On 3 September 1943, exactly four years since Britain had declared war on Germany, the Eighth Army landed in Italy at Reggio Calabria, with the US Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark landing at Salerno six days later. The 1st Airborne Division under Major General George Hopkinson landed at Taranto on the same day, encountering little in the way of serious resistance, although just a few days later the division's GOC was killed in action (and replaced by Major General Ernest Down). On 23 September Allfrey's V Corps HQ landed, taking the 1st Airborne Division, Major General Dudley Russell's 8th Indian Infantry Division and the 78th Division, along with Brigadier John Currie's 4th Armoured Brigade, under command, and made quick progress in Italy, capturing the Foggia Airfield Complex on 27 September. After facing resistance on the River Biferno, which was outflanked by British Commandos (see Operation Devon), V Corps, now minus the 1st Airborne Division, found itself on the River Sangro by 9 November.