Operation Varsity a veteran division; it had taken part in Operation Overlord, the assault on Normandy in June the previous year. However, the U.S. 17th Airborne Division, under Major General William Miley, had been activated only in April 1943 and had arrived in Britain in August 1944, too late to participate in Operation Overlord. The division did not participate in Operation Market Garden. It did, however, participate in the Ardennes campaign but had yet to take part in a combat drop. The U.S. 13th Airborne Division, under Major General Eldridge Chapman, had been activated in August 1943 and was transferred to France
Night of the Bridges disguised as lovers enjoying nature or as geography excursions. Originally, the operation should have taken place in May, but due to political reasons it was postponed. The political leadership forbade an attack on four targets: the railway bridge between the Ras an-Nakura tunnels, and the three bridges over the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers leading to the Naharayim power plant. The planners knew that the operation could not cause heavy damage, and that it would only take some weeks for the connections to be restored. The real targets were: The objectives were fully accomplished. The Haganah could hit strategic targets at