichociemni: Z Polski do Polski'' (The Silent Unseen: From Poland to Poland), Wrocław, 1985.
* C. Chlebowski, ''Cztery z tysiąca'' (Four of a Thousand), Warsaw, KAW, 1981.
* G. Korczyński - ''Polskie oddziały specjalne w II wojnie światowej'', Warsaw, [[Dom Wydawniczy Bellona]], 2006, {{ISBN|83-11-10280-5}}.
* [[Elżbieta Zawacka]], ''Katarzyna Minczykowska'', Wydawnictwo Fundacji Archiwum Pomorskie Armii Krajowej, Toruń, 2007.

{{Home Army Units}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cichociemni| ]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of Poland in World War II]]
[[Category:Home Army]]
[[Category:Guerrilla organizations]]
[[Category:Military parachuting]]
[[Category:Special forces of Poland]]
[[Category:Polish underground organisations during World War II]]
[[Category:Polish resistance during World War II]]

1st Independent Parachute Brigade (Poland)

2025-08-04T20:20:07Z

2A02:8012:227B:0:5489:6C63:CA00:997E: Removed Category:Paratroopers as already in Category:Airborne infantry brigades

{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=1st Independent Parachute Brigade 1. Samodzielna Brygada Spadochronowa (Polish)
|image=Sztandar 1 SBS.jpg
|caption=Brigade standard
|country={{flag|Poland}}
|allegiance=[[Polish government-in-exile]]
|type=[[Airborne forces]]
|dates=23 September 1941 – 30 June 1947
|specialization=[[Paratrooper|Parachute infantry]]
|size=[[Brigade]]
|command_structure=[[Polish Armed Forces in the West]]
|battle_honours=[[Order of William]]
|garrison=
|ceremonial_chief=
|nickname=
|motto="Najkrótszą drogą" (By The Shortest Way)
|colors=
|march=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Operation Market Garden]]
|notable_commanders=[[Generał brygady|Gen. bryg.]] [[Stanisław Sosabowski]]
|anniversaries=
}}
The '''1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade''' was a [[Paratrooper|parachute infantry]] [[brigade]] of the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]] under the command of [[Major general|Major General]] [[Stanisław Sosabowski]], created in September 1941 during the [[World War II|Second World War]] and based in [[Scotland]].

Originally, the brigade's exclusive mission was to drop into [[occupied Poland]] in order to help liberate the country. The [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]], however, pressured the Poles into allowing the unit to be used in the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western theatre of war]]. [[Operation Market Garden]] eventually saw the unit sent into action in support of the [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 1st Airborne Division]] at the [[Battle of Arnhem]] in September 1944.<ref>{{cite book |last=Russell |first=Edward T. |date=1999 |title=Leaping the Atlantic Wall. Army Air Forces Campaigns in Western Europe, 1942–1945 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/AAF-Leaping/index.html |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Air Force History and Museums Program |page=21 |isbn=978-0-16061-384-5 |via=[[ibiblio]]}}</ref> The first Poles were landed by [[Glider (military)|glider]] from 18 September. Bad weather over England delayed the parachute section of the Brigade until 21 September, when it parachuted into [[Driel]] on the South bank of the Rhine. The Poles suffered significant casualties during the next few days of fighting, but still were able, by their presence, to cause about 2,500 German troops to be diverted to deal with them for fear of their supporting the remnants of the 1st Airborne trapped over the lower Rhine in [[Oosterbeek]]. Some of the Polish paratroopers, including Stanisław Kulik,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kinloch |first=Nicholas |title=From the Soviet Gulag to Arnhem: A Polish Paratrooper's Epic Wartime Journey |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2023 |isbn=978-1399045919}}</ref> managed to get across the Rhine to support the 1st Airborne, but when the retreat order came there were not enough boats to get everyone back across. The Dutch underground then helped shelter some of the paratroopers for around a month, until they could be rescued in [[Operation Pegasus]].

==History==
The Brigade was originally trained close to [[RAF Ringway]] and later in [[Upper Largo]] in Scotland. It was finally based in Lincolnshire, close to [[RAF Spitalgate]] (Grantham) where it continued training until its eventual departure for Europe after D-Day.

