Chapter 506: Operation Market Garden (2)
What's particularly bad is that just two hours after the Allies launched an air assault, the commander of the German Airborne 1st Army, Stu Dent, obtained an Allied combat order from a captured glider. (He immediately took this order to the headquarters of the B Army Group to meet the commander-in-chief Model and planned the German counterattack.
Among the German generals, Studenter was more familiar with the Netherlands than anyone, and also understood the major shortcomings of the airborne troops - such as lack of maneuvering on the ground and lack of heavy weapons. Finally, Model chose Anheng as part of the SS armored forces, and they tried their best to prevent the Allied airborne troops and chariot troops from meeting.
The British Marshal Montgomery planned to use airborne troops, with the goal of seizing a series of bridges controlled by the German army on the main rivers in the Netherlands from Belgium through Arnhem to Ruhr area; the strategic goal was to seize control of these bridges, taking advantage of the German army's failure to stand firm, so that the Allies could cross the Rhine, the last natural barrier on the German border, in order to cause stagnation of the German industry and prepare for the subsequent march to the capital Berlin.
The German army on defense was mainly the B Army Group commanded by General Model, which was under the jurisdiction of the 15th Army and the 1st Paratrooper Legion.
Between the 30th Army's garrison and the north bank of the Rhine, the destination of the British 30th Army, it must pass eight obstacles, including several major rivers and three canals. The goal of the entire Market Garden operation is to capture bridges across these waters at the same time. If some bridges span smaller rivers cannot be captured, the British 30th Army's engineers can set up temporary bridges to pass. However, major rivers, such as the Val River near Nijmegen and the Rhine near Arnhem, cannot be passed in this way.
Highway 69 (later known as the "Hell Road" has two lanes, usually higher than the low-lying areas in the Netherlands, and the ground on both sides of the road is too soft, which is not conducive to military vehicles.
After aerial fire preparations, the 1st British Paratrooper Division, the 101st and 82nd American Paratrooper Divisions landed in Osterbeck, Soon and Grosbeck respectively. Their goal was to quickly capture bridges across the canals and rivers and pave the way for British ground forces advancing from the south. This "corridor" from Riopoldberg, Belgium, via Vulkensward, Eindhoven, Feher, Heraver and Nijmegen to Arnhem.
The 101st Division of the US Army was progressing smoothly. In the process of seizing the planned five bridges, only one was encountered on one bridge, relying on 88mm anti-aircraft guns and machine guns. However, the 101st Division still completed the mission. Part of the 82nd Division seized a bridge on the Meuse-Val Canal, and the main force was stationed on the Grosbeck Highway to block the German reinforcements.
The British First Paratrooper Division was not lucky, and a large number of heavy equipment such as jeep were lost due to the crash of the glider. Most of the communication equipment was not available. What was even more unlucky was that Arnhem happened to have nearly 10,000 German troops rested here. After the attack began, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the First Brigade were blocked by a small German unit. Only the 2nd Battalion arrived at the north of the Arnhem Bridge to defend the bridge, but the two attempts to capture the bridge were repelled by the German army. At night, the British army was basically surrounded.
Due to lack of coordination, the 30th Army did not enter the attack after a short period of aviation fire preparations and artillery fire preparations. The armored divisions in the first echelon of the army broke through the enemy's defense. Two infantry divisions followed. By the end of the first day, the Allied forces advanced 6-8 kilometers in depth, but failed to enter Eindhoven as scheduled to meet with the 101st Division.
In Arnhem, the 9th Armored Division of the German Army launched an assault on the British army guarding the north of the bridge, but was repelled by the British army and the German battalion commander was killed. The second batch of airborne of the British 4th Brigade caused considerable errors due to thick fog and encountered intensive shooting of German anti-aircraft artillery fire. Although the three battalions remained, the losses were heavy. At night, the remnants of less than 200 people of the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 1st and 3rd Battalions arrived at Arnhem City, and most of the officers and soldiers had been captured.
The southern front was not smooth either. The 505th Regiment of the 82nd Division defended the airborne location of the second batch of paratroopers and successfully protected the safe arrival of the second batch of airborne troops (3 infantry battalions, 3 field artillery battalions and one medical battalion) and collected the airdropped materials. The Soang Bridge controlled by the 101st Division was recaptured by the German army. At noon, the 30th Army troops arrived in the north of Eindhoven and met the 101st Airborne Division. The engineers then built a pontoon bridge to ensure smooth access to Eindhoven, but two days had passed.
Arnham launched a third attack on the south bank, but was soon repelled by German artillery and blocking troops. There were only 500 people left in the 4 battalions except the Second Battalion, retreating to the village of Osterbeck. The 600 people of the Second Battalion defended the buildings in the city on the north bank. Although the Germans exploded from one house, the 2nd Battalion still insisted on their retreat. The British Fourth Brigade was also in a dilemma in the village of Osterbeck.
In Nijmegen, the 30th Army met with the 504th Regiment of the US Army in the morning and entered Nijmegen in the afternoon, but still failed to capture the Val Bridge in Nijmegen, and most of the airdropped materials were lost. The 101st Division was dragged down by the reinforcements of the German army and could not evacuate as planned.
The follow-up troops of the 30th Army were not smooth. Faced with the continued fierce resistance of the German army, the 30th Army had difficulty in operating, and the Germans destroyed some bridges there. In addition, more than 20,000 vehicles, including bulky tracked vehicles, were difficult to pass through these narrow roads from Van Kensward to Nijmegen. Traffic was very difficult. The Americans called it "Hell Highway."
The 504th Regiment of the 82nd Division, which could not conquer the bridge, forced the Val River through kayaks, but was slow because he was not used to the paddling of British landing craft. After paying quite heavy losses, he conquered the Val River Bridge. This battle was also called the "Little Omaha Landing" because it was as tragic as the Omaha Beach Landing War. The other troops of the 82nd Division and the 101st Division struggled to defend against the Germans' attempt to cut off the highway attack.
At this time, the situation in Arnhem was completely out of control of the Allies. After the Second Battalion held the bridge north for nearly two days, on the morning of the 21st, the radio sent out the last telegram: "The ammunition and food are gone, and the gods will bless my king." Then, a hand-to-hand battle with the German army, and the entire army was eventually wiped out. The village of Osterbek where the division headquarters is located was also surrounded, and the other battalions broke through the German encirclement and merged with the main force after they broke through the German encirclement and joined the main force.
In the village of Osterbek, 3500 British troops defended their destiny with light anti-tank guns. A part of the British troops used captured French fire-breathing tanks to defend a highland in the southwest, which overlooked the Hofdop ferry on the south bank, but the highland was soon lost under fierce attack by the German army. The British had to continue defending in the narrow village, but the British refused to surrender.
The Polish troops, who planned to join the war during the second airdrop, were postponed to the 21st due to weather conditions before airborne in Delhi on the south bank. However, due to missed dispatch and blocking by the German Air Force, the supplies were airdropped 15 kilometers away. The Poles, who had planned to cross the river to support the British army, could not find the ferry at the original location, but when they found the ferry downstream, the ferry was seriously damaged and could not be used. The Poles had to retreat into the village of Delhi to defend.
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Chapter completed!