Where was the largest paratroop drop in WWII?

The largest paratroop drop of World War II took place near Wesel, Germany, during Operation Varsity.

On 24 March 1945, Allied airborne forces crossed the Rhine in support of Operation Plunder, the ground assault into Germany. More than 16,000 paratroopers from the U.S. 17th Airborne Division and Britain’s 6th Airborne Division were dropped near Hamminkeln and Wesel, east of the Rhine.

Operation Varsity was designed to seize key ground, protect the river-crossing operation, and prevent German forces from disrupting the Allied advance. It was conducted in daylight and concentrated in one area, making it the largest airborne operation carried out on a single day and in a single location during World War II.

The event is sometimes confused with D-Day’s airborne landings or Operation Market Garden, both of which involved major airborne forces. Varsity was smaller in some broader measures than the combined D-Day drops, but its concentrated one-day deployment is why it is commonly identified as the war’s largest paratroop drop.