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The 1st Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was formed in late 1941 during World War II, after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force. The division was one of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, with the other being 6th Airborne Division, created in May 1943, using former units of the 1st Airborne. The divisions first two missions – Operation ''Biting'', a parachute landing in France, and ''Freshman'', a glider mission in Norway – were both raids. Part of the division was sent to North Africa at the end of 1942, and when the Allies invaded Sicily, undertook two brigade sized landings. The first, Operation ''Ladbroke'', carried out by glider infantry of the 1st Airlanding Brigade and the second, Operation ''Fustian'', by a parachute brigade, were far from completely successful. The division then took part in a mostly diversionary amphibious landing, Operation ''Slapstick'', part of the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943. In December, most of the division returned to England, and began training and preparing for the Invasion of Normandy. It was not involved in the Normandy landings, being held in reserve. In September 1944 it took part in Operation ''Market Garden''. The division landed behind German lines, to capture crossings on the 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 survivors were evacuated. The remnants of the 1st Airborne Division was returned to England soon after. The division never fully recovered from their losses at Arnhem. Just after the end of the war, the depleted formation took part in Operation ''Doomsday'' in Norway. They were tasked with the disarmament and repatriation of the German occupation army. The division then returned to England and was disbanded in November 1945. ==Background== Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a force of 5,000 parachute troops.〔Otway, p.21〕 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 glider wing.〔Shortt and McBride, p.4〕〔Moreman, p.91〕 On 21 June 1940 the Central Landing Establishment was formed at 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.〔Otway 1990, pp. 28–29〕〔Smith, p.7〕 At the same time, the Ministry of Aircraft Production contracted General Aircraft Ltd to design and produce a glider for this purpose.〔Flint, p.73〕 The result was the General Aircraft Hotspur, which was capable of transporting eight soldiers and was used for both assault and training purposes.〔Lynch, p.31〕 The success of the first British airborne raid, Operation ''Colossus'', prompted the War Office to expand the airborne force through the creation of the Parachute Regiment, and to develop plans to convert several infantry battalions into parachute and glider battalions.〔Harclerode, p. 218〕 On 31 May 1941, a joint army and air force memorandum was approved by the 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.〔Tugwell p.123〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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