541st Parachute Infantry Regiment (United States) - The Knollwood Maneuvers, North Carolina, December 1943

The Knollwood Maneuvers, North Carolina, December 1943

By late December 1943 the Army High Command had become disenchanted with the idea of Parachute Troops, to the point where they were contemplating dissolving the existing Airborne Divisions in favour of independent Battalions, which could be attached to regular Divisions for use in sabotage and deception operations. The 82nd Airborne Division had jumped into Sicily at this point and a mixture of misdrops and friendly fire had the High Command concerned about the practicality of large scale airdrops of troopers. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, later Overall Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, famously said: "I do not believe in the Airborne Division..."

In order to decide whether to keep or disband the Airborne Units it was decided to hold a 2 week maneuver to assess the fate of Airborne Troops, this was the Knollwood Maneuvers. By this time the 541st was a part of the Strategic Reserve held in the United States. The Regiment was chosen alongside the 11th and 17th Airborne Divisions to participate in the Maneuvers. The future of Airborne Troops was resting on the shoulders of these men and they approached the task with determination to preserve their branch of service.

Despite foul weather the maneuvers were a resounding success and the future of Airborne Troopers was safe. The 541st performed particularly well, scoring high marks and making a good account of themselves.

However, despite their good performance and obviously being ready for movement overseas, the men of the 541st were still held in Reserve, watching as their counterparts in the 11th and 17th Airborne Divisions were deployed overseas. To further add to their disappointment the 541st was tasked with providing replacements for the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions overseas. As a result many original members of the 541st were on hand to participate in the Invasion of Normandy.