1st Airlanding Light Regiment
WW2 British Army artillery unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1st Airlanding Light Regiment was an airborne forces unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery during the Second World War.
1st Airlanding Light Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | 1943–1945 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Artillery |
Role | Airborne forces |
Size | Regiment |
Part of | 1st Airborne Division |
Motto(s) | Ubique (Everywhere) |
Engagements | Operation Slapstick Italian Campaign Battle of Arnhem Operation Doomsday |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Lieutenant Colonel W. F. K. Thompson |
Insignia | |
Emblem of the British airborne forces |
The regiment was raised in 1943, by the expansion of an existing airborne artillery battery. Attached to the 1st Airborne Division in 1943, the regiment landed in Italy as part of Operation Slapstick—part of the Allied invasion of Italy—and then, when the division was withdrawn, it stayed behind to support other divisions of the British Eighth Army in the Italian Campaign until the end of the year. In 1944 the regiment rejoined the 1st Airborne Division in England and, in September 1944, took part in Operation Market Garden, which was the airborne assault in the Netherlands. During the battle of Arnhem that followed the regiment was one of the divisional units that formed a defensive ring around Oosterbeek.
Reformed after Arnhem, the regiment never fought in another battle. They did, however, take part in Operation Doomsday, the repatriation of the German occupation army in Norway in May 1945. After this the regiment returned to England and was disbanded in December 1945.