Winston Churchill, impressed by the action carried out by the German airborne forces in Crete in 1941, led to the formation of the first British airborne units. The first such unit was The Parachute Regiment, and the first operation was carried out by British paratroopers in 1942. A year earlier, the 1st Parachute Division was formed, and two years later (in 1943), the 6th Parachute Division. It is worth adding that next to these two divisions there was also the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade formed in 1942. Both British parachute divisions had four to five parachute and glider infantry brigades and support units, such as anti-tank troops, a sub-unit of light tanks or engineering and sapper units. British parachute troops fought both during the fighting in North Africa (1942-1943), during the landing in Sicily and southern Italy (1943), and during the fighting in Normandy (1944) or during the unsuccessful Operation Market-Garden (1944). They were also used during the forcing of the Rhine (1945) and in the last fights in Germany.
Operation Market Garden was played from September 17-26, 1944 in today's Netherlands. About 85.00 people were involved in the operation on the Allied side, including the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, under the command of General Stanisław Sosabowski. It is worth adding, however, that the number of soldiers involved in the operation is sometimes estimated and given in various ways. German forces directly and indirectly involved in the operation are also only estimated at between 70,000 and 100,000 people. The main initiator of this operation was the British Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, who sought to seize the bridges in the Netherlands leading to the industrial heart of Germany - the Ruhr Area - and enter the Third Reich from the north, thus ending World War II as soon as possible. The key to the success of the operation, in particular, was the rapid capture of the undamaged Rhine bridges. The operation was burdened with considerable risk from the very beginning and assumed a small margin of error. Opponents appeared even among British officers. However, Montgomery convinced the Supreme Allied Commander in the Western European theater of war - General DD Eisenhower - to do so, which marked the start of the operation. Despite initial successes, the operation ended in a complete defeat (contrary to what was later said) by Montgomery and high losses for the Allies. The symbol of the defeat of the entire operation was, first of all, the Battle of Arnhem (September 17-25), which ended with the retreat of the elite British 1st Parachute Division, which in the course of this battle was almost completely destroyed by the German army. Total Allied losses are estimated at about 15,000-17.00 killed, wounded and captured. The Germans lost - according to various estimates - from approx. 3,500 to approx. 1:00 pm people.