Battlefield Tours

September 21st

September 21st

Eindhoven

The 101st Airborne tries to widen the corridor by attacking the Germans near Liemdpe (1/501st) and at Schijndel (3/501st and 502nd PIR). At the same time the German 59th Volksgrenadier division attack from their position near Liempde toward Sint Oedenrode.

The 101st quickly disengages and pulls back since they do not have the resources to be dragged into another big fight like the one at Best.

Nijmegen

The final assault on Arnhem begins, the Guards Armoured division attack with number 2 and 4 company of the 3/Irish Guards. They try to take the shortest road to Arnhem, the main road which leads through Elst. At 13:30hrs the attack begins and 47 tanks of the Irish Guards start their attack. Unfortunately, this advance was brought to a stop just 2 miles from the starting line by anti-tank guns and Strurmgeschutz of the 10th SS division. They manage to advance a bit further but come nowhere near Elst, let alone Arnhem.

The Germans attack the bridgehead across the Waal from the direction of Oosterhout with infantry supported by (Tiger) tanks. In this attack, Private John Towle earned the Medal of Honor but was killed in the action.

Near Beek, on a hill called “Devils Hill” 2 platoons from the 508th PIR, who have been cut off since the 20th continue to hold out against heavy attacks. They were finally relieved on September 24th.

Arnhem

In Arnhem at the bridge, the fighting seems to be winding down, the northern ramp is effectively in back in German hands, only a few ruins are still in the hands of the paras. This morning there was a short truce when the wounded were evacuated after which the fighting started again in all its brutality.

During the day the Germans mop up the last pockets of resisting Brits at the bridge after which it is immediately put to use by reinforcements sent to block the ground forces in their advance from Nijmegen. The battle for Arnhem is over. Although the fighting at the bridge was savage and lasted continuously for over 3 days and 4 nights the British casualties were relatively light, 81 soldiers out of the 750 defenders died in the fighting at the bridge.

In the afternoon a part of the Polish Parachute Brigade land near Driel on their new drop zone K, but a large number of planes turn back to England because of bad weather. The Poles land on a hostile drop zone, the Germans are shooting at them with everything they got but unlike common belief, it was not a bloodbath, very few men actually died during the landing. They immediately head for the ferry which should take them across the Rhine but find it is missing. The ferry master, in fear of the Germans using it against the Brits, had cut the cables allowing the ferry to drift downstream.

The signallers of the 1st Airborne finally managed to contact XXX Corps, by sheer luck they tune into the radio net of the 64 Medium Regiment. Help could finally be given in the way of artillery support and subsequently, much of the XXX corps ammunition supply is used on targets around the perimeter at Oosterbeek.

 

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By Joris

My name is Joris Nieuwint and I will be your tour guide! Please allow me to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about what I've been doing over the past years. For the past 10 years I've been living in Veghel, and before that, I've lived in Arnhem for almost two decades. Living so close to the battlefields meant that Operation Market Garden always had my interest and I've been studying the battles for all those years. Sharing what I've learned over the years has been my passion and becoming a tour guide was one of my dreams. Keeping the sacrifices of these men alive by telling their stories and showing the locations where it happened is my greatest passion.

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