The air raid siren in Arnhem had already gone off several times in the morning of Sunday, September 17, but each time it had been a false alarm. But from a quarter to eleven it was a hit. Dozens of military targets in Arnhem and the surrounding area were hit by Allied bombers until approximately…
If everything went as planned, the tanks and ground troops of XXX Corps could advance without any problems from the south over “a carpet of airborne troops” from the Belgian border to the Rhine bridge in Arnhem. At least: that was how the British army leadership had presented the advance of the ground troops to…
The British at Arnhem were not the only airborne troops who encountered problems after the landings. The American paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division who had landed near Groesbeek also did not reach the objectives they were supposed to achieve on September 17 . Capturing the Waal Bridge was not at the top of the…
Immediately after the Allied airborne landings on September 17 to capture the bridges over the Dutch rivers, the Germans decided to place the focus of their defense at Nijmegen. Here, at the bridges over the Waal, the advance of the ‘Anglo-American enemy’ would be reversed. The Germans could not use the bridge over the Rhine…
The Americans call it ‘The Crossing’ for short. On Wednesday, September 20, the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Infantry Regiment crossed the Waal in 26 canvas boats to attack the Waal Bridge near Nijmegen from the north side. General Jim Gavin of the 82nd Airborne Division had concluded the day before that…
In 26 canvas boats, 260 soldiers of the 504th Parachute Regiment crossed the Waal on Wednesday afternoon, September 20. Despite a smoke screen and covering fire from tanks and machine guns, there were many casualties. A total of 48 people were killed and many dozens were injured during the crossing. Major Julian Cook had fewer…
After the Waal Bridge in nijmegen had been captured, the tanks of XXX Corps advanced further north on Thursday, September 21, towards the besieged British airborne troops near Arnhem. The Allies did not get very far. The Germans stopped the advance after just a few kilometers. Nowadays the A325 runs between Nijmegen and Arnhem. In…
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…
More than 2,000 British soldiers were ferried across the Rhine in boats during the night of September 25 to 26. General Roy Urquhart reached Driel during the night. In Driel he went looking for General Boy Browning, his commander. But Browning was still at his headquarters in Nijmegen. The fact that he had not come…
There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem for so many decades afterwards. One of those myths is that Allied tanks could have driven undisturbed to the Rhine Bridge in Arnhem on Wednesday evening, September 20, without major opposition. If the Allies had done that, they would have been able to relieve…
