2nd Parachute Brigade in Southern France

2nd Parachute Brigade in Southern France
Part of Operation Dragoon
Map of the Dragoon landings, the airborne landings Operation Rugby highlighted in red
Date 15–26 August 1944 Location Southern France Coordinates: 43°28′19″N 6°33′59″W / 43.47194°N 6.56639°W / 43.47194; -6.56639 Result Allied success
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Charles Hilary Vaughan Pritchard	Johannes Baessler
Units involved
2nd Parachute Brigade	242nd Infantry Division
Casualties and losses
51 dead 130 wounded 181 missing ^	Unknown but around 350 prisoners taken
^ Some of the missing later reported for duty

The British 2nd Parachute Brigade was part of the Operation Rugby airborne landings in August 1944. The operation was carried out by an ad hoc airborne formation called the 1st Airborne Task Force. Operation Rugby was itself part of the Operation Dragoon invasion of Southern France by the American 7th Army. The airborne task force landed in the River Argens valley with the objective of preventing German reinforcements from reaching the landing beaches. The landings were mainly an American operation and the brigade was the only British Army formation involved.

The brigade's pathfinders landed accurately and set up their homing beacons, but the main body of the brigade landed over a large area, some 20 miles (32 km) away. The following glider force also had problems; weather conditions forced the brigade's anti-tank unit to turn back for Italy and return with the second wave later that day. Eventually the brigade captured their primary objectives, but the lack of manpower meant that their secondary objective of Le Muy was given to the American airborne forces. The seaborne and airborne landings linked up within two days, and the brigade became the reserve formation for the operation.

As a British withdrawal from France at the earliest opportunity had been the original intent, the brigade boarded ships bound for Italy eleven days after landing. The operation had cost the brigade 362 casualties, but this did not hinder their next mission in Greece two months later. Only 126 replacements were required to bring the brigade back up to full strength.

Commanded by Brigadier Charles Hilary Vaughan Pritchard, the 2nd Parachute Brigade formed in 1942 and was assigned to the 1st Airborne Division. It comprised three parachute battalions, with their own artillery and engineer support. Although the brigade had not been involved in the division's operations in Sicily, it took part in Operation Slapstick, the landing at Taranto in Italy. At the end of 1943, when the 1st Airborne Division returned to the United Kingdom, the brigade remained behind fighting in the Italian Campaign. Since then, the brigade had taken part in patrols probing German lines, and the battles at Cassino and along the Sangro river at the Bernhardt Line. Previously, their only parachute mission had been Operation Hasty, which required only sixty men from the brigade.

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