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Major Charles Frederick Osborne Breese
Unit : "D" Company, 1st Battalion The Border Regiment
Army No. : 66138
Awards : Commander of the British Empire, Distinguished Service Cross, King Haakon VII Liberty Cross
Charles Breese commanded the 1st Border's D Company, but after landing at Arnhem the chain of command had to be altered due to the unfortunate absense of Lt-Colonel Haddon, and so Major Breese was appointed Second-in-Command of the 1st Border.
On Thursday 21st, the Germans made a determined effort to force the 1st Airborne Division away from the Rhine, and if they had succeeded then all would have been lost. B Company of the 1st Border held a wide stretch of ground at the extreme south-west of the Perimeter when they came under heavy attack from German infantry and armour. Many casualties were inflicted upon the attackers but the Company was compelled to retreat, losing many of its number as it did so. Major Breese, sent to the area to stabilise the situation and ready the troops for a counter attack, gathered the survivors of B Company, numbering little more than a platoon, into a unit that became known as the Breeseforce, which also consisting of two depleted platoons of A Company, 40 paratroopers, and was joined several days later by 35 Poles. Purely as a result of his strong and fearless skills as a leader the area was made secure in only an hour, and though German artillery singled out the area for a consistent and particularly heavy bombardment throughout the remainder of the battle, they did not feel confident enough to challenge this solid defence with another infantry assault.
Major Breese was wounded on the 23rd September, but refused to be evacuated to a dressing station until the Division withdrew across the Rhine, and he was amongst the last to depart for the other side of the river.
Breese was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and given command of the 1st Border on the 24th November 1944, and he led them in Norway, immediately after the war had ended in May 1945. After five years of German occupation the liberators naturally received a joyous welcome from the Norwegians, and on his way to a civic reception for senior British officers in Oslo, Breese recalled that the cheers of the crowd were deafening and his car could only manage to travel through them at a snail's pace, and he revealed that he had seldom been more touched than when a girl of about 10 or 12 threw a posy of flowers into the car and said "God bless your King".
Charles Breese stayed in the army after the war, earning the US Distinguished Service Cross on the 14th November 1947, the Norway - King Haakon VII Liberty Cross on the 16th/19th March 1948, and was later awarded a CBE. He joined the Parachute Regiment, and commanded their 17th (Durham Light Infantry) Battalion of the Territorial Army from 1956-58. Promoted to Brigadier, he was the Honourary Colonel of the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion The Parachute Regiment (TA), from 1977-86.