The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne unit of the British Army during World War II. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... (Redirected from 1st April) April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ... A battle honour is an official acknowledgement to recognize a military units achievements in specific wars or operations. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (absent) (Heeresgruppe B) Friedrich Dollmann () Strength 326,000 (by June 11) Unknown, probably some 1,000,000... Gale as GOC 6th Airborne Division, 10 June 1944. ... U.S. paratroopers jump into Australia on a military training exercise. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

Formation

The division was formed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1943, during the Second World War. It consisted of paratroop units and glider landed troops known as Airlanding. May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... An American Paratrooper using a T-10C series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and formed into an airborne force. ... Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight. ... The Glider Badge: Worn by U.S. Army airborne soldiers who rode gliders instead of parachuting into combat. ...

D-Day

British Pathfinders synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle.

During the last hours of 5 June 1944 as part of Operation Tonga, transport aircraft and towed gliders carried units of the 6th Airborne to Normandy where they would land just prior to the D-Day landings that took place on the morning of 6 June. They were to land behind Sword Beach and secure the eastern flank. Some of the objectives included the seizure of Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge by D Company, 2nd Ox & Bucks (commanded by Major John Howard) and the destruction of the Merville Battery by Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway's 9 PARA, both of whom were some of the first units to land and achieve their objectives. The landings proved successful, though many units were scattered across much of Normandy. The area around Pegasus and Horsa were successfully defended until they were eventually relieved, having repulsed numerous counter-attacks by the Germans, later on 6 June by Lord Lovat's 1 Special Service Brigade, followed later by elements of the British 3rd Infantry Division. Image File history File links Source: http://www. ... Image File history File links Source: http://www. ... One version of the patch worn on the uniforms of American pathfinders who served during World War II. During World War II, the pathfinders were a group of volunteers selected within the Airborne units who were specially trained to operate navigation aids to guide the main airborne body to the... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Operation Tonga: Pathfinders synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle. ... A cargo aircraft, also alternately known as a transport aircraft, is an aircraft dedicated to handling transport of materials and oversized loads. ... Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (absent) (Heeresgruppe B) Friedrich Dollmann () Strength 326,000 (by June 11) Unknown, probably some 1,000,000... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ... John Howard was an english major who led the occupation of the Pegasus over the river Orne. ... The Merville Gun Battery was a gun battery in Normandy, France as part of the Nazis Atlantic wall built to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion. ... Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Brandram Hastings Otway, DSO, (15 June 1914 - 23 July 2006) was a British soldier, best known for his role as commander of the paratroop assault on the Merville Battery on D-Day. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining. ... Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, DSO, MC (9 July 1911 - 16 March 1995) was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a legendary British Commando during the Second World War. ... The British 3rd Infantry Division was part of the ill-fated British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk early in World War II. It was the first British division to land at Sword beach on D-Day. ...

On 12 June, during the attack on Bréville, British artillery was bombarding it when a stray shell fell short and hit a group of British officers, killing Lieutenant-Colonel Johnny Johnson (CO 12 PARA) and badly wounding Brigadiers Kindersley (CO 6 Airlanding Brigade) and Lord Lovat (CO 1 Special Service Brigade). June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... Bréville-les-Monts is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région in France. ... Johnnie Johnson (born July 8, 1924) is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, piano player and blues musician. ... In military organizations, the commanding officer (CO) is the officer in command of a military unit. ... Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, DSO, MC (9 July 1911 - 16 March 1995) was the 25th Chief of the Clan Fraser and a legendary British Commando during the Second World War. ...

From June to August the Division successfully defended the area to the east of the Orne river. On 2 August 1944 the division became part of the First Allied Airborne Army. In mid-August the division took part in the advance towards the Seine and early in September it returned to Britain to recuperate and reorganise, having suffered over 4,000 casualties (killed, wounded, and missing). Orne is a département in the northwest of France named after the Orne River. ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... Badge of the First Allied Airborne Army The First Allied Airborne Army was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force in North West Europe in 1944 and 1945. ... The Seine (pronounced in French) is a major river of north-western France, and one of its commercial waterways. ...

