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Posted on 10/13/2004 11:49:28 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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As the 101st secured Eindhoven and Veghel at the start of Operation Market-Garden, its battles in Holland were only just beginning.  In broad daylight the three parachute infantry regiments of the 101st Airborne Division descended with amazing accuracy on designated drop zones in Nazi-occupied Holland. It was September 17, 1944, and the Screaming Eagles were to play a vital role in Operation Market-Garden. Once the Allied armies had broken out of their D-Day beachhead and through the bocage, or hedgerow country, of France, they advanced rapidly. Disorganized German units retreated before them.  Fixed fortifications, known as the Siegfried Line or West Wall, barred a direct strike into Germany itself. In the northern area of Allied operations, British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery had devised an ambitious plan to outflank the Siegfried Line and facilitate a drive directly into the Ruhr, the industrial heart of Germany. Montgomery's plan relied on the First Allied Airborne Army, of which the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, including the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions, was a part. The commander of this army was Lt. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton.  In England paratroopers from 101 Airborne Division are 'boarding' for operation Market Garden on September 17th 1944. The U.S. airborne troops, who had participated in the D-Day operations, had been resting and absorbing replacements in England since mid-July. For Market-Garden, it was hoped that the Americans, along with the British 1st Airborne Division, would launch a bold strike across the Maas, Waal and Neder Rijn (Rhine) rivers in Holland that would pave the way for ground troops to advance swiftly into Germany and end the war by Christmas of 1944.  Holland, September 18, 1944. Heavily loaded American CG-4 gliders bound for LZ W in the 101st Airborne Division's area. Key to the success of Montgomery's plan would be the seizure of bridges across rivers and adjacent canals by the airborne troops and swift movement of ground forces up a single highway, spanning roughly 60 miles from the Allied lines in Belgium to the Dutch town of Arnhem. The troops would hold the bridges until relief appeared in the form of the British XXX Corps charging down the single road, crossing the bridges successively and arriving at Arnhem as the vanguard of a larger force pushing southeast into Germany.  The Son Bridge The 101st would secure the southernmost bridges, including one over the Wilhelmina Canal at the town of Son, a pair spanning the Dommel River at St. Oedenrode and then four more over the Aar River near the town of Veghel. Eindhoven was also to be captured while the men of the 101st held open 15 miles of the road toward Arnhem for the XXX Corps' use. By the end of their service in Market-Garden, the men of the 101st would refer to this stretch of road as "Hell's Highway." Farther north, the 82nd Airborne was ordered to capture the bridge at Grave, the longest in Europe. The 82nd would also take one or more of the four bridges across the Maas-Waal Canal, another bridge over the Waal at Nijmegen and the area around the town of Groesbeek. The final leg of the XXX Corps' drive involved a dash from Nijmegen to Arnhem, where the British 1st Airborne was to capture and hold three bridges across the Rhine.  The haystack at right would have softened the landing for this paratrooper who hit the earth head first during operations in Holland by the 1st Allied Airborne Army. September 1944. Had Market-Garden succeeded, the war might indeed have been shortened. As it turned out, elements of two SS panzer divisions, the 9th and 10th, had been ordered to the vicinity of the Allied thrust to rest and refit in the days immediately prior to the start of the operation. Also, by coincidence, while Market-Garden was getting underway, the German 59th and 245th Infantry divisions were in transit from the area of the German Fifteenth Army to that of the First Parachute Army—right in the operation's path.  The Son DZ on 17 September, 1944 Intelligence that indicated strong concentrations of German forces in the proposed area of operations appears to have been ignored by planners. Due to stiff resistance, Operation Market-Garden was doomed to failure. The 1st Airborne fought an epic battle for 10 days in and around Arnhem, but of the nearly 10,000 British paratroopers who participated, just over 2,000 escaped death or captivity.  Holland liberated - 17-09-44 Son. Soldiers of the 101st US Airborne Division and citizens looking at a German 88mm anti aircraft gun which has shot down 17 allied aircraft judging by the number of kill rings on its gun barrel, before being knocked out. On the afternoon of September 17, the 101st executed a nearly flawless airdrop. All but two of its battalions were delivered to their correct drop zones. Unlike what had happened in the D-Day drops, the transport pilots held their planes steady and on course through anti-aircraft fire rather than taking evasive action that could have scattered the troops. Most units assembled and moved toward their objectives shortly after landing.  Holland liberated - 17-09-44 Son. A soldier of the 101st U.S. Airborne Division is leaving the landing area near Son. Note his beret on his right shoulder and Garand rifle. Dropping near Son, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, under the command of Colonel Robert F. Sink, was to capture a bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal and then advance south to Eindhoven. The 502nd, commanded by Colonel John H. Michaelis, would establish a perimeter around its drop zone just north of the 506th so that it could later be used as a glider landing zone. It was then to capture a bridge over the Dommel and take bridges over the Wilhelmina Canal near the town of Best. The 501st, under Colonel Howard R. Johnson, was still farther north, where the regiment was instructed to take both road and rail bridges on the Willems Canal and the Aar River near the town of Veghel.
