| Operation Archway | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWestern Allied invasion of Germany in theWestern Front of theEuropean theatre of World War II | |||||||
 Armed SASJeep of the type used in Operation Archway | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |  Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Brian Franks | Gustav-Adolf von Zangen | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| 15th Army (elements) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300 men | |||||||
Operation Archway was thecodename for one of the largest and most diverse operations carried out by theSpecial Air Service during theSecond World War.[1]
Archway was initially intended to supportOperation Plunder andOperation Varsity, the crossings of theRiver Rhine atRees,Wesel, and south of theLippe River by theBritish Second Army, under Lieutenant-General SirMiles Dempsey. It went on to support the three BritishArmoured Divisions in their advance into Germany until the end of the war.
The Archway force was under command ofLieutenant Colonel Brian Franks and comprised twosquadrons, one each from the 1st and 2nd Special Air Service.
After theNormandy Landings the 1st and 2ndSpecial Air Service or SAS were involved in a number of operations in France, to support theAllied advance, notablyOperation Bulbasket,Operation Houndsworth,Operation Loyton andOperation Wallace. Following these operations both of the Special Air Service regiments were recalled to theUnited Kingdom to regroup, both having suffered casualties in the French operations.[2]
Operation Archway was planned to support theXVIII Airborne CorpsOperation Varsity parachute landings across theRhine river. The force from the Special Air Service would be known as Frankforce. Named after the officer selected to command it, thecommanding officer of 2nd Special Air Service,Lieutenant Colonel Brian Franks. Frankforce was made up of two reinforced Special Air Service squadrons, one each from the 1st and 2nd Special Air Service regiments.The force would number about 300 all ranks, mounted in 75 armedJeeps, some also equipped with 3-inchmortars. They were supported by a number of 15-cwt and 3-ton trucks.[3] The 1st Special Air Service squadron was led by Major Poat and consisted of three troops, each consisting of three sections with three Jeeps. They had a 3 in. mortar section at Squadron Headquarters which also kept a reserve of 12 Jeeps. The 2nd SAS squadron under command Major Power had a similar composition but only two troops.[1]
Their first mission in support of the XVIII Airborne Corps consisted of reconnaissance patrols in northern Germany. They crossed the Rhine in amphibiousLVT Buffalos, on the 25 March atBislich.[4]
Frankforce was then assigned to support the BritishGuards Armoured Division in the area around theDortmund–Ems Canal. After this, until the end of the war, Frankforce worked with the 2ndWelsh Guards, the8th King's Royal Irish Hussars and the15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars, who were the armoured reconnaissance regiments of the Guards,7th and11th Armoured Divisions. The Special Air Service Jeeps being a faster and lighter alternative to theCromwell tanks used by the armoured regiments.[2]It was the 1st SAS squadron working with the 11th Armoured Division, who were among the first British troops intoBergen-Belsen concentration camp.[5] They found between 50,000 and 60,000 inmates in the camp and for several days later SAS patrols assisted theField Security Police in hunting downwar criminals making several arrests.[3] By the end of April 1945, they had reached theElbe river, where they were joined by theOperation Keystone team, which was a squadron from 2nd SAS, under command of Major Hibbert.[6]
At the end of the war in Europe, both the 1st and 2nd Special Air Service regiments had returned to the United Kingdom in preparation to be redeployed to theFar East in the fight against theEmpire of Japan. Before any training could start, both regiments together with the1st Airborne Division were sent to disarm the German garrison in NorwayOperation Doomsday.[7] In August 1945 the Special Air Service regiments returned home from Norway,[8] and in October 1945 they were officially disbanded.[9] The British Authorities of the time could see no further use for such a force.[9]