8th ( Midlands ) Parachute Battalion The 8th ( Midlands ) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment , raised by the British Army during the Second World War . Formed by the conversion of the 13th Battalion , Royal Warwickshire Regiment to parachute duties , the battalion was assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade in the 6th Airborne Division . The battalion fought in the Normandy invasion , and the break out to the River Seine . Withdrawn to England in September 1944 , the German winter offensive known as the Battle of the Bulge saw the battalion return to the continent . Their final mission during the war , was the River Rhine crossing , followed by the advance to the Baltic . After the war the battalion was sent to Palestine with the 6th Airborne Division until January 1948 , when it was amalgamated with the 9th ( Eastern and Home Counties ) Parachute Battalion to form the 8th / 9th Parachute Battalion . Formation . Background . 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 . Battalion . The 8th ( Midlands ) Parachute Battalion was formed in November 1942 , by the conversion of the 13th Royal Warwickshire Regiment to parachute duties . The battalion was assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade . Upon formation in 1942 , the battalion had an establishment of 556 men in three rifle companies . The companies were divided into a small headquarters and three platoon s . The platoons had three Bren machine gun s and three 2 - inch mortar s , one of each per section . The only heavy weapons in the battalion were a 3 inch mortar and a Vickers machine gun platoon . By 1944 a headquarters or support company , was added to the battalion . It comprised five platoons : motor transport , signals , mortar , machine - gun and anti - tank . With eight mortars , four Vickers machine guns and ten PIAT anti - tank projectors . The battalions first commanding officer was Lieutenant - Colonel Hildersly , who was succeeded in 1943 by Lieutenant - Colonel Alastair Pearson DSO and two bars , MC . All members of the battalion had to undergo a twelve day parachute training course carried out at No . 1 Parachute Training School , RAF Ringway . Initial parachute jumps were from a converted barrage balloon and finished with five parachute jumps from an aircraft . Anyone failing to complete a descent was returned to his old unit . Those men who successfully completed the parachute course , were presented with their maroon beret and parachute wings . Airborne soldiers were expected to fight against superior numbers of the enemy , armed with heavy weapons , including artillery and tanks . So training was designed to encourage a spirit of self - discipline , self - reliance and aggressiveness . Emphasis was given to physical fitness , marksman ship and fieldcraft . A large part of the training regime consisted of assault course s and route marching . Military exercise s included capturing and holding airborne bridgeheads , road or rail bridges and coastal fortifications . At the end of most exercises , the battalion would march back to their barracks . An ability to cover long distances at speed was expected : airborne platoons were required to cover a distance of in 24 hours , and battalion ' s . Operations . Normandy . On 6 June 1944 , the 8th Parachute Battalion landed in Normandy on their own drop zone ' K ' between Cuverville and Touffréville to the south of the main force at Ranville . The battalion ' s objectives were to destroy two bridges crossing the River Dives near Bures and a third at Troarn . The parachute drop was widely scattered , with fourteen of the Battalion ' s thirty - seven Dakota aircraft , releasing their parachutists some distance away , in the operational area of 5th Parachute Brigade . When the commanding officer Lieutenant - Colonel Pearson arrived at the battalion rendezvous point ( RVP ) at 01 : 20 , he found only thirty paratroopers and a small group of engineers with a jeep and trailer who were supposed to demolish the bridges . By 03 : 30 a further 140 men of the battalion , but no more engineers had arrived at the RVP . Pearson decided to send a small force to demolish the bridges at Bures and lead the rest of the battalion to a crossroad north of Troarn where it would await more reinforcements before it attacked Troarn itself . However , the small force sent to Bures discovered that the two bridges had already been demolished by a group of engineers who had reached the bridges a few hours earlier , and so rejoined the battalion at the crossroads , which by now numbered 150 men . A reconnaissance party was sent into Troarn to ascertain the status of the bridge there , alongside a party of engineers , which came under fire from a house near the bridge . After a brief fire - fight the paratroopers captured a number of Germans from the 21st Panzer Division and then made their way to the bridge , which they discovered had been demolished already . Once the engineers had widened the length of bridge demolished using their explosives , the party retreated back to the battalion at the crossroad . Having achieved its objective , the battalion then moved north and took up positions near Le Mesnil to widen the airborne bridgehead formed by the division . By midnight the battalion was in the Bavent woods . The southernmost point in a defensive line formed by the 3rd Parachute Brigade , stretching northwards from the woods , to Les Mesnil and then Le Plein . The 8th Battalion ' s objective was to hold the woods and disrupt German movements in the area . Isolated from the rest of