Great Arnhem article

[CPB]

http://sabotagetimes.com/life/armist...osts-in-arnhem

[pete]

Excellent read! The interesting thing about this battle to me, and similiar to other operations as well, is that the planners KNEW the German Forces were present and in what disposition as they had obvious aerial photos showing the type of equipment on the ground (which were selectively ignored) and also resistance info. They were told by an INT Officer all this before hand and as he put it, when people make their minds up to do something, nothing is going to convince them to not do it! They continued to roll forward with their plan and he could advise them no different. He was later ridiculed as well by those who looked bad! I have watched documentaries on for example on Ortona and the vets said they would pull out of a position when they knew they could not deal with the threat, such as a tank, then go back in, which they did not consider any kind of cowardice, more so "fight another day". In Arnhem however, paratroops often stayed on their position with no other option and were often burnt by the flamethrowers. They did not pull out in any way, oftn one man would be operating a field gun etc just to show the level of desperation to hold their position with that example!

As the article mentions there was an evacuation. That was our Regiment, which at the time was 23rd Field Company RCE as depicted in "Theirs was the glory (1946)", now 23rd Fd Sqn in 2CER. There were 4 units, 2 British, 2 Canadian. Only the Cdn units had outboard motors and the other 3 Engineer companies also did not get a lot of Troops over compared to the 23rd Fd Coy (1800 if i recall) as they were crossing the river straight across. The Assault boats/Storm boats even before this had to be rushed forward from far to the rear up the 30 corps route and then had to be carried by hand over dykes to get into position. We used to have the honor to have a dinner with the vets of "Operation Berlin" which was the evacuation each year. The last crossing of the evac was even done at 10 AM still under direct fire as it had been all night! There had been a burning barn lit to guide the troops over to the right location. There is still a monument at "Driel" which is to the Engineers of the evacuation "They were just shadows and Whispers in the night" it says. And, the captured wounded some were later murdered down the road so the old vets said. To this day the Regiments HQ is called "Neder Rijn" Barracks. They are called the "Storm boat kings" for this feat and there is an insignia of this in front of the HQ. A Black cat on top of a storm boat, painted on the end of a German Propeller blade during the period. There is a book about the Squadrons experience in Afghanistan in a major battle out now for those who might be interested.


Pete

[Jean-Loup]

This part sums up quite a bit of my opinion:

"There were elements of our Dutch trip that my Dad doesn’t appreciate or even understand. He just laughed when a teenager openly asked him “how many Germans did you kill?” It’s as if war’s just become a computer game, in which the participants and the casualties no longer seem real.
Meanwhile convoys of military vehicles paraded through the streets, some carrying medal-laden veterans but many of them filled with smiling young people in shabby brown uniforms. As we sat outside a café Dad politely asked a group of them which regiment they were serving with. “It’s just a hobby,” one replied. In fact, they were office workers who put on military fancy dress at the weekends. “So they’re playing at soldiers?” My father was completely baffled by all this. “We live in a completely crazy world, chap.”"

[pete]

.

Yeah bud,

I can totally see where you are coming from.


Pete

[Jesse]

A really fantastic article. Have visited the Hartenstein and the battlefields many times, this was the best article I have read on Market Garden. Thanks for posting it. Made me quite emotional.

J