World War II
The division also participated in the Second Army maneuvers in the Tennessee Maneuver Area from 6 February 1944. It finished its training on 27 March 1944, and transferred to Camp Forrest on 24 March 1944. The division staged at Camp Myles Standish on 12 August 1944 before departing Boston Port of Embarkation on 20 August 1944. It arrived in Britain on 26 August.
Once in Britain the division was attached to XVIII Airborne Corps, which commanded all American airborne formations, and which in turn became part of First Allied Airborne Army when it was formed on 21 August under the command of Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton. Although attached to XVIII Airborne Corps, the division was not chosen to participate in Operation Market-Garden, a large-scale airborne operation intended to seize several bridges through the Netherlands to allow the Allied armies to bypass the Rhine river and enter Germany. It was passed over in favour of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions because it had only recently arrived in the European Theater of Operations and was considered to be unprepared logistically as it was still collecting its combat equipment. The division remained in Britain as a theater reserve during Market-Garden and its aftermath, as the Allied armies continued their advance towards Germany.
Read more about this topic: 17th Airborne Division (United States)
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