the division , they were assisted in their defence by the dense woods , which broke up infantry assaults and made armoured vehicle attacks impossible . They did however suffer under artillery bombardments , until their trenches had adequate over - head cover . Adopting a policy of mine laying , setting ambushes , raiding and patrolling , at times the battalion ' s patrols reached as far as Bures and Troarn . The battalion remained in the woods until 16 June , when the 3rd Parachute Brigade went into reserve . When they returned to the front , they continued patrolling and harassing the Germans for the next six weeks . Until 17 August when the 6th Airborne Division , crossed the River Dives . The 8th Battalion were involved in heavy fighting at Goustranville , which they captured by nightfall . By 21 August the battalion , had reached Annebault . Supported by a left flanking attack by the 9th Parachute Battalion , the 8th put in a frontal assault . The village was well defended and both battalions fought all day to liberate the village . The 8th Battalions next major engagement was on the 25 August at Beuzeville , attacked by the 3rd Parachute and the 4th Special Service Brigade . Supported by the Cromwell tank s of the 6th Airborne Division Reconnaissance Regiment the battalion gradually overcome the German strong points and captured the town . After the liberation of Beuzeville the 6th Airborne Division having reached Honfleur on the River Seine was ordered to hold their positions . By September the battalion had been withdrawn to England . At the same time Lieutenant - Colonel George Hewitson replaced the incapacitated Lieutenant - Colonel Pearson as commanding officer . Ardennes . On 16 December 1944 , the Germans launched a surprise counterattack through the forests of the Ardennes . Their plan was aimed at splitting the Allied armies and pushing through an armoured force to the English channel . In command on the northern sector General Montgomery ordered the 6th Airborne division , refitting in England to move to Belgium and form a defensive line along the River Meuse . By 29 December still part of the 3rd Parachute Brigade the 8th Parachute Battalion , were in position to attack the leading German formation , in the Rochefort area . After heavy fighting the town was eventually captured . After the German offensive had been halted the division remained in Belgium and the Netherlands until early 1945 . Germany . The 8th Parachute Battalion were next in action 24 March 1945 , in the biggest and most successful airborne operation of the war . The 6th Airborne Division had the objective of securing a bridgehead across the River Rhine . The battalion was the first unit of the division to land , their objective was to secure drop zone ' A ' . The woodland at the edge of the drop zone was secured by ' A ' and ' C ' Companies with little opposition . However ' B ' Company and the Machine Gun Platoon landed in the wrong place and came under fire from defensive positions manned by German parachutists . The position was eventually destroyed in a hand to hand battle . With the drop zone secured the rest of the 3rd Parachute Brigade landed and the 8th Battalion became the Brigade reserve . They later destroyed two Germans 88 mm anti - tank guns en route to the Brigade equipment dump . By nightfall it was guarding the Division Headquarters at Kopenhof . The 6th Airborne Division broke out of the Rhine bridgehead on the 26 March . The 8th Parachute Battalion supported by the 6th Airborne Reconnaissance Regiment in the lead had by the 26 August had reached Lembeck . Putting in a frontal attack the 8th Battalion was stopped by well positioned 20 mm guns . At the same time the 9th Parachute Battalion had secured the left flank and the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion also became involved in the battle . By the end of the day the Battalion had gained a foothold in the town . The Brigade had secured a crossing on the River Ems on the 31 March , and the 8th Battalion crossed the river to secure a crossing over the Dortmund - Ems Canal . By the next day two of the Battalions companies had crossed the canal securing a bridgehead on the eastern bank in the face of heavy German artillery barrages . On the 4 April , the 8th Battalion were defeated in an attempt to enter Minden . The city was successfully captured that night by using all three battalion ' s of 3rd Parachute Brigade supported by the tanks of the 4th Armoured Battalion , Grenadier Guards part of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade . On the 30 April , the 6th Airborne Division was ordered to head for Wismar , on the Baltic Sea which they reached on 2 May . With the war in Europe over , the battalion returned to England at the end of May . Palestine . In October 1945 , the 6th Airborne Division was sent to the British Mandate Palestine on internal security duties , the 3rd Parachute Brigade being based in the Lydda district , which included Tel Aviv . On 13 November the 8th Battalion was sent into Tel Aviv , to deal with riots by the Jewish population , following the publication of a white paper on Palestine . The violence spread and eventually the whole 3rd Parachute Brigade became involved and order was not established until 20 November . The 3rd Parachute Brigade was disbanded in October 1947 , and the 8th and 9th Parachute Battalion were amalgamated as the 8th / 9th Parachute Battalion . The new Battalion was assigned to the 1st Parachute Brigade , however further post war reductions in the British Army saw this Battalion disbanded in June 1948 .