Although the Paras saw action throughout the Mediterranean, it was the battles they fought in northern Europe from the summer of 1944 onwards that defined their war.
By D-Day, the regiment consisted of 17 battalions that largely belonged to either the 1st or 6th Airborne Divisions. Despite being second-born, the 6th (its name was intended to confuse the enemy) was the first to see action.
On the night of 5 June, 1,500 planes took off from airfields across England and headed across the channel as part