The Freeper Foxhole Profiles - Major-General Stanislaw Sosabowski

Operation Market Garden

'Market' was the code name for the airborne actions, and 'Garden' was the code name for the ground troops.
The 1st Allied Airborne Corps was set up in August 1944 and consisted of the American 18th Airborne Corps (82nd and 101st Airborne divisions) and the British 1st Airborne Division. Later the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade was added.

The Airborne Corps’ job was to clear the way for the British XXX (30th) Corps situated near the Belgian city of Neerpelt. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division had its drop zone near Eindhoven, Best, Son, St-Oedenrode and Veghel.

The 101st had to secure the bridge over the Wilhelmina canal in Son, the bridge over the Dommel in St-Oedenrode and the bridges over the Aa and Zuid-Willemsvaart canal near Veghel.

The bridges over the Maas at Grave and the Waal at Nijmegen were the targets of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division; they were dropped near Groesbeek and Overasselt.

American parachutists of the 82nd Airborne Division, possibly 505th Parachute Infantry, dropping on the Groesbeek Heights on Sunday 17th September. Copyright: US Department of the Army.

Finally, the British 1st Airborne Division had to secure the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. All this led to a small corridor, so that the British XXX Corps could make their advance towards Arnhem.

A formation of RAF Stirlings drop supplies on Tuesday 19th as flak explodes around them. Copyright: J. Falconer.

Both the XII (12th Corps) and the VIII Corps (8th Corps) were to give side cover to the advancing XXX Corps. This corridor was named 'Hell's Highway' because this route was very poor. Sometimes as narrow as one road!

Arnhem was the main target of Operation Market Garden because it was a good place from where the Ruhr could be assaulted. Also attacking the Ruhr out of Arnhem would bypass the Siegfried line, situated near the border in southwest Germany. From Arnhem the Allies could also continue the liberation of the Netherlands, such as the advance to the IJsselmeer lake.

When Montgomery revealed his plan to General Brereton and General Browning, Browning asked how long it would take for the tanks to reach Arnhem. "Two days" answered Montgomery. "We can hold it for four days" replied Browning, and then he added, "although I think we could go a bridge too far", not knowing how right he was.

Operation: Market Garden Overview:

Late summer 1944, after the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces the front lines stalled at along the Meuse river and just beyond Antwerp in Holland.

In Holland was the 21st Allied Army Group commanded by Gen. Montgomery. Gen. Bernard Montgomery was a famous general for defeating the German Afrika Korps commanded by Gen. Erwin Rommal in the sands of North Africa.

American Gen. George S. Patton commands the armies along the Muese river and demands supplies so he can cross into Germany. In supreme command is General Eisenhower of all allied forces in Europe.

Gen. Montgomery called Gen. Eisenhower to his HQ in Belgium to present a plan to out flank the formidable Rhine river and invade the Rhur river valley where all of Germany's industry is to end the war.

The Plan:

The plan calls for the Allied 1st Airborne Army of the British 1st and American 101st and 82nd airborne divisions to be dropped into Holland to secure strategic bridges.

The British 1st Airborne Division known as the Red Devils is to land at Arnhem and attempted to secure the massive bridge across the lower Rhine. As a backup they are to capture the railway bridge in case the other bridge cannot be taken. While this is happening the American 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles would drop into the Eindhoven Sector and attempt to capture the bridges for the British XXX Corps that had broke through the front line of defense and was racing towards the bridges that were held by the airborne troops.

In the middle between Arnhem and Eindhoven was the vital bridge at Nijmegen, this was left up to the American 82nd Airborne Division.

Medal of Honor recipients for Market Garden

John R. Towle

Private, U.S. Army, Company C, 504th Parachute Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division

The rifle company in which Pvt. Towle served as rocket launcher gunner was occupying a defensive position in the west sector of the recently established Nijmegen bridgehead when a strong enemy force of approximately 100 infantry supported by 2 tanks and a half-track formed for a counterattack. With full knowledge of the disastrous consequences resulting not only to his company but to the entire bridgehead by an enemy breakthrough, Pvt. Towle immediately and without orders left his foxhole and moved 200 yards in the face of Intense small-arms fire to a position on an exposed dike roadbed.