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Hiya Samwise.
Whatcha been up to, snippy?
Thanks. We need all the encouragement we can get. We are having a good time though, just very little sleep and very little time online. :-(
Hugs back to you and duckie!!!!!
LOL.
Darksheare, we came upon this cup of doom while on the road to Antietam and naturally you were the first person that came to mind. It was quite a cute idea for an advertisement.
We've been hoping we would move our troops from Germany to Poland. It's not only a good political statement but a good economic move. Plus, we like you guys. :-)
Hiya radu.
LOL!
Thanks!
LOL. We saw that coffee cup on our trip back east last month. We just had to take a picture and then fix it up for Darksheare!
Neener neener. I got a 9, too!
Work, work and more work. It takes more than I expected to get a retail establishment going...or as Sam puts it, to be an evil capitalist pig. :-)
ROTFLOL. Good one. You are soooo wise Samwise.
Watch your back. Kerry's gunning for you.
Granted while Antwerp was liberated on 9/4/44 the British failed to persue the retreating German forces. The failure of the British to follow the capture of Antwerp with the destruction of the German forces aloowed said Germans to fortify the Scheldt Estuary. With the estuary in the control of the Germans the port of Antwerp was useless.
From... http://www.junobeach.org/e/2/can-eve-rod-sch-e.htm
In early October 1944, the Allies controlled the harbours north of the Seine but the supply issue was not yet solved: Dieppe, Le Tréport and Ostende had been opened but could not handle the high volumes that Allied troops in Europe required. Le Havre, Boulogne and Calais were not serviceable having suffered major destructions. Further north, Antwerp had been liberated by the Allies on September 3rd, but the city was located on the Scheldt River, some 80 kilometres from the open sea and the river's mouth was still under German control. The only way to make sure that the supplies required by the campaign in Europe could enter the continent was to capture the Scheldt. This was to be the mission of the First Canadian Army.
Also from the above web site...
On November 1st, amphibious assaults were made on Westkapelle, Flessingue and the last pockets of German resistance fell on November 7th after some violent fighting. Walcheren Island was finally captured and, once the river mouth was cleared of mines, the Scheldt was opened to shipping. On November 28th, 1944, Antwerp harbour received the first supply shipment. Canadians were not present at the opening ceremony but the first ship of the convoy was a Canadian one, Canadian-made and bearing the historical name Fort Cataraqui.
The Battle of the Scheldt Estuary lasted from about 1 October to 8 November 1944 and resulted in the 1st Canadian Army taking a major number of causualties.
This is the reasoning behind my earlier assertrion that the forces for M-G would have been better served in the clearing of the Scheldt Estuary rthan in a willy nilly plan to form a single thrust into Germany.
Although as I said in the earlier post if it had worked the Allies would have been genius.
Also see...http://www.lermuseum.org/ler/mh/wwii/belgium.html
for more info regards the Canadians and the clearing of the Scheldt Estuary.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Don't I know it! We're in for a world of hurt if he gets in.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
I have a message for Kerry:
The capture of Walcheren Island was a bloody affair for the Canadians. It was a tough job in miserable weather.
Nice model of the Peacemaker!
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