The Battle of the Bulge

On 16 December the Germans launched the Battle of the Bulge a last-gasp offensive against the Allies in the Ardennes forest. The 6th Airborne was rushed to Belgium shortly afterward to assist in repulsing the attack. The fighting took place in awful weather conditions, ending in mid-January 1945. December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Ardennes: Battle of the bulge Combatants United States United Kingdom Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower George Patton Bernard Montgomery Walther Model Gerd von Rundstedt Strength Dec 16 - start of the Battle: about 83,000 men; 242 Sherman tanks, 182 tank destroyers, and... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

The Rhine Crossings

On 24 March the 6th Airborne took part in the airborne crossing of the Rhine (known as Operation Varsity), taking place a day after the crossing of the Rhine by ground forces. The Germans had expected them and the division suffered significant casualties in the air and on the ground. The operation was a success, if a costly one, and the 6th Airborne subsequently advanced east, eventually linking up with the Soviets near the Baltic port of Wismar in late April. The Second World War ended in Europe on 8 May 1945. March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in leap years). ... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ... Map of the Baltic Sea. ... Wismar is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ...

Later Operations

The war, however, continued elsewhere and the 5th Parachute Brigade was deployed to the Far East in July to take part in the campaign against the Japanese, with the intention of the rest of the division following it. The war ended suddenly in August with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese formally surrendered on 2 September. Thus, the Division's move was halted and the 5th Brigade was employed in operations in Malaya and Singapore to assist in the disarmament of the Japanese occupation forces there. The Brigade subsequently moved to Java, Dutch East Indies, where it attempted to assist in maintaining order against hostile nationalist forces intent on preventing the Dutch from returning to the colony. The division left with the arrival of substantial forces from the Royal Netherlands Army in April 1946. The 5th Parachute Brigade was a war formed brigade of the British Army during the Second World War . ... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... Nagasaki City Hall Mayor {{{Mayor}}} Address 〒850-8685 Nagasaki-shi, Sakura-machi 2-22 Phone number 095-825-5151 Official website: www1. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. ... Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands-Indië) was the name of the colonies set up by the Dutch East India Company, which came under administration of the Netherlands during the 19th century (see Indonesia). ... The Royal Netherlands Army (Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land forces element of the Military of the Netherlands. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Elsewhere, the rest of the division had moved to Palestine in September 1945, taking part in internal security duties against Zionist organisations known as Irgun, Haganah and the Stern Gang who were trying to expel the British. The 6th Airborne continued to carry out operations against the groups in difficult circumstances until they were disbanded on 1 April 1948 just before the British left Palestine. Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... A bilingual poster in Romanian and Hungarian promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s. ... Irgun poster showing their view of the Land of Israel Irgun (ארגון), shorthand for Irgun Tsvai Leumi (ארגון צבאי לאומי, also spelled Irgun Zvai Leumi), Hebrew for National Military Organization, was a clandestine militant Zionist group that operated in the British Mandate of Palestine from 1931 to 1948. ... Haganah Logo (1940s) The Haganah (Hebrew: The Defense, ההגנה) was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948. ... Avraham Stern Lehi (Hebrew acronym for Lohamei Herut Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel) was a radical underground Jewish paramilitary group, a terrorist group according to both its own description and that of its opponents. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

In the present-day British Army the 16 Air Assault Brigade (named to perpuate the 16 Parachute Brigade) is numbered in honour of the 1st Airborne and 6th Airborne divisions. The 16 Air Assault Brigade (16 AAB) is a unit of the British Army. ... The British 1st Airborne Division was a military unit that fought in World War II. It suffered terrible casualties, especially in Operation Market Garden. ...

Commanders

• Major-General Richard Gale (7 May 1943)
• Major General Eric Bols (8 December 1944)
• Major-General James Cassels (1946)
• Major-General Hugh Stockwell (August 1947)

Gale as GOC 6th Airborne Division, 10 June 1944. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Field Marshal Sir Charles Archibald James Halkett Cassels was Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, between 1965 and 1968. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ...

Constituent Units

This is the composition of the division at the time of the Normandy invasion.

3rd Parachute Brigade (Brigadier James Hill) // Brigade HQ formed in the United Kingdom on 7 Nov 1942 by redesignation and conversion of HQ 223rd Independent Infantry Brigade . ... James J. Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916), was a noted American railroad tycoon. ...

