The untold story of the battle that helped end WW2 in Europe

Operation Varsity "was the conflict that ended" World War Two successful Europe, yet it is mostly chartless to each but subject past buffs.

British, Canadian and American forces took disconnected mostly from Essex airfields connected 24 March 1945, to beryllium dropped straight connected apical of the German lines astatine the River Rhine.

Paratroopers and gliders packed with men descended into fierce warring conditions which resulted successful accelerated success, but immense nonaccomplishment of life. About six weeks later, the Western Allies had met the Russians successful Berlin and Victory successful Europe was declared.

Chris Bullock has organised an lawsuit astatine 1 of the departure airfields, RAF Rivenhall, to retrieve those who died, saying "it's an untold story".

Peter Davies, 102, took disconnected from RAF Woodbridge successful Suffolk towed by a Dakota level and carrying "a 17-pounder gun, towing vehicle and weapon detachment of 8 personnel".

He had volunteered for the Glider Pilot Regiment successful 1942 due to the fact that helium thought it would beryllium "more exciting" than his clip arsenic an Army backstage manning a Royal Artillery anti-aircraft unit.

"It's similar flying a ceramic – there's lone 1 way, and it's down," said Mr Davies, from Bollington, Cheshire, describing what it was similar erstwhile the the glider was loosed.

"There was a hellhole of a batch of flak, we mislaid our controls and having mislaid a large chunk of 1 wing, we were pulling deeper and deeper into force ground.

"When we deed the crushed – and I bash mean deed – we were precise overmuch successful the incorrect spot amongst a load of precise aggravated Germans, and it was full chaos."

One American glider came down wrong 50m (about 160ft) of him, "and not 1 antheral got retired live due to the fact that the Germans were determination arsenic well".

But with co-pilot Bert Bowman, helium made it crossed the battlefield to their intended driblet portion and returned to Britain.

"The Allies landed straight connected apical of the Germans and tons of gliders were changeable down and tons of paratroopers were changeable successful the skies – 80 radical from RAF Rivenhall unsocial mislaid their lives," said Mr Bullock, 56, who served successful the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment for 25 years.

Operation Varsity was the largest azygous airborne cognition successful history, with much than 16,000 men were dropped into occidental Germany connected the aforesaid day.

Its purpose was to found a bridgehead crossed the River Rhine for the main Allied beforehand into Germany and propulsion rapidly towards the Russian forces arriving from the east.

The archetypal portion was the crushed violative Operation Plunder, "which was the biggest-ever stream crossing and was done by British and Canadian forces", Mr Bullock said.

The volition was for the amphibious troops connected the occidental broadside of the Rhine to articulation up with the airborne troops dropped to its east.

Varsity took spot conscionable 5 months aft the disastrous Battle of Arnhem, which resulted successful 90% casualties to the Glider Pilot Regiment.

RAF pilots specified arsenic Brian Latham, who had been sent to Texas, to larn to alert combatant planes, were among hundreds who "volunteered" for glider service.

"If we didn't volunteer, we were told we'd ne'er alert again and beryllium made to articulation the infantry oregon spell down a mine," said Mr Latham, 101, from Llandudno, Conway, Wales.

However, helium soon realised being a gilder aviator was "an elite, similar the Commandos".

"We were not toughies and they made america toughies – I became a trained infantry man," helium said.

Flying from RAF Gosfield, adjacent Braintree, Essex, Mr Latham carried a mortar section, with a Jeep and trailer, and was dropped into crushed fume and dense anti-aircraft fire.

"We conscionable dived into the fume and it was each precise breathtaking and we landed conscionable wherever we should person done astatine Hamminkeln," helium said.

"We were past by a bridge, held by the Royal Ulster Rifles, which was attacked by German tanks until the British 2nd Army came up [having crossed the Rhine]."

Eventually helium was returned to the UK, but grateful not to spell backmost to his location presumption of RAF Broadwell successful Oxfordshire, due to the fact that "we'd mislaid excessively galore people".

Of the 890 Glider Pilot Regiment unit who took portion successful Varsity, much than 20% of them were killed oregon wounded.

"We were dropped close successful amongst the Germans, which had ne'er been tried before, and we knew it was a termination drop," said Danny Mason, who had qualified to articulation the Parachute Regiment aged 19 conscionable a week earlier.

"But it didn't fuss us. We were young and keen and thought, 'We'll beryllium each right, we'll beryllium fine'."

Now 98 and surviving successful Ludlow, Shropshire, Mr Mason added: "We besides thought the Germans were losing and weren't successful bully warring information and this'll beryllium casual – but it wasn't. We had a precise precocious casualty rate."

At slightest 1,070 members of the US 17th Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division, which included the Canadians, were killed and thousands much were wounded.

"But wrong 4 oregon 5 hours we had accomplished what we had acceptable retired to do," Mr Mason said.

He precocious 600 miles done Germany wrong a fortnight until helium was injured.

"It was the conflict that ended the war, yet cipher was funny successful it," helium said.

"I asked my aged commanding serviceman astir it and helium said it was due to the fact that everyone was fed up. It was six years of warfare and it was specified a immense alleviation erstwhile VE Day came."

Mr Bullock provided immoderate further context.

"Three weeks aft Varsity, Belsen attraction campy was liberated. Two weeks after, Hitler killed himself, and a week aft that Germany capitulated – it's astir apt hardly talked astir due to the fact that events overtook themselves."

Now moving arsenic an planetary operations information manager for the BBC, helium lives adjacent RAF Rivenhall and began researching its communicative 10 years ago.

Sixty gliders towed by 2 RAF squadrons near the airfield astatine 07:00 GMT connected 24 March 1945, carrying portion of the 6th Airborne Division.

But immoderate of that past is inactive lost.

"There are nary records near of who flew connected which glider and what happened to each antheral – lone the anecdotal grounds and idiosyncratic stories I've managed to way down," helium said.

He has commissioned a memorial to "remember each those who flew from Rivenhall and died connected that day".

It volition beryllium unveiled astatine an lawsuit connected 23 March, with subject vehicles, static stands, re-enactors, presentations and a flypast by a Dakota.

A memorial work volition beryllium held the adjacent time astatine 07:00 GMT.

With acknowledgment to The Glider Pilot Regiment Society and The Parachute Regimental Association.