2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment

Operation Biting would give the Paris a second chance to prove their mettle.

To carry out the assault, Brigade Commander Lieutenant Colonel Richard Gale chose C Company of 2 Para, commanded by Company Sergeant Major Gerald Strachan, who he judged to be furthest along in their training.

Of the 180 men in C Company, 111 would ultimately take part in the raid, along with one officer and eight sappers from the Royal Engineers Parachute Squadron.

40 men from B Company were also attached to the operation to serve as reserves and replacements if needed.

As matters stand, Urquhart fills close to a third of his glider lift with divisional troops since his only spare infantry belongs to the 4th Parachute Brigade, a parachute formation rather than a glider one.

Lieutenant Colonel John Frost of the 2nd Parachute Battalion warns of the risks of placing non-airborne commanders over airborne units, noting that such commanders are apt to treat airborne warfare as simply another way into battle, when its physical, mental and even spiritual demands differ greatly from conventional soldiering.

Urquhart's senior brigade commander, Brigadier Gerald Lathbury, led the 1st Parachute Brigade at the Primasol Bridge in Sicily in July 1943.

Urquhart has, since taking command, noticed a tendency toward overconfidence in the division, a tendency some of his own officers have also remarked on.

Others share that view, including veterans of Dunkirk and North Africa, worn down by cancellations and eager to finally go.

That many nonetheless harbour doubts becomes clear in later lower-level briefings.

Lathbury warns Frost that the coming battle could be a bloodbath, a warning Frost passes on to his 2nd Parachute Battalion officers.

While the airborne commanders finalise market at Moore Park, the ground half of the plan takes shape behind the bridgehead already won at Joe's Bridge.

On

direct orders from London, the 2nd Parachute Battalion launched an attack on the Argentine stronghold at Goose Green.

It's dark.

There's an enormous amount of noise.

Yeah.

It, it, it was, and you know, I talk about it, and I, I was out there in Basra sort of 2004 when 2 Para were there.

Yeah.

And I bumped into some lads from 2 Para, and I was cutting around in, like, chinos and, uh, you know, desert boots and a, and a rig on.

And a bloke's coming up to me going, "Have you gone two, two?" And I was like-

[laughs]

Certainly the 401st Airborne, and we're not going to talk too much about them, they've done their bit, but 30 Corps are taking their time to roll up towards where Arnhem is.

Now, on the first day in Arnhem, and we're going to come on to this in a minute... is that John Frost, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, part of 1st Airborne, he gets to the bridge with most of his battalion and they capture the Rhine Bridge at Arnhem, which is the main objective.

So that bet on the 17th, so far so good.

What could possibly go wrong?

Kabul had fallen, President Ghani had fled Afghanistan, and the coalition forces were conducting the evacuation of citizens and eligible persons amidst extraordinary uncertainty and chaos.

My unit, 2 Para, along with many others across the defence, deployed at high readiness as part of our pity.

We were based at the Baron Hotel, alongside soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines of the US Marine Corps.

Late on the 26th of August, a small team and I moved to the Abbey Gate to extract a group of entitled persons, EPs, from the crowd.

You're joining a lineage.

Like I turned up as OC 6 platoon B company 2 para.

I can trace back to the founding who the OC 6 platoon B company 2 para was.

You know, I know they fought at Goose Green and Wireless Ridge.

I know the lineage that goes all the way back.