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Patrick has 150 articles published.

Driel ferry in German hands: not an easy crossing for the Polish Brigade

in Oosterbeek/Polish Brigade/September 21
The Driel ferry, a few years before the outbreak of war. At the bottom of the photo Driel. At the top of the photo the Westerbouwing in Oosterbeek.

On Thursday morning at 4:30 am, General Urquhart had confirmed to headquarters that the Westerbouwing was in British hands and that the Driel ferry, with a mooring at the Westerbouwing, could be used later that day by the Poles to enter the British lines from Driel. to strengthen Oosterbeek. Things, like almost everything during Operation…

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September 22: Mortar shells and snipers cause many casualties in the British perimeter in Oosterbeek

in Oosterbeek/September 22
British paratroopers searching for German snipers in a destroyed school in Oosterbeek.

The Germans had tried to overwhelm the British at Oosterbeek through four major attacks on the British perimeter in Oosterbeek on Thursday, September 21. From the German perspective, those attacks ended in failure. Attacks via the Utrechtseweg, the Benedendorpseweg and at the Dreyersoord hotel were repulsed by the British in fierce fighting. Only the attack…

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Urquhart’s cry for help to XXX Corps: “Our division no longer exists”

in Oosterbeek/Polish Brigade/September 22

On the morning of Friday, September 22, General Urquhart realized that his troops would not last much longer against the immense German pressure on the perimeter positions in Oosterbeek. In the plans for Operation Market Garden, the 1st British Airborne Division would be relieved after 48 hours in Arnhem by the ground troops advancing from…

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52 Polish soldiers manage to reach the British in Oosterbeek

in Oosterbeek/Polish Brigade/September 22
Polish paratroopers welcome the allied ground troops of the Houshold Cavalry in Driel.

The 950 Polish paratroopers who had landed at Driel were originally all going to be transferred via the Driel ferry to strengthen the British positions in Oosterbeek. But while the Poles were on their way to the Netherlands in their planes on Thursday, September 21, the Germans managed to capture the landing place on the…

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September 22: The ground troops advance to the south bank of the Rhine

in September 22
Two British Bren carriers and a DUKW amphibious vehicle of the 43rd Wessex Division on their way to the south bank of the Rhine.

On Wednesday evening, September 20, the Americans managed to capture the Waal Bridge near Nijmegen intact through a heroic attack . But on Friday morning, September 22, the Allied ground troops of XXX Corps were still stuck in Lent on the north side of Nijmegen. On Thursday, September 21, 47 tanks of the Irish Guards…

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September 23: Courtesy, gallows humor and hard fighting in the British perimeter

in Oosterbeek/September 23
Mrs Kremer, who lived at Stationsweg 8 in Oosterbeek, took this photo of the British airborne soldiers stationed in her house during a break in the fighting.

The British airborne troops had been in action continuously for six days on Saturday, September 23. Not much was left of the once proud 1srt British Airborne Division. Of the division’s more than 10,000 elite troops who landed at Wolfheze on September 17 and 18, fewer than 4,000 were still fit to fight. The rest…

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The adventures of Colonel Mackenzie on the way to Nijmegen

in Nijmegen/Oosterbeek/September 23
This is what Colonel Mackenzie's escort must have looked like: a Daimler Scout Car, a few armored cars and another Scout Car.

Colonel Charles Mackenzie was General Urquhart’s chief of staff in Oosterbeek. Mackenzie had been sent south across the Rhine by Urquhart the day before to make clear to General Horrocks of XXX Corps and General Browning how dire the situation in Oosterbeek was. The British commanders at Nijmegen seemed to have no idea of ​​the…

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The Germans are not yet confident of a good outcome on September 23

in Arnhem/September 23
An English soldier fires his bren gun at a German position near Arnhem.

While the situation of the remnants of the British Airborne Division in Oosterbeek became increasingly precarious on Saturday, September 23, the German army leadership was not yet convinced of a positive outcome. The Germans knew that the British in Oosterbeek only had a quarter of the combat strength they had at the landing on September…

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War crime: six British prisoners of war shot dead

in General information/September 23
A plaque commemorates the massacre that took place in Brummen on September 23, 1944.

While there was still heavy fighting in Oosterbeek, a war crime took place on September 23, 1944 that receives little attention in reporting on the Battle of Arnhem. Six British prisoners of war were shot dead in Brummen by a crazed SS non-commissioned officer. After the Battle of Arnhem, the prevailing image on both the…

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September 24: The situation in the British perimeter in Oosterbeek is becoming untenable

in Oosterbeek/September 24
A wounded soldier is taken to an emergency hospital near the Hartenstein hotel.

“It was a desperate, terrible day.” General Roy Urquhart drew this conclusion at the end of Sunday, September 24, about the situation in Oosterbeek. After more than a week of continuous fighting and continuous mortar bombardment of the British positions, the airborne troops were close to exhaustion. Because most supplies dropped by the RAF ended…

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