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The 6th Airlanding Brigade was a airborne infantry brigade of the British Army during the Second World War. Created during May 1943, the brigade was composed of three glider infantry battalions and supporting units, and was assigned to the 6th Airborne Division, alongside the 3rd Parachute Brigade and 5th Parachute Brigade. During the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944, the brigade took part in Operation Mallard, holding the southern flank of the bridgehead over the Orne River. In August 1944, along with the rest of the 6th Airborne Division, it took part in the advance to the River Seine. Withdrawn to England in September, the brigade returned to mainland Europe to counter the surprise German offensive in the Ardennes, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. Their final airborne mission of the war was Operation Varsity in March 1945, an assault crossing of the Rhine, after which they advanced through Germany, reaching the Baltic Sea at Wismar by the end of the war. The brigade was withdrawn from Germany at the end of May 1945 and was sent, together with the rest of 6th Airborne Division in Palestine to provide internal security. Following the arrival of the 1st Parachute Brigade, however, the 6th Airlanding Brigade was no longer needed there and was returned to normal infantry duties, and renamed the 31st Independent Infantry Brigade. ==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〕 This later became the 1st Parachute Battalion. 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, an aircraft capable of transporting eight soldiers, that 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 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〕 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 Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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