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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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Morning Aeronaut.
Morning E.G.C.
Another Nortion update was available this morning.
Morning snopercod.
Thanks for letting us know about Frankie Mayo's plea.
I've read and seen "Band of Brothers" so many times, I think I can repeat most of the dialogue.
I was instrumental in teaching him how to walk again, but there was no one to teach him where to walk."
Such a simple sentence yet with so much meaning.
Any chances on getting your puter fixed?
Morning PE.
Looking good and a lot of meaning in the words "The Birds of Peace".
You're correct, the Brits had captured Antwerp but it was unusable becasue they didn't clear the approaches. They also allowed the German 15th Army to escape by not cutting their escape route from South Beveland, these troops played an important part in stopping Market-Garden.
Now! There's a tractor worth driving. :-)
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on October 14:
1542 Abul-Fath Djalal-ud-Din, 3rd Mogol emperor of India (1556-1605)
1633 James II king of England (1685-88)
1644 William Penn English Quaker & founder of PA
1712 George Grenville British PM (1763-65)
1734 Francis Lightfoot Lee, US farmer/signer (Declaration of Independence)
1867 Masaoka Shiki Japan, haiku & tanka poet/diarist (Salt Water Ballads)
1873 Raymond C Ewry Indiana, polio victim who won 10 Olympic golds
1882 Eamon DeValera NY, Pres of Ireland (1937-48, 51-54, 57-59)
1888 Katherine Mansfield New Zealand writer (Aloe, Garden Party)
1890 Dwight D Eisenhower Denison, Tx (R) 34th Pres (1953-1961)
1894 E. E. Cummings Cambridge Mass, poet (Tulips & Chimneys)
1896 Lillian Gish silent film/stage actress (Birth of a Nation)
1906 Hannah Arendt Germany, historian (Origins of Totalitarianism)
1910 John Wooden basketball coach (UCLA-10 national championships)
1916 C Everett Koop surgeon general (1981-89)
1927 Roger Moore London England, actor (James Bond, Maverick, Saint)
1931 Rafael Puyana Bogota Colombia, baroque harpsichordist (NY debut 1957)
1938 John Dean III former White House counsel, Watergate figure
1939 Ralph Lauren fashion designer (Chaps)
1940 Pat Finley Asheville NC, actress (Ellen Hartley-Bob Newhart Show)
1943 Lance Rentzel NFL receiver (Minn, LA)/ex-husband of Joey Heatherton
1943 Noreen Corcoran Quincy Mass, actress (Kelly-Bachelor Father)
1944 Udo Kier Germany, actor (Warhol Dracula, Warhol Frankenstein)
1946 Justin Hayward singer (Moody Blues-Nights in White Satin)
1952 Harry Anderson Newport RI, actor (Judge Harry Stone-Night Court)
1952 Nikolai Adrianov USSR, gymnast (Olympic-4 gold/2 silver/bronze-1976)
1967 Arleen Sorkin actress (Day of Our Life, America's Funniest Videos)
Thanks Sam, lovely quill and ink well for the collection.
I had to drop it off.......
Hopefully it won't be bad news.
No, the Siegfried line, when reached, did not prove to be a significant barrier. The decision to go with Market Garden, rather than giving the resources to Patton, was political, rather than military.
In the northern area of Allied operations, British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery had devised an ambitious plan
should read "had devised a typically Montgomeryesque fiasco."
I'm pretty sure that that is not a photo of a Bailey bridge. It looks a lot like a hand operated Dutch draw bridge, if somewhat larger than usual. It does look like it may have be reinforced.
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
Thank you Shield. Consider it done.
The bad part is that today it's almost cheaper to get a new one rather than fix an old one. It's getting all the stuff back on that is the pain. :-(
There were places where our forces went through the West Wall with little problems and then there were places like the Hurtgen Forest where we paid a high price. I agree that Market-Garden was more a political decision than a military one. The last person who should have commanded an ambitious plan like this was Montgomery.
Thanks Sam... ;o)
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