Operation Epsom in late June, at the Battle for Hill 112 (Operation Jupiter). During the battle, "the 4th Somersets suffered 556 casualties out of a strength of 845. Between 26 June and 14 July, 4th SLI received 19 reinforcement officers and 479 ORs as replacements." The battalion became involved in trench warfare similar to that of the Great War. They later played a large part in the disastrous Operation Market Garden, a small role in the Battle of the Bulge and finally took part in Operation Plunder, the crossing of the River Rhine by the Allies. Hostilities-only The other battalion to see active service was the 10th Battalion, raised in 1940, which was converted in 1942 into the 7th Parachute Battalion, and was now part of the Parachute Regiment, itself part of the British Army's airborne forces. They were assigned to the 3rd Parachute Brigade, which was originally part of the 1st Airborne Division, but were later assigned to the newly-raised 5th Parachute Brigade, part of the 6th Airborne Division, which had also just been raised. The 7th Parachute Battalion would see its first combat during Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings in Normandy, the night before 6 June 1944, D-Day. They would then go on to serve throughout the Battle of Normandy as normal infantrymen, The battalion then played a part in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and then again in Operation Varsity in March 1945, the largest airborne drop of the war, including both the 6th Airborne and the US 17th Airborne Division, with well over 16,000 airborne troops being involved. The SLI also had responsibility for defending local airfields, including RNAS Charlton Horethorne, where they prepared trenches, hardpoints and machine gun positions. The 30th Battalion, of 43rd Infantry Brigade, formed part of the British First Army, and served in Tunisia and Italy. Post war to amalgamation The 1st Battalion was the last British infantry battalion to leave India after its independence, departing on 28 February 1948. During the final ceremony, the battalion marched through Bombay (now Mumbai) and received a guard of honour from the newly formed Indian Army at the Gateway of India. The 2nd Battalion ended the war in Greece, subsequently forming part of the Allied occupation force of Austria. The two regular battalions returned to the United Kingdom where they were amalgamated into a single 1st Battalion on 28 June 1948