Month: September 2021

On this day 26th September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM During the night 25th/26th the withdrawal, codenamed “Operation Berlin”, takes place under heavy German fire. Boats of the British and Canadian engineers ferry about 2500 men across the Rhine. ‘Market-Garden’ is over. Brigadier Lathbury (43rd) Commander 1st Parachute Brigade – Wounded & Evader. Major Haig (4th Bn & 52nd) Divisional Provost – Wounded twice & Evacuated. Major Wallis (4th Bn)…

On this day 25th September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM The situation had become hopeless. A mere eleven percent of the supplies dropped by the Royal Air Force had fallen within the perimeter. The troops were exhausted by lack of food, water and sleep. There was very little ammunition. The crossing of the Polish Parachute Brigade which had dropped near Driel had become a failure due to a shortage of…

On this day 24th September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM Since the formation of the Oosterbeek Perimeter, the 1st Airborne had accumulated an enormous quantity of wounded, both British and German, and by the morning of Sunday 24th September, the medical staff had approximately one thousand two hundred men in their care. On Sunday 24th, Colonel Graeme Warrack, the 1st Airborne Division’s senior medical officer, obtained permission to arrange a…

On this day 23rd September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM Everywhere now shows signs of the Germans sustained mortar and artillery bombardment. All the trees have had their branches blown off, and stripped of their foliage, and consequently movement around the area is like trying to move through a jungle. All the buildings are pockmarked, with their tiles and doors blown off. The whole perimeter area has shell craters every…

On this day 22nd September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM The first attempts to get the Polish paratroopers across the Lower Rhine into the Oosterbeek perimeter have not been completely successful, and only a few men are able to move into the northern part and assist in continuing to hold the positions. All troops are now dug-in, or have put buildings into a state of defence, and there is almost…

On this day 21st September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM By 21st September 1944, the 1st Airborne Division’s perimeter is holding firm on all sides, but is under pressure from tanks and assault guns, supporting S.S. Panzer Grenadiers. They are backed up by ferocious barrages from mortars and artillery of all calibres from 20mm to 150mm. The artillery is around the Old Church near the Rhine. The eastern side…

On this day 20th September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM Reinforced by around 1000 men of the 1st and 4th Parachute Brigades, the 2nd South Staffords and the 7th King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the horseshoe-shaped position (perimeter) is formed by the divisional troops, around 3600 men, little more than thirty percent of the troops which have landed. The force at the bridge had to give up and the Germans…

On this day 19th September 1944 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM The attempts, in the town of Arnhem, to fight through to the British Force holding the northern end of the main road bridge had failed, and the survivors fell back to the little village of Oosterbeek. The units which had been defending the DZ’ s and LZ’s had now moved towards Oosterbeek as well, having been almost overrun trying…

On this day 18th September 1944 – 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION – ARNHEM German resistance on the first day was stronger than expected and only the 2nd Parachute Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Frost, got through to the main objective along with elements of other units. The Divisional Commander, Major General Urquhart, and Brigadier Lathbury were both missing, so command was now in the hands of Brigadier Hicks…

On this day 17th September 1944 – 1st Airborne Division – Arnhem At 1 pm, 17 September 1944, the gliders carrying the 1st Airlanding Brigade, divisional staff, transport and guns land at Landing Zone ‘S’. They were preceded by the pathfinders who marked the Dropping Zones and Landing Zones with large letters and had contact with the tug planes with radio beacons. One hour after the gliders landed the 1st…