Operation Varsity

Operation Varsity was the Allied airborne assault across the Rhine on 24 March 1945, supporting the ground offensive Operation Plunder. It was the largest single-day airborne operation in history.

Operation Plunder: The Allied ground offensive across the Rhine launched on 23 March 1945. Varsity was timed to support Plunder’s crossing and secure its eastern bridgehead.
Allied invasion of Germany: The series of Allied military campaigns that entered and occupied Germany in 1944–1945. Varsity was one operation in the final Allied advance into Germany.
Dwight D. Eisenhower: The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during the campaign against Nazi Germany. Eisenhower approved the Rhine-crossing plan that paired Varsity with Plunder.
Wesel: A German city on the Lower Rhine captured by Allied forces in March 1945. Varsity’s landing zones lay near Wesel, across the river from the Allied crossing.
Rhine crossing: A military operation that forces an army across the Rhine River. Varsity’s airborne assault complemented the ground forces crossing the river.
Operation Market Garden: A failed Allied airborne and ground offensive in the Netherlands in September 1944. Its setbacks informed later debate about airborne risks, though Varsity had a different operational setting.
Bernard Montgomery: The British field marshal who commanded Allied ground forces in northwestern Europe. Montgomery directed the northern Rhine offensive supported by Varsity.
Diersfordter Wald: A wooded area near Wesel in western Germany. The forest was a key landing area and objective for airborne troops.
Paratrooper: A soldier trained to enter combat by parachuting from an aircraft. Paratroopers formed the airborne force dropped during Varsity.
Battle of the Bulge: Germany’s major counteroffensive in the Ardennes from December 1944 to January 1945. Its defeat weakened German capacity before the Allies crossed the Rhine.

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