WORLD WAR II.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

XVIII Corps (Airborne). Operation Varsity, 23 March, 1945 to 30 March, 1945. Copy number 70 of an unstated but presumably small distribution, classified "secret". As part of the advance on Germany, Varsity saw American, British, and Canadian troops parachute onto the eastern bank of the Rhine and establish a deep bridgehead for a larger-scale Allied crossing of the river.The contents, dated 25 Aprill 1945, comprise a 12-page report and shorter summary, both issued in the name of Major-General Matthew Ridgway (commander of XVIII corps from August 1944). These detail the planning and active phrases of the operation, attributing Varsity's success not to "the remarkable circumstance of having events develop according to schedule, but rather by the thousands of individuals who through bold and aggressive action, by tireless and intelligent efforts, caused those events to occur... It may well serve as a model for future airborne operations" (pp. 11-12). The full report is appended with a troop list, correct as of 25 March 1945, and the seven large maps record the overall objectives of the operation and the situation at the close of each day.We have traced copy 60 at the HQ Donovan Research Library (Fort Benning, Georgia).

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