Richard Lonsdale Service Order. His citation read: Most of the 1st Airborne Division returned to the United Kingdom in November 1943 and were kept in reserve during Operation Overlord. In September Lonsdale was made second in command of 11th Battalion, Parachute Regiment and in the same month the division was deployed in Operation Market Garden. The Allies planned to use airborne forces to secure key bridges over a number of rivers and canals in the Netherlands, opening a route around the Seigfried Line and into the heart of Germany. 1st Airborne Division was tasked with securing bridges across the Lower Rhine at
1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) Infantry Division, the US 101st Airborne Division, and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade landing at Rambouillet St Arnoult, to close the gap between Orléans and Paris. Operation "Axehead", using the same force, was to seize the bridges over the River Seine in support of 21st Army Group. Operation "Boxer", with the same force, was to seize Boulogne and assault V1 flying bomb sites. Near the end of the month, Operation "Linnet", with the same units as before, was formulated to seize crossings over the Escaut. Operation "Infatuate", drawn up in early September, involved the entire I Airborne Corps landing in