17^th Airborne Division

The 17th Airborne Division arrived in France late in 1944 and entered combat during the Battle of the Bulge. In January 1945, its parachute and glider regiments were committed west of Bastogne, where they helped compress the German salient under severe winter conditions. These early operations were costly but provided immediate combat experience in one of the most demanding campaigns of the war.

Its defining action came on 24 March 1945 during Operation VARSITY, the airborne phase of the Rhine crossing. The division dropped east of the river near Wesel alongside the British 6th Airborne Division. Elements of the 507th and 513th Parachute Infantry Regiments seized key road junctions and villages, while glider infantry secured additional objectives in support of the ground assault. VARSITY was the last major Allied airborne operation in Europe and the only combat jump conducted by the 17th Airborne Division.

After the Rhine crossing, the division continued advancing into Germany, securing territory and processing large numbers of prisoners as organized resistance weakened. Its combat record, though brief, included both the harsh fighting of the Ardennes and a major airborne assault in the final campaign.