• 8th (Midland Counties) Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel Alastair Pearson)
• 9th (Eastern and Home Counties) Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway)
• 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel George Bradbrooke)
• 3rd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, RA (Major Nick Crammer)
• 3rd Parachute Squadron, RE (Major Tim Roseveare)
• 224th Parachute Field Ambulance, RAMC (Lieutenant-Colonel D. H. Thompson)

5th Parachute Brigade (Brigadier Nigel Poett) Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Brandram Hastings Otway, DSO, (15 June 1914 - 23 July 2006) was a British soldier, best known for his role as commander of the paratroop assault on the Merville Battery on D-Day. ... The Royal Regiment of Artillery, generally known as the Royal Artillery (RA), is, despite its name, a corps of the British Army It is made up of a number of regiments. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers (RE), commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. ... The 5th Parachute Brigade was a war formed brigade of the British Army during the Second World War . ...

• 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin)
• 12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel Johnny Johnson)
• 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion (Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Luard)
• 4th Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery, RA (Major Peter Dixon)
• 591st Parachute Squadron, RE (Major Andy Wood)
• 225th Parachute Field Ambulance, RAMC (Lieutenant-Colonel Bruce Harvey)

6th Airlanding Brigade (Brigadier The Honourable Hugh Kindersley) Colonel Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, DSO and bar, MC (2 December 1908 - 28 February 1974) was a parachute officer of the British Army during World War II. He commanded the 3rd Parachute Battalion in North Africa and the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion in Normandy, Belgium, and Germany. ...

• 12th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel Dick Stevens)
• 2nd Battalion, The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Roberts)
• 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles (Lieutenant-Colonel Jack Carson)
• 249th (Airborne) Field Company, RE (Major Sandy Rutherford)
• 195th Airlanding Field Ambulance, RAMC (Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Anderson)

Divisional Units The Devonshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army. ... The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Jack Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 3, 1963 was a Canadian actor. ... Lieutenant-Colonel William Maurice E Anderson MD,DSO (often referred to as Bill Anderson despite the fact he went by the name of Maurice), joined the British 6th Airborne Division in 1943, and became CO of the 195 Airlanding Field Ambulance. ...

• 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, RA (Lieutenant-Colonel Tony Teacher)
• 2 Forward (Airborne) Observation Unit, RA (Major Harry Rice)
• 2nd Airlanding Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, RA (Major W. A. H. Rowatt)
• 6th Airborne Divisional Postal Unit, RE (Captain JCG Hine RE)
• 22nd Independent Parachute Company (Major Francis Lennox-Boyd)
• 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Stewart)
• 6th Airborne Division Signals (Lieutenant-Colonel D. Smallman-Tew)
• 63rd Composite Company, RASC (Major A. C. Billie-Top)
• 398th Composite Company, RASC (Major M. E. Phipps)
• 716th Composite Company, RASC (Major E. C. Jones)
• 6th (Airborne) Divisional Ordnance Field Park, RASC (Major W. L. Taylor)
• 6th (Airborne) Divisional Workshops, REME (Major E. B.Bonniwell)
• 10th Airlanding Light Aid Detachment, REME
• 12th Airlanding Light Aid Detachment, REME
• 6th (Airborne) Divisional Provost Company, CMP (Captain Irwin)

Attached Units The Royal Logistic Corps is a British Army corps that provides the logistical support for the Army. ... The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers cap badge The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME; usually pronounced phonetically as Reemee) is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance of all electrical and mechanical equipment. ...

• The Glider Pilot Regiment
  • No. 1 Wing (Lieutenant-Colonel Iain Murray)
  • No. 2 Wing (Lieutenant-Colonel John Place)
• HQ, 245th Provost Company, CMP

The Glider Pilot Regiment was possibly the shortest lived and least known unit of the Second World War. ...

In the Media

• Call of Duty - a first-person shooter game for PC. Gamers play as Sgt. Evans; a member of the British 6th Airborne Division. Your task is to assault the bridge and hold it until relieved. Many characters from the actual event are portrayed, but with different names. The level is realistic and the action is intense. The order of events is dramtaized somewhat and is not totally historically accurate.

CoD redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... One of the first PCs from IBM - the IBM PC model 5150. ...

See also

• Pegasus Bridge
• Operation Tonga
• Operation Varsity
• Operation Overlord

Pegasus Bridge before its replacement Pegasus was the name given to a bridge over the Caen canal, near the town of Ouistreham. ... Operation Tonga: Pathfinders synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle. ... Operation Varsity was an airborne operation towards the end of World War II, intended to gain a foothold across the River Rhine. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ...

External links

• Extract from a book about 6th Airborne
• Royal Engineers Museum 6th Airborne Divisional Engineers - D Day 1944