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The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army. It was formed in World War II, in mid-1943, and despite its name, was actually only the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the Second World War with the other being the 1st Airborne Division. The division's first mission was Operation Tonga on 6 June 1944, D-Day, part of the Normandy landings, where it was responsible for securing the left flank of the Allied invasion during Operation Overlord. The division remained in Normandy for three months before being withdrawn in September. While still recruiting and reforming in England, it was mobilised again and sent to Belgium in December 1944, to help counter the surprise German offensive in the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge. Their final airborne mission followed in March 1945, Operation Varsity, the second Allied airborne assault over the River Rhine. After the war the division was identified as the Imperial Strategic Reserve, and moved to the Middle East. Initially sent to Palestine for parachute training, the division became involved in an internal security role. In Palestine, the division went through several changes in formation, and had been reduced in size to only two parachute brigades by the time it was disbanded in 1948. ==Creation== On 31 May 1941, a joint Army and RAF 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〕 Then on 23 April 1943 the War Office authorised the formation of a second British airborne division.〔Harclerode, p.223〕 This second formation was numbered the 6th Airborne Division, and commanded by Major General Richard Nelson Gale, who had previously raised the 1st Parachute Brigade.〔Tugwell, p.202〕 Under his command would be the existing 3rd Parachute Brigade, along with two battalions (2nd Ox and Bucks and 1st Ulster Rifles) transferred from the 1st Airborne Division, to form the nucleus of the new 6th Airlanding Brigade.〔 The airlanding brigade was an important part of the airborne division, its strength being almost equal to that of the two parachute brigades combined,〔Guard, p.37〕 and the glider infantry battalions were the heaviest armed infantry units in the British Army.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) )〕 At the same time several officers who were all combat veterans from the 1st Airborne Division, were posted to the division as brigade and battalion commanders.〔Tugwell, p.209〕 Between May and September, the remainder of the divisional units were formed, including the 5th Parachute Brigade, the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, the 53rd (Worcester Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery and the division's Pathfinders the 21st Independent Parachute Company.〔Ford, pp.19–20〕 From June to December 1943, the division prepared for operations, training at every level from section up to division by day and night.〔Harclerode, p.225〕 Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy, who would be equipped with artillery and tanks. Training was therefore designed to encourage a spirit of self-discipline, self-reliance and aggressiveness, with emphasis given to physical fitness, marksmanship and fieldcraft.〔Guard, p.225〕 A large part of the training consisted of assault courses and route marching. Military exercises included capturing and holding airborne bridgeheads, road or rail bridges and coastal fortifications.〔 At the end of most exercises, the troops would march back to their barracks, usually a distance of around .〔 An ability to cover long distances at speed was expected; airborne platoons were required to cover a distance of in 24 hours, and battalions .〔 At the end of the war in Europe, in May 1945, the division was selected to go to India and form an airborne corps with the 44th Indian Airborne Division.〔Gregory, p.125〕 The division’s advance party, formed around the 5th Parachute Brigade, had already arrived in India, when the Japanese surrendered after the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.〔Wilson, p.3〕 Following the surrender, all these plans changed. The post-war British Army only needed one airborne division, and the 6th Airborne was chosen to remain on strength and was sent to the Middle East as the Imperial Strategic Reserve.〔Wilson, p.4〕 When the division was dispatched to the Middle East, the 2nd Parachute Brigade was assigned to bring them up to strength.〔Wilson, pp.212–213〕 In May 1946, after the 1st Airborne Division was disbanded, the 1st Parachute Brigade joined the division, replacing the 6th Airlanding Brigade.〔Wilson, pp.214–215〕 The next major manpower development came in 1947, when the 3rd Parachute Brigade was disbanded and the 2nd Parachute Brigade, while remaining part of the division, was withdrawn to England, then sent to Germany.〔Wilson, pp.216–217〕 On 18 February 1947, it was announced that the 6th Airborne Division would be disbanded when they left Palestine.〔 Gradually the division's units left the country and were disbanded, the last ones comprising part of divisional headquarters, the 1st Parachute Battalion and the 1st Airborne Squadron, Royal Engineers, departed on 18 May 1948.〔Cole, p.209〕 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「6th 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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