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
6th Airborne Division order of battle 6th Airborne Division order of battle The 6th Airborne Division order of battle lists only those units assigned to the division; units attached only for short periods of time are not included. The 6th Airborne Division was the second of two airborne divisions formed by the British Army during the Second World War. Raised in 1943, the division fought in the Normandy landings (Operation Deadstick, Operation Tonga, Operation Mallard, Battle of Breville), the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. The division then participated in Operation Varsity, the second airborne assault over the River Rhine during the