From this precarious position Pvt. Towle fired his rocket launcher at and hit both tanks to his immediate front. Armored skirting on both tanks prevented penetration by the projectiles, but both vehicles withdrew slightly damaged. Still under intense fire and fully exposed to the enemy, Pvt. Towle then engaged a nearby house which 9 Germans had entered and were using as a strongpoint and with 1 round killed all 9.

Hurriedly replenishing his supply of ammunition, Pvt. Towle, motivated only by his high conception of duty which called for the destruction of the enemy at any cost, then rushed approximately 125 yards through grazing enemy fire to an exposed position from which he could engage the enemy half-track with his rocket launcher. While in a kneeling position preparatory to firing on the enemy vehicle, Pvt. Towle was mortally wounded by a mortar shell.

By his heroic tenacity, at the price of his life, Pvt. Towle saved the lives of many of his comrades and was directly instrumental in breaking up the enemy counterattack.

Joe E. Mann

Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company H, 502nd Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division

He distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty. On 18 September 1944, in the vicinity of Best, Holland, his platoon, attempting to seize the bridge across the Wilhelmina Canal, was surrounded and isolated by an enemy force greatly superior in personnel and firepower. Acting as lead scout, Pfc. Mann boldly crept to within rocket-launcher range of an enemy artillery position and, in the face of heavy enemy fire, destroyed an 88mm. gun and an ammunition dump.

Completely disregarding the great danger involved, he remained in his exposed position, and, with his M-1 rifle, killed the enemy one by one until he was wounded 4 times. Taken to a covered position, he insisted on returning to a forward position to stand guard during the night.

On the following morning the enemy launched a concerted attack and advanced to within a few yards of the position, throwing hand grenades as they approached. One of these landed within a few feet of Pfc. Mann. Unable to raise his arms, which were bandaged to his body, he yelled "grenade" and threw his body over the grenade, and as it exploded, died. His outstanding gallantry above and beyond the call of duty and his magnificent conduct were an everlasting inspiration to his comrades for whom he gave his life.

Today's classic warship, USS Marietta (PG-15)

Marietta class gunboat
Displacement. 1,000 t.
Lenght. 189'7"
Beam. 34'
Draft. 12'
Speed. 13 k.
Complement. 140
Armament. 6 4", 1 3", 4 6-pdr., 2 1-pdr., 1 mg.

The USS Marietta, a schooner rigged gunboat, was laid down by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif., 13 April 1896; launched 18 March 1897 ; sponsored by Mrs. C. L. More, daughter of Brig. Gen. T. C. H. Smith ; and commissioned 1 September 1897, Comdr. F. W. Symonds In command.

Following brief duty on the Pacific station, Marietta departed San Francisco 19 March 1898 for Callao, Peru, to arrange for the coaling of Battleship Oregon (BB-3) which was steaming to join the North Atlantic Squadron off Cuba. Moving on to Valparaiso, Chile, 31 March, the gunboat was joined by Oregon 6 April and together the two warships proceeded through the Straits of Magellan and up the east coast of South America, separating at Bahia, Brazil 11 May. Marietta arrived Key West, Fla., 4 June, then joined the blockade of Havana Harbor.

On 2 September the gunboat arrived at Boston for repairs and then sailed 10 October for her second tour of duty off Cuba. For the next 5 months, the ship patrolled the Caribbean, showed the flag in Latin American ports, and helped clear mines from Cuban waters. On 17 October she sailed from Virginia for the Philippines. Steaming via the Suez Canal, Marietta arrived Manila 3 January 1900. Operating in support of American forces ending the Philippine insurrection, the gunboat acted as a patrol and convoy escort vessel in the Islands, assisting and cooperating with the Army In military expeditions and landings until ordered home 3 June 1901. Again sailing via Suez, Marietta arrived Boston 17 September and then proceeded immediately to Portsmouth, N.H., reporting to the North Atlantic Squadron.