[[File:Sosabowski Stanislaw3.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Stanisław Sosabowski]], the brigade's commander]]

The Brigade was formed by the Polish High Command in exile with the aim of its being used to support the [[Armia Krajowa|Polish resistance]] during the [[Operation Tempest|nationwide uprising]], a plan that encountered opposition from the British, who argued that a single brigade would be of no use against the entire German army stationed in Occupied Poland.<ref name="ZalogaHook1982">{{cite book |last1=Zaloga |first1=Steven J. |last2=Hook |first2=Richard |title=The Polish Army 1939-45 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1-ICwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|year=1982|publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-0-85045-417-8 |page=21}}</ref> The pressure of the British government eventually caused the Poles to give in and agree to let the Brigade be used on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]].<ref name="ZalogaHook1982"/> On 6 June 1944 the unit, originally the only Polish unit directly subordinate to the [[Polish government-in-exile]] and thus independent of the British command, was transferred into the same command structure as all other [[Polish Forces in the West]]. It was allocated to take part in several operations after the [[Operation Overlord|invasion of Normandy]], but all of them were cancelled.<ref name="ZalogaHook1982"/> On 27 July, aware of the imminent [[Warsaw Uprising]], the Polish government-in-exile asked the British government for air support, including dropping the Brigade in the vicinity of Warsaw.<ref name="Ciechanowski2002">{{cite book |last=Ciechanowski |first=Jan M. |title=The Warsaw Rising of 1944 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2kvvMiclgVMC&pg=PA67|year=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-89441-8|page=67}}</ref> This request was refused on the grounds of the aircraft used by the Brigade did not have enough fuel to reach Warsaw, along with the request to use Soviet airfields being denied.<ref name="Ciechanowski2002"/> Eventually, the Brigade entered combat when it was dropped during [[Operation Market Garden]] in September 1944.<ref name="ZalogaHook1982"/>

[[File:The Polish Army in Britain, 1940-1947 H18882.jpg|thumb|right|[[Clement Attlee]] visiting troops of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade at Cupar, 20 April 1942.]]

During the operation, the Brigade's [[anti-tank]] battery went into [[Arnhem]] on the third day of the battle (19 September), supporting the British paratroopers at [[Oosterbeek]]. This left Sosabowski with only PIATs as anti-tank capability. The light artillery battery was left behind in England due to a shortage of gliders. Owing to bad weather and a shortage of transport planes, the drop into [[Driel]] was delayed by two days, to 21 September. The British units which were supposed to cover the landing zone were in a bad situation and out of radio contact with the main Allied forces.<ref name="ZalogaHook1982"/> Finally, the 2nd Battalion, and elements of the 3rd Battalion, with support troops from the Brigade's Medical Company, Engineer Company and HQ Company, were dropped under German fire east of Driel. They overran Driel, after it was realised that the Heveadorp ferry had been destroyed. In Driel, the Polish paratroopers set up a defensive "hedgehog" position, from which over the next two nights further attempts were made to cross the Rhine.

The following day, the Poles were able to produce some makeshift boats and attempt a crossing. With great difficulty and under German fire from the heights of Westerbouwing on the north bank of the river, the 8th Parachute Company and, later, additional troops from 3rd Battalion, managed to cross the Rhine in two attempts. In total, about 200 Polish paratroopers made it across in two days, and were able to cover the subsequent withdrawal of the remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division.

Not all of the paratroopers were able to withdraw back across the Rhine, due to the numbers involved and a shortage of boats. Those who were trapped on the German-controlled side were either captured by the Germans or, like Stanisław Kulik,<ref name=":0"/> were sheltered by the Dutch underground. They were hidden in various houses in the towns and villages, or in huts or makeshift dens in the woods, for about a month until they were rescued in [[Operation Pegasus]] on 22 October 1944.

On 26 September 1944, the members of the Brigade who were on the Allied side of the Rhine (now including the 1st Battalion and elements of the 3rd Battalion, who were parachuted near to Grave on 23 September) were ordered to march towards [[Nijmegen]]. The Brigade had lost 25% of its fighting strength, amounting to 590 casualties.<ref name="ZalogaHook1982"/>

In 1945, the Brigade was attached to the [[Polish 1st Armoured Division]] and undertook occupation duties in Northern Germany until it was disbanded on 30 June 1947. The majority of its soldiers chose to stay in exile{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} rather than hazard returning to the [[Polish People's Republic|new communist Poland]].

