On the morning of 24th March 1945 the British and Canadian 6th Airborne Division and the American 17th Airborne Division began parachuting into German held territory on the eastern side of the River Rhine. So began the largest single lift airborne operation of all time as nearly 17,000 men were dropped, using nearly two thousand transport planes and defended by around 3,000 fighters.

Varsity was the last major operation of the war as the allies successfully made it onto German held territory and the route to Berlin was clear, though they were behind the Soviets in that race.

Joining to discuss is Saul David, bestselling military historian and author of Sky Warriors, his account of the British airborne troops during the Second World War.

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