The 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade was a parachute brigade under command of Maj.Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski, created in Scotland in September 1941 with the exclusive mission to drop into occupied Warsaw, Poland in order to help liberate the country. All Polish units under British command (over 240,000 soldiers) could be sent into action at any part of the Western front. The 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade would fight for Poland on Polish territory and was intended to be exclusively under the direct command of the Polish government in exile.

The unit, however was eventually used during Operation Market Garden in 1944. The Poles were initially landed by glider from the 18th September, whilst due to bad weather over England, the Parachute section of the Brigade was held up, and jumped on the 21st September at Driel on the South bank of the Rhine. The Poles suffered significant casualties during the next few days of fighting, but still were able, by their presence, to cause around 2,500 German troops to be diverted to hem them in for fear of supporting the remnants of 1st Airborne trapped over the lower Rhine in Oosterbeek. During Operation Market Garden, the brigade's anti-tank battery went into Arnhem during the first days of the battle, supporting the British paratroopers at Oosterbeek. This left Sosabowski without any anti-tank capability. The light artillery battery was left behind in England due to a shortage of gliders. Owing to bad weather and a shortage of transport planes, the drop into Driel, was delayed 2 days. Finally the 2nd Battalion, and elements of the 3rd Battalion with also the support troops from the brigades Medical Company, Engineer Company, and HQ Company were dropped under German fire East of Driel. They over-ran Driel, after it was realized that the Heveadorp ferry had been destroyed. In Driel, the Polish Paratroopers set up a defensive "Hedgehog" position, from which over the next two nights further attempts to cross the Rhine were made.

The following day, the Poles were able to produce some make-shift boats and attempted the crossing. With great difficulty and under German fire from the heights of Westerbouwing at the northern bank of the river, the 8th Parachute Company and later additional troops from 3rd Battalion, managed to cross the Rhine in two attempts. In total about 200 Polish Paratroopers made it across in two days, and were able to cover the subsequent withdrawal of the remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division. On the 26th of September 1944, the brigade (now including the 1st Battalion and elements of the 3rd Battalion, who were parachuted near to Grave on the 23rd September) was ordered to march in the direction of Nijmegen. The brigade had lost 23% of its fighting strength, amounting to 400 casualties.

In 1945 it was attached to the Polish 1st Armored Division and undertook occupation duties in Northern Germany until 30th June 1947 when it was disbanded. The majority of its soldiers stayed in exile.