Operation Varsity was the largest single-day airborne operation in history, helping Allied forces cross the Rhine and advance into northern Germany in the final weeks of WWII.
Key Facts
- Date
- 24 March 1945
- Paratroopers deployed
- More than 16,000
- Allied casualties
- More than 2,000
- German prisoners captured
- About 3,500
- Airborne divisions involved
- 2 (British 6th and U.S. 17th)
- Record
- Largest airborne operation on a single day and in one location
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As Allied forces neared the end of World War II in Europe, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group planned Operation Plunder to cross the northern Rhine River and push into northern Germany. To support the ground crossing, Allied commanders determined that a large-scale airborne assault was needed to secure bridgeheads, disrupt German defenses, and capture key terrain east of the Rhine near Wesel and Hamminkeln.
On 24 March 1945, over 16,000 paratroopers of the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps—comprising the British 6th Airborne Division and the U.S. 17th Airborne Division—were dropped onto the Rhine's eastern bank. Their objectives included capturing villages, clearing the Diersfordter Wald of German forces, and seizing bridges over the River Issel. Despite a navigation error that caused the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment to land on the wrong drop zone, the operation achieved its goals.
Allied paratroopers captured Rhine bridges and key towns, preventing German forces from using them to delay the ground advance. The two divisions suffered over 2,000 casualties but captured approximately 3,500 German soldiers. The operation enabled 21st Army Group to advance into northern Germany, and marked the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War II, which ended in Europe just six weeks later in early May 1945.