Operation Varsity 75th Anniversary Commemoration at the WWII Memorial

March 24, 2020 @ 11:30AM — 12:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

A brief ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the last airborne operation of the war and the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted entirely within a single day in one location.

Operation Varsity 75th Anniversary Commemoration at the WWII Memorial image

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On Tuesday, March 24th at 11:30 a.m., the Friends of the National World War II Memorial will hold a brief ceremony and wreath presentation at the National World War II Memorial to mark the 75th anniversary of Operation Varsity, a successful airborne operation launched by Allied troops involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft. It was the last airborne operation of the war and it was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day and in one location.

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During the March 24th ceremony at the World War II Memorial, a wreath will be presented at the Atlantic Arch of the Memorial in honor of more than 16,000 Allies who served and in remembrance of the nearly 2,700 killed, wounded, or missing during Operation Varsity.

Learn more about Operation Varsity below:

On March 24, 1945, Allied paratroopers conducted the last airborne operation of the war – Operation Varsity – as part of an Allied push across the northern Rhine River into Germany. This victory was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted entirely within a single day in one location.

With German forces pushed back to their home borders, the Allies could at last plan their assault across the Rhine into Germany itself. German counteroffensives into the Ardennes and Alsace put these plans temporarily on hold, but the reduction of these gains in early 1945 eliminated this hurdle. Many obstacles, including the Rhine’s treacherous terrain and the Wehrmacht dug into the river’s natural defenses, still loomed before the Allies. While General Omar Bradley’s forces hunted for a bridgehead around Remagen to the south, General Bernard Montgomery planned an assault across the river near the town of Wesel, a venture codenamed Operation Plunder. Montgomery proposed that Allied paratroopers drop just behind enemy lines to support these landings, clear inland towns and bridges, and prevent enemy counterattacks. In many ways, this mission, codenamed Operation Varsity, was unconventional by airborne tactical thinking, in large part due to changes made to avoid a repeat of Operation Market-Garden. Unlike earlier jumps, Varsity’s paratroopers would jump in daylight as one wave onto drop zones as close to their objectives as possible, within range of Allied artillery on the Rhine’s west bank and with aerial support and resupply from above. Two airborne divisions were selected: the American 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division. While the 17th saw combat during the Battle of the Bulge, this would be their first combat jump. Once on the ground, the paratroopers were to capture towns like Diersfordt and Issel and key bridges over the Issel River, then hold positions until they could link up with amphibious troops. On the evening of March 23, 1945, Operation Plunder began with the Allied amphibious assault across the Rhine. The next day, over 9,300 American troops and 8,000 British troops were headed for their drop zones. The 17th Airborne’s 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment hit the ground first, but many were not dropped on their landing zones due to heavy smokescreens intended to conceal the amphibious landings. Despite this setback, the paratroopers got to work securing their objectives, including the Diersforter Wald and its castle. Meanwhile, the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment encountered much more enemy antiaircraft fire. Due to a fatal flaw in the fuel tanks of their new C-46 Commando transport planes, antiaircraft fire caused many casualties as incendiary rounds ignited the planes’ leaking gas. Nineteen of the unit’s 72 Commandos were lost, with fourteen of them going down in flames, and 38 more were damaged. After-action reports showed that the heaviest losses of the whole assault occurred during the 513th’s drop alone, and the C-46 was thereafter banned for use in airborne jumps. On the ground, many 513th paratroopers were also dropped a few miles away from their landing zones, with some even landing on British targets. Nevertheless, the 513thassembled where they landed and pushed south towards their objectives, reaching the town of Issel by the end of the day. Another airborne first, glider troops landed early afternoon to reinforce the paratroopers onto areas not yet cleared, causing many additional casualties. By early afternoon, much of the airborne objectives were secured, with enemy tanks and artillery positions destroyed and some 3,500 German soldiers captured along the way. Just before 3PM, elements of the British Second Army linked up with some of the paratroopers, the fastest link-up of ground and airborne forces of the war at only five hours. Into the evening, airborne troops secured several bridges over the Issel River as well as the Issel Canal, the last of their objectives.

Despite early chaos at the landing zones, Operation Varsity succeeded in securing a foothold across the Rhine after only one day of fighting. Allied troops could continue to expand this position in the following days, and the troops that participated in the battle would soon be closing in on the Ruhr. The British 6th Airborne took some 1,400 casualties, while the American 17thAirborne lost around 1,300. But this operation, one of the most successful airborne campaigns of the war, helped relieve enemy pressure on the amphibious landings, thus saving lives on the Rhine. The 17th Airborne conducted their first combat jump with valor, and the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment received a Presidential Unit Citation. Varsity helped establish one route across the Rhine, while Bradley’s forces secured another to the south near Remagen, opening the floodgates into Germany at long last.