==Post-war honours==
[[File:Willemsorde.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Military William Order]] awarded to the [[Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade]]]]
Shortly after the war, Queen [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]] wanted to honour the Parachute Brigade and wrote her government a request. However, the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]], [[Eelco van Kleffens]], opposed the idea. He thought an award for the Poles would upset the relations with the [[Allies of World War II|'Big Three']] and harm national interests.<ref>{{cite book |title=Belevenissen II 1940–1958 |last=van Kleffens |first=Eelco Nicolaas |location=[[Alphen aan de Rijn]] |publisher=[[Luitingh-Sijthoff|Sijthoff]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-9-02183-095-7 |pages=115–117}}</ref>

More than 61 years after World War II, the Brigade was awarded the [[Military Order of William]] on 31 May 2006 for its distinguished and outstanding acts of bravery, skill and devotion to duty during Operation Market Garden. The Military Order of William is the highest Dutch military award. Only eleven units have been awarded this honor, of which only two are non-Dutch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lintjes.nl/_en/militaire_willemsorde/mwo_polen.html |title=Military Williams Order for Poles |website=Royal Honours |access-date=18 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716063500/http://www.lintjes.nl/_en/militaire_willemsorde/mwo_polen.html |archivedate=16 July 2011}}</ref> The award is now worn by the [[Operational Structure of the Polish Land Forces#6th Airborne Brigade|6th Airborne Brigade]] which inherited the battle honours of the brigade.

==Brigade Order of Battle==
*Brigade HQ CO: [[major general|Maj. Gen]] [[Stanisław Sosabowski|S. Sosabowski]]
**Deputy Brigade CO: Lt.Col. S. Jachnik
*1st Parachute [[Battalion]] [[Commanding officer|CO]]: [[lieutenant colonel|Lt.Col.]] M. Tonn
**1st Parachute [[Company (military unit)|Company]]
**2nd Parachute Company
**3rd Parachute Company
*2nd Parachute Battalion CO: Lt.Col. W. Ploszewski
**4th Parachute Company
**5th Parachute Company
**6th Parachute Company
*3rd Parachute Battalion CO: [[Major (rank)|Maj.]] W. Sobocinski
**7th Parachute Company
**8th Parachute Company
**9th Parachute Company
*Airborne [[Anti-tank]] [[Artillery battery|Battery]] CO: Capt. J. Wardzala
*Airborne Engineer Company CO: Capt. P. Budziszewski
*Airborne Signals Company CO: Capt. J. Burzawa
*Airborne Medical Company CO: Lt. J. Mozdzierz
*Transport and Supply Company CO: Capt. A. Siudzinski
*Airborne Light [[Artillery]] Battery CO: Maj. J. Bielecki

==Portrayals==
The brigade's participation in Market Garden was prominently featured in the [[A Bridge Too Far (book)|book]] and [[A Bridge Too Far (film)|film]] of a ''A Bridge Too Far''. General [[Stanisław Sosabowski|Sosabowski]] was portrayed by [[Gene Hackman]].

A first-hand account of one of the Polish paratroopers in Market Garden, Stanisław Kulik, is described in the book ''From the Soviet Gulag to Arnhem: A Polish Paratrooper's Epic Wartime Journey''.<ref name=":0"/> Stanisław had traveled from the Siberian gulag through Central Asia to the UK, where he had trained as a paratrooper. He was trapped behind enemy lines in Arnhem and the Dutch Underground helped him escape.

==See also==
* [[Polish government-in-exile]]
* [[Cichociemni]] – "Silent Unseen", Polish special operations agents parachuted into occupied Poland
* [[Polish contribution to World War II]]
* [[Western betrayal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Cholewczynski |first=George F |year=1993 |title=Poles Apart |publisher=Sarpedon Publishers |isbn=1-85367-165-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Cholewczynski |first=George F |year=1990 |title=De Polen van Driel |lang=nl |publisher=Uitgeverij Lunet |isbn=90-71743-10-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kinloch |first=Nicholas |year=2023 |title=From the Soviet Gulag to Arnhem: A Polish Paratrooper's Epic Wartime Journey |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1399045919}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sosabowski |first=Stanisław |authorlink=Stanisław Sosabowski |year=1982 |title=Freely I Served |publisher=Battery Press Inc |isbn=0-89839-061-3}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url= https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3749698 |title=Polish Paratroops plaque, Earlsferry Town Hall |last=Traynor |first=Kim |date=November 2013 |website=[[Geograph Britain and Ireland]]}}
* {{cite web |url= http://www.historicaleye.com/WorldWar2/eagles-on-the-rhine.html |title=Eagles on the Rhine |last=Rees |first=Simon |date=2015 |website=Historical Eye}}
* {{cite web |url= https://swoopingeagle.com/ |title=The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade}}
* {{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-57636725 |date=28 June 2021 |title=Museum exhibit honours Scotland's Polish parachute brigade |publisher=BBC News}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Independent Parachute Brigade (Poland)}}
[[Category:Army brigades of Poland|Parachute Brigade 01]]
[[Category:Airborne infantry brigades|Parachute Brigade (Poland)]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of Poland in World War II|Parachute Brigade]]
[[Category:1941 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941|Parachute Brigade (Poland)]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1947|Parachute Brigade (Poland)]]

