Categories timeline: US Airborne (1940-1945)
April 3 1945
The 82nd Airborne Division in Cologne
On 3 April 1945, the 82nd Airborne Division occupied a 45-kilometre front line near Cologne, a ruined city in western Germany.
Back to the listMarch 30 1945
The 82nd Airborne Division receives order to join the Bonn area in Germany
On 30 March 1945, the 82nd Airborne Division was ordered to join the Bonn region straddling the Rhine in Germany.
Back to the listMarch 30 1945
The 82nd Airborne Division receives order to join the Bonn area in Germany
March 30 1945: The 82nd Airborne Division receives order to join the Bonn area in Germany.
Back to the listMarch 24 1945
Operation Varsity
On 24 March 1945, as part of Operation Varsity, 4,964 paratroopers and gliders from the 17th Airborne Division were dropped in the Wesel sector of Germany.
In March 1945, the Allied armies advanced into German territory and reached the Rhine. This last rampart formed a natural barrier blocking the Allied advance into enemy territory. SHAEF decided to force its way through several areas of the Rhine. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery drew up a plan entitled ‘Operation Plunder’, which would enable the ground forces to breach the Rhine. In order to ensure the success of the operation, an airborne component was to support the fighting on the ground, known as Operation Varsity. Three airborne divisions were initially chosen: the 6th British Airborne, and the 13th and 17th US Airborne. During the preparations, it became clear that there were not enough aircraft to transport the three airborne divisions. The 13th Airborne, which had no combat experience, was placed in reserve in France. The two remaining divisions parachuted behind German lines on 24 March 1945.
Back to the listMarch 15 1945
101st Airborne receives a citation
On 15 March 1945, the 101st Airborne Division assembled at Mourmelon near Reims to receive General Eisenhower’s Presidential Unit Citation for its heroic defence of the town of Bastogne.
Back to the listFebruary 23rd 1945
Los Banos raid
On 23 February 1945, 130 paratroopers from Company B of the 511th PIR took part in a jungle rescue operation with the help of local guerrillas to liberate a camp containing 2,147 civilian men, women and children from an agricultural school campus and allied servicemen interned by the Japanese near Los Banos in the Philippines.
Back to the list16 Février 1945
Another drop-off in Philippines
On 16 February 1945, 2,050 paratroopers from the 503rd PRCT parachuted onto Corregidor in the Philippines.
Back to the listFebruary 3 and 4 1945
Operation Shoestring
On 3 and 4 February 1945, 1,830 paratroopers and 240 ‘Oscar’ decoy dolls from Colonel Haugen’s 511th Regimental Combat Team of the 11th Airborne Division parachuted into Tagaytay Ridge in the Philippines.
Back to the listJanuary 26 1945
The 101st Airborne Division moves to Alsace
January 26 1945: The 101st Airborne Division moves to Alsace, in the Haguenau area, along the Moder river. In February, the division is pulled from the front and ordered to rest at the Mourmelon camp.
Back to the listEnd of January 1945
The 82nd Airborne returns to France
End of January 1945: The 82nd Airborne Division is repatriated aboard cattle cars during a very exhausting return journey to Reims. The division settles back in its quarters in the camps of Suippes, Sissonne and Laon.
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