Operation Varsity was a joint American–British airborne operation that took place in March 1945, towards the end of World War II. It was planned to aid the British 21st Army Group in securing a foothold across the River Rhine in western Germany by landing two airborne divisions on the eastern bank of the Rhine near the towns of Hamminkeln and Wesel. The operation took place on the morning of 24 March 1945 as a part of Operation Plunder, the overall effort by 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross the river and from there enter Northern Germany. The operation involved two airborne divisions from US XVIII Airborne Corps: the British 6th Airborne Division and the US 17th Airborne Division.

The operation called for the two airborne divisions to be dropped by parachute and glider behind German lines near Wesel, with their primary objective to be the capture of key territory and to generally disrupt German defenses to aid the advance of Allied ground forces. The 6th Airborne Division was tasked with capturing the towns of Schnappenberg and Hamminkeln, as well as clearing part of the Diersfordter Wald of German forces and securing three bridges over the River Ijssel. The 17th Airborne Division was ordered to capture the town of Diersfordt and clear the rest of the Diersfordter Wald of any remaining German forces. The two divisions would then hold the territory they had captured until relieved by advancing units of 21st Army Group, and then join in the general advance into Northern Germany.

There were several errors made by the airborne forces during the operation, most notably when paratroopers from the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a regiment in the 17th Airborne Division, missed their drop zone and landed on a British drop zone due to pilot error. However, the operation was an overall success, with both divisions landing and capturing a number of bridges across the Rhine and securing several towns which could have been used by the enemy to delay the advance of the British ground forces. The two divisions incurred more than 2,000 casualties, but captured approximately 3,000 German soldiers in the process. The operation was the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War II, and was the largest in history.