44 Parachute Regiment (South Africa)

2025-08-04T18:27:46Z

2A02:8012:227B:0:5489:6C63:CA00:997E: Removed Category:Paratroopers as already in more specific Category:Airborne infantry brigades and Category:Airborne units and formations of South Africa

{{More citations needed|date=February 2012}}
{{Use South African English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{infobox military unit
| unit_name = 44 Parachute Regiment
| image = SANDF 44 Para regiment emblem.jpg
| caption = 44 Parachute Regiment emblem
| start_date = 2000 (as regiment)
| country = {{RSA}}
| allegiance =
| branch = {{army|South Africa}}
| type = [[Airborne force|Airborne Force]]
| role = [[Light infantry]] [[Airborne force]] Special Forces support Rapid response [[Counter-insurgency]]
| size = 3 Battalions
| command_structure =
| garrison = Tempe, Bloemfontein
| garrison_label =
| nickname = Parabats
| patron =
| motto =
| colors = Maroon
| colors_label = Beret Colour
| march =
| mascot =
| equipment =
| equipment_label =
| battles = {{plainlist|
* [[South African Border War]]
* [[Operation Reindeer]]
* [[Battle of Cassinga]]
* [[Southern African Development Community intervention in Lesotho]]
* [[Operation Boleas]]
* [[South African military assistance to the Central African Republic]]
* [[United Nations Force Intervention Brigade]]
}}
| anniversaries =
| decorations =
| battle_honours =
| battle_honours_label =
| disbanded =
| flying_hours =
| website = 
| commander1 =
| commander1_label =
| commander2 =
| commander2_label =
| commander3 =
| commander3_label =
| commander4 =
| commander4_label =
| notable_commanders = {{plainlist|
* Commandant [[Willem Louw]]
}}
| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_label =
| identification_symbol_2 =
| identification_symbol_2_label =
| identification_symbol_3 =
| identification_symbol_3_label =
| identification_symbol_4 =
| identification_symbol_4_label = 
| aircraft_attack =
| aircraft_bomber =
| aircraft_electronic =
| aircraft_fighter =
| aircraft_helicopter =
| aircraft_helicopter_attack =
| aircraft_helicopter_cargo =
| aircraft_helicopter_multirole =
| aircraft_helicopter_observation =
| aircraft_helicopter_transport =
| aircraft_helicopter_trainer =
| aircraft_helicopter_utility =
| aircraft_interceptor =
| aircraft_patrol =
| aircraft_recon =
| aircraft_trainer =
| aircraft_transport =
| aircraft_tanker =
}}

'''44 Parachute Regiment''' is the [[South African Army]]'s chief [[airborne forces|airborne]] [[infantry]] unit. It was created in 2000 by redesignating [[44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)|44 Parachute Brigade]], and is based at the Tempe military base near [[Bloemfontein]].

== History ==
===Origin===
[[File:South African soldiers board a C-130 Hercules aircraft for a practice jump at Air Force Base Bloemspruit in Bloemfontein, South Africa, July 23, 2013, in preparation for exercise Shared Accord 2013 130723-A-FP002-005.jpg|thumb|right|200px|South African paratroops from 44 Parachute Regiment board a C-130 Hercules aircraft]]
The first South African airborne unit was formed in August 1943, when a Parachute Platoon of the [[South African Air Force]] was established. However, this unit was disbanded before training could be completed.

There were no further attempts to establish any airborne units until 1961, when selected members of the South African Army received parachute training at [[RAF Abingdon]]. This was followed by the establishment of 1 Parachute Battalion under Commandant [[Willem Louw]] on 1 April 1961.<ref name=paradata>{{cite web|title=SOUTH AFRICAN AIRBORNE FORCES|url=http://www.paradata.org.uk/content/south-african-airborne-forces|website=paradata.org.uk|publisher=Airborne Assault: Paradata|access-date=14 December 2014}}</ref>

===The Border War===
On 26 August 1966, units of 1 Parachute Battalion (called [[Parabat]]s) first participated in operations as part of the [[South African Border War]] in South-West Africa (now [[Namibia]]). This involvement was eventually to last for more than twenty years.

In April 1978 44 Parachute Brigade was established, with the addition of 2 and 3 Parachute Battalions.

On 4 May 1978 South Africa's first major airborne operation ([[Operation Reindeer]]) took place. A large group of paratroopers, from 1,2 and 3 Battalions, attacked a large [[SWAPO]] base in [[Angola]], successfully capturing it. ''(See [[Battle of Cassinga]])''.

