 Operation Varsity would be the largest single @-@ lift airborne operation conducted during the conflict ; more significantly , it would contradict previous airborne strategy by having the airborne troops drop after the initial amphibious landings , in order to minimize the risks to the airborne troops learned from the experiences of Operation Market Garden . Unlike Market Garden , the airborne forces would be dropped only a relatively short distance behind German lines , thereby ensuring that reinforcements in the form of Allied ground forces would be able to link up with them within a short period : this avoided risking the same type of disaster that had befallen the British 1st Airborne Division when it had been isolated and practically annihilated by German infantry and armour at Arnhem . It was also decided by the commander of the 1st Allied Airborne Army , General Lewis Brereton , who commanded all Allied airborne forces including US XVIII Airborne Corps , that the two airborne divisions participating in Operation Varsity would be dropped simultaneously in a single " lift , " instead of being dropped several hours apart , addressing what had also been a problem during Operation Market Garden . Supply drops for the airborne forces would also be made as soon as possible to ensure adequate supplies were available to the airborne troops as they fought . 