On 21 November, the ship cleared Portsmouth, sailing via New York for another tour of duty in the Caribbean. Arriving Colon, Colombia, on the 23d, she spent the next year and 5 months cruising on this station, protecting American interests in Colombia, Haiti, Jamaica, Venezuela, Trinidad, Curaçao, and Honduras, in addition to carrying mail for American legation officials. She completed her duty 10 April 1903, and sailed for home, returning to Boston 16 days later. Marietta decommissioned at Boston 6 May 1903.

The gunboat recommissioned 11 February 1904, and sailed for Panama 9 March. She operated off Central America, protecting American interests in Panama during that nations revolution against Colombia. On 24 June, the ship arrived at Gibraltar, and reported for duty with the European Squadron. She remained in foreign waters, alternating duty with this and the South Atlantic Squadron until 4 December when she sailed for League Island, Pa., arriving 31 December, and decommissioning 21 January 1905.

Marietta recommissioned 14 May 1906 and departed League Island on the 26th for the West Indies. For the next 5½ years, the ship served in the islands of the Caribbean, calling at numerous Latin American ports and protecting American lives and property from damage.

On 4 November 1911, she reported to Portsmouth, NH to go into reserve. On 27 May 1912 Marietta was turned Over to the New Jersey Naval Militia and 2 days later was placed in full commission at New York Navy Yard. For the next 2 years the gunboat operated in the Caribbean and western Atlantic, enforcing American neutrality. In February 1916, the veteran warship joined American forces off Vera Cruz to assist in operations against Mexican insurgents. She returned to the United States shortly before the start of World War I, and soon after joined the Atlantic Fleet patrol force for convoy duty. Continuing her escort service, she was assigned to the European patrol force in 1918 and operated on this assignment until she decommissioned 12 July 1919 at New Orleans, La. Marietta was sold 25 March 1920.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on July 31:
1763 James Kent Fredericksburgh NY, legal scholar (Columbia)
1803 John Ericsson US, invented screw propeller, built USS Monitor
1837 William Clarke Quantrill Col (Confederate Army)
1841 George Melville polar explorer, naval engineer
1894 Roy Bargy Mich, orch leader (Jimmy Durante Show)
1900 Elmo Roper pollster (Roper Poll)
1901 Jean Dubuffet France, painter (Landscape with 2 Personages)
1904 Arthur Daley sportswriter (NY Times-Pulitzer 1956)
1911 George Liberace Menasha Wisc, violinist (Liberace Show)
1912 Irv Kupcinet Chicago Ill, TV host (Tonight! America After Dark)
1912 Milton Friedman economist (Nobel 1976)
1919 Curt Gowdy Green River Wyo, sportscaster (ABC)
1919 Primo Levi Italy, chemist/writer (Survival in Aushchwitz)
1921 Whitney M Young Jr civil rights leader, head of Urban League
1923 Ahmet Ertegun CEO (Atlantic Records)
1929 Don Murray Calif, actor (Bus Stop, Advise & Consent, Endless Love)
1935 Geoffrey Lewis Plainsfield NJ, actor (Earl-Flo, Gun Shy)
1939 France Nuyen Marselles France, actress (St Elsewhere, Diamond Head)
1940 Stanley Jaffe producer (Fatal Attraction)
1943 Susan Flannery NYC, actress (Leslie Stewart-Dallas)
1943 William Bennett US Secretary of Education (1985-88)/drug czar
1944 Geraldine Chaplin Santa Monica Ca, actress (Dr Zhivago, 3 Musketeers)
1944 Sherry Lansing Chicago Ill, actress (China Syndrome, Black Rain)
1946 Bob Welch rocker (Fleetwood Mac-Oh Well)
1946 Gary Lewis Jerry's son, singer, (& The Playboys-This Diamond Ring)
1950 Lane Davies actor (Mason-Santa Barbara, Impure Thoughts)
1951 Barry Van Dyke Atlanta Ga, actor (Lt Dillon-Battlestar Galactica)
1951 Evonne Goolagong Cawley Australia, tennis player (Wimbeldon 1971)
1953 Hugh McDowell chelloist (ELO-Telephone Line)
1957 Dirk Blocker LA Calif, actor (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Ryan's Four)
1957 Irina Nazariva USSR, 4 X 400m relay (Olympic-gold-1980)
1957 Victoria E Cooke Hollywood Ca, playmate (Aug, 1980)
1958 Wally Kurth actor (Days of Our Lives)
1962 Kym Malin Dallas Tx, playmate (May, 1982)
1962 Sandra "Sweetness" Hodge basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters)
1963 Norman Cook rocker (Housemartins-Happy Hour, Over There)
1973 Jerry Rivera Puerto Rico, spanish singer