[[File:Static line para jump 1998.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Static line para jump from Hercules aircraft 1998]]
Following the end of the Border War in 1989, the Brigade was scaled down slightly and began preparing for a new role, that of conducting operations internally in South Africa in order to quell increasing levels of violence between various political groups.

In January 1991 the Brigade conducted its first operational jump in an urban counterinsurgency role when 2 Parachute Battalion deployed to Natal as part of [[Operation Eardrum]] to quell the violence. The Brigade took part in many similar operations in the following years, helping to minimise the violence sufficiently to allow South Africa's first democratic elections to go ahead in April 1994.

===Post 1994===
The Brigade's first operational deployment in the post-1994 period was [[South African intervention in Lesotho|Operation Boleas]] in September 1998. It deployed two parachute companies and the Pathfinder Platoon to [[Lesotho]] to prevent a coup d'état.

During 1998, the decision was taken to redesignate the unit as a multi-[[battalion]] regiment, but it was only during the year 2000 that this change became official.

===Peacekeeping in Africa===
In 2001 regiment personnel formed the spearhead of the South African Protection Support Detachment deploying to [[Burundi]].<ref>{{cite web|title=South African "bodyguards" to Bujumbura, Burundi|url=http://www.saairforce.co.za/news-and-events/140/south-african-|website=saairforce.co.za|access-date=14 December 2014|date=29 October 2001}}</ref>

In 2012, the regiments' 1st Battalion participated in the [[South African military assistance to the Central African Republic]] operation, where the unit suffered 13 killed, with 27 injured and one missing in action in an ambush conducted by [[Séléka]] rebels. The [[Battle of Bangui (2013)|Battle of Bangui]] was, however, considered a success for the Parabats as they killed more than 3000 Seleka rebels.<ref name=CAR>{{cite web|title=SANDF releases names of SA soldiers killed in CAR|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2013-03-26-sandf-releases-names-of-sa-soldiers-killed-in-car|website=mg.co.za|publisher=Mail & Guardian|access-date=14 December 2014|date=26 March 2013}}</ref>

In 2014 the Regiment contributed one company to the [[United Nations Force Intervention Brigade]] which fought a number of engagements in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]].<ref name="hofstatter">{{Cite web|url = http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2014/08/22/south-africa-at-war-in-the-drc--the-inside-story|title = South Africa at war in the DRC - The inside story|date = 22 August 2014|access-date = 22 September 2014|work= [[Sunday Times (South Africa)]]|last = Hofstatter|first = Stephan|last2 = Oatway|first2 = James}}</ref>

== Structure in 2004==
As of 2004, the Regiment consists of the following units:
[[File:SADF-Airborn-001.jpg|thumb|SANDF Airborne soldiers equipped with a [[Gecko 8x8 ATV]] deploying mortars during a mock combat demonstration at [[AFB Waterkloof]] in October 2011]]
* 44 Parachute Regiment Headquarters and Regimental Staff
* [[1 Parachute Battalion]] (Regular Force)
* [[2 Parachute Battalion]] (Reserve Force)
* [[3 Parachute Battalion]] (Reserve Force)
* [[44 Pathfinder Platoon]]
* [[13 Signal Squadron]]
* [[44 Medical Task Group]] (Detachment of [[7 Medical Battalion Group]], [[South African Military Health Service|SAMHS]])
* [[Parachute Training Wing (South Africa)]]
* [[Parachute Packing Wing]]
* [[101 Air Supply Unit SAOSC]] ([[Lyttelton, Gauteng]])

== Leadership ==
{{Post-start|caption=Leadership|float=}}
{{Post-header|post-name=Honorary Colonel}}



{{Post-header|post-name=Officer Commanding}}
{{Post-header|post-name=Regimental Sergeants Major}}


{{Post-end}}

==Insignia==
===Previous Dress Insignia===

[[File:SADF era 44 Para Brigade insignia.jpg|thumb|center|800px|SADF era 44 Para Brigade insignia]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{portal|South Africa}}

{{SA Army Units}}

[[Category:Airborne infantry brigades|South Africa Parachute Regiment]]
[[Category:Regiments of South Africa|Parachute]]
[[Category:Airborne units and formations of South Africa]]
[[Category:Parachuting in South Africa|Parachute Regiment]]
[[Category:Military units and formations in Bloemfontein]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 2000|South Africa Parachute Regiment]]
[[Category:2000 establishments in South Africa|Parachute Regiment]]