24 March 1945: 16,000-plus Allied paratroopers cross the Rhine as part of Operation Varsity, the largest-ever combat jump into a single location on a single day.

The purpose was to secure a bridgehead for Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery's Rhine crossing called Operation Plunder.

For details, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Varsity

ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) British 6th Abn. Div. glider troops unload a Horsa Mk. II in Germany as paratroopers descend. (2) British gliders land in Germany during Operation Varsity. (3) Canadian 6th Abn. Div. troopers encounter German fallschirmjäger after landing. (4) 17th Abn. Div. troopers ride a CG-4A Waco glider across the Rhine during Operation Varsity. (5) 17th Abn. Div. glidermen on a landing zone east of the Rhine. (6) 17th Abn. Div. paratroopers confer briefly on the DZ before moving off to join their unit. (7) 17th Abn. Div. troopers clear Germans from Diersfordt Castle. (8) Pfc. James Conboy, Jr., 513th PIR, 17th Abn. Div., poses for Robert Capa before boarding a C-47 bound for Germany. Conboy lost his right leg when he was hit by a 20mm shell after the jump. (9) 17th Abn. Div. troopers land after parachuting on the east side of Rhine. (10) 17th Abn. Div. troopers fight their way into a village after clearing the DZ.