11th Parachute Battalion ( United Kingdom ) The 11th Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment , raised by the British Army during the Second World War . The battalion formed in the Middle East was assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade , 1st Airborne Division . As it was still training it was left behind when the rest of the brigade took part in the Allied invasion of Italy . One company later parachuted onto the island of Kos taking prisoner the large Italian garrison . The battalion rejoined the rest of the division in England . The only battle in which the battalion participated was the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 . The battalion sustained heavy casualties and was disbanded following the battle . After the Second World War a reserve 11th Battalion was formed by the Territorial Army in 1947 , but it was disbanded nine years later . Formation . Impressed by the success of German airborne operations , during the Battle of France , the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5 , 000 parachute troops . On 22 June 1940 , No . 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November , re - designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion , with a parachute and glider wing . It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation , Operation Colossus , on 10 February 1941 . The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the existing airborne force , setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942 , and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting a number of infantry battalions into airborne battalions in August 1942 . The 11th Parachute Battalion was raised in Kibrit Egypt in March 1943 . Assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade , 1st Airborne Division the battalion was still in training when the rest of the brigade left to join the division for the Allied invasion of Italy . In 1942 a parachute battalion had an establishment of 556 men in three companies ( three platoon s each ) supported by a mortar and a Vickers machine gun platoon . By 1944 a support company to command the battalions heavy weapons was added . It comprised three platoons : Mortar Platoon with eight mortars , Machine Gun Platoon with four Vickers machine guns and an Anti - tank Platoon with ten PIAT anti - tank projectors . The only combat seen by the battalion in the Mediterranean , was in September 1943 . ' A ' Company and the mortar and machine gun platoons parachuted onto the island Kos in the Dodecanese and captured the airfield . The Italian garrison numbered around 4 , 000 men did not put up any resistance . The company was withdrawn soon after and rejoined the battalion . In December 1943 the battalion rejoined the 4th Parachute Brigade who by this time were in England . Arnhem . When the battalion landed outside Arnhem on 18 September they were detached from the brigade and sent to reinforce the 1st Parachute Battalion and the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment , trying to fight through to the 2nd Parachute Battalion which had captured the northern end of the Arnhem road bridge . The two battalions were located in the town about short of the bridge . They were just about to start another attempt to break through to the 2nd Parachute Battalion . With no appreciation of the ground the 11th Battalion was held in reserve playing no part in the attack . Under heavy fire the attempt stalled and to relieve the pressure on the assaulting troops , the 11th Battalion was asked to carry out a left flanking attack on the German positions . Orders were being issued for the assault , when the divisional commander Major General Roy Urquhart personally intervened , forbidding the battalion to take part in what he now considered a futile attack . The 2nd South Staffords had been decimated with only their ' C ' Company surviving as a unit . The 1st Parachute Battalion were in an even worse state and only numbered about 40 men . The battalion was gradually worn down withdrawing through the city and casualties mounted . A move to gain some high ground to the north was discovered and the battalion was caught in the open and decimated , with only around 150 men left . One of the casualties being the commanding officer Lieutenant - Colonel George Lea . The second in command Major Richard Lonsdale now took command of the battalion and the remnants of the 1st , 3rd Parachute and 2nd South Staffords battalions . Forming them into an ad - hoc force which became known as Lonsdale Force . They were withdrawn to Oosterbeek where the division was forming a defensive perimeter , digging in on the south eastern side with their right flank on the river . Lonsdale addressed the men before the Germans arrived ; The defenders were involved in a number of desperate actions , and hand - to - hand fighting keeping the Germans out of the divisions perimeter . One of the men Lance - Sergeant John Baskeyfield of the South Staffords anti - tank platoon , was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross . By the 21 September pressure from the German attacks had squeezed the perimeter to less than across . On the 22 September the bulk of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade were dropped south of the river . This drew off some of the Germans from around the divisional perimeter to confront the new threat . The defenders now had to cope with over 100 German artillery guns firing onto their positions . On 24 September the decision was made by Lieutenant - General Horrocks commander XXX Corps to withdraw what was left of the division south of the Rhine . On the morning of the 25 September units of the 9th SS Panzer Division attacked the battalion in force , attempting to cut the division off from the river . The initial attack was stopped by bayonet s and hand grenades . Following attacks were driven off by direct fire from the guns of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment , Royal Artillery and the 64h Medium regiment , XXX Corps dropping their shells on the battalions positions . The remnants of the battalion were evacuated over the night of 25 / 26 September . The casualties sustained by the battalion were never replaced and it was disbanded after the battle of Arnhem . Territorial Army . When the Territorial Army was reformed following the war in 1947 , a new 11th Battalion was raised . It was formed by the conversion of the 8th Battalion , Middlesex Regiment . It was part of the reserve 16th Airborne Division . Following defence cuts if reverted to being the 8th Battalion , Middlesex Regiment in August 1956 .