First Allied Airborne Army divisions were initially chosen to take part in Varsity: the British 6th Airborne Division, the US 13th Airborne Division and the US 17th Airborne Division, all of which were assigned to US XVIII Airborne Corps. One of these airborne formations, the British 6th Airborne Division, was a veteran division; it had taken part in Operation Overlord and the assault on Normandy. However, the 17th Airborne Division had only been activated in April 1943 and had arrived in Britain in August 1944, too late to participate in Operation Overlord. The division had also been absent from Operation Market-Garden, and the only
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