The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was an elite Canadian airborne unit that was created on 1 July 1942. The Battalion was attached to the British 3rd Parachute Brigade, as part of the 6th Airborne Division. The Battalion earned a remarkable wartime record. It never failed to complete an assigned mission, nor did it ever lose or surrender an objective once taken. The Canadian paratroopers were among the first Allied soldiers to have landed in occupied Europe, the only Canadians who participated in the “Battle of the Bulge” in the Ardennes, and by the end of the war they had advanced deeper into Germany than any other Canadian unit.Unquestionable, the paratroopers of the 1stCanadian Parachute Battalion, at great cost and personal sacrifice, pioneered a new innovative form of warfare and demonstrated agility of thought and action, as well as an unrivalled warfare spirit in their daring assaults behind enemy lines.
The first phase of the Normandy invasion fell to the First Canadian Parachute Battalion, who as part of the 6th British Airborne Division, successfully conducted their night-time pre-invasion Operation TONGA assault to capture vital ground east of the beachhead area.