Deaths which occurred on July 31:
1556 St Ignatius of Loyola founder of Society of Jesus, dies in Rome
1811 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Mexican hero priest, executed by Spanish
1875 Andrew Johnson 17th pres, dies in Tennessee at 66
1953 Robert Taft (Sen-R-Oh) (Mr Republican), dies in NY at 63
1964 Jim Reeves Country singer.(He'll Have to Go, Four Walls) Plane crash
1977 Stacy Moskowitz shot to death by Son of Sam, at 20
1978 Enoch Light orch leader (Gulf Road Show with Bob Smith), dies at 70
1981 Gen Omar Torrijos leader of Panama, dies in plane crash
1984 Bill Raisch one armed actor (Fred Johnson-Fugitive), dies at 79
1997 Bo Dai, Last emporer of Vietnam, dies at 85

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BURROUGHS WILLIAM D. INDIANHEAD MD.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, DECEASED 03/21/99]
1967 ALLEN THOMAS R. WOODWARD OK.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/03/97]
1967 PACKARD RONALD L. CANON CITY CO.
[REMAINS RETURNED 11/03/97]
1967 ZUHOSKI CHARLES P. JAMESPORT NY.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1969 BURNS MICHAEL P. EL PASO TX.
1969 NEAL DENNIS P. TARPON SPRINGS FL.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
432 St Sixtus III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
768 [Philip] begins & ends his reign as Catholic Pope
904 Arabs capture Thessalonica.
1291 Egyptian Mamelukken occupies Akko, crusaders driven out of Palestine
1498 Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad
1620 Pilgrim Fathers depart (through England) to America
1774 Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen
1760 Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, drives the French army back to the Rhine River.
1777 Marquis de Lafayette, 19, made major-general of Continental Army
1790 1st US patent granted, to Samuel Hopkins for a potash process
1809 1st practical US railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), Phila
1813 British invade Plattsburgh, NY
1872 C H F Peters discovers asteroids #122 Gerda & #123 Brunhild
1874 Patrick Francis Healy, SJ, inaugurated as pres of Georgetown U
1876 US Coast Guard officers' training school established (New Bedford MA)
1910 Chic Cub King Cole no-hits St Louis, 4-0 in a 7 inning game
1912 US government prohibits movies & photos of prize fights
1917 The third Battle of Ypres commences as the British attack the German lines.
1922 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world's 1st water skis (Minn)
1925 Unemployment Insurance Act passed in England
1930 Lou Gehrig grand slams as Yanks beat Red Sox 14-13
1932 Cleveland Municipal Stadium opens-Phila A's beat Indians 1-0
1934 St Louis Cards defeat Cin Reds 8-6 in 18 innings, pitchers Dizzy Dean & Tony Freitos go the distant
1935 C Jackson discovers asteroids #1362 Griqua & #2865
1938 NY Yanks suspend Jake Powell, after he said on Chicago radio he'd "hit every colored person in Chicago over the head with a club"
1942 German SS gases 1,000 Jews in Minsk, Belorussia
1948 Pres Truman dedicates Idlewild Field (Kennedy Airport), NY
1949 Lightning strikes a baseball field in Fla, