US Airborne Divisions in the ETO 1944-45 by Steven Zaloga

Author:Steven Zaloga
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: US Airborne Divisions in the ETO 1944–45
ISBN: 9781472800701
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. James Gavin, straps on his parachute at Cottesmore in preparation for Operation Market on September 17, 1944. (NARA)

Commander of the 101st Airborne Division, Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor, gives the photographer a smart salute after boarding a C-47 of the 435th Troop Carrier Group with the 1/502nd PIR at Welford on September 17, 1944. (NARA)

Since the US was providing two-thirds of the airborne divisions and three-quarters of the troop carriers, on July 16, 1944, the new command was handed to a US officer, Gen. Lewis Brereton, commander of the Ninth Air Force that was currently in charge of IX Troop Carrier Command. Brereton was not entirely convinced of the need for a combined airborne headquarters and he rightly pointed out that he expected that US ground commanders would not be too happy. In spite of this, the new organization made its debut on August 16, 1944, as the First Allied Airborne Army (FAAA), directly subordinate to SHAEF rather than to Montgomery’s 21st Army Group or Bradley’s 12th Army Group. Browning was the obvious choice as deputy commander to ensure that the command was indeed a joint effort both from the standpoint of army representation and British participation. Eisenhower’s decision to appoint an air force commander was an astute political judgment, as it helped to ensure enthusiastic air force support of the future airborne missions, especially on the touchy subject of the diversion of heavy bombers for supplementary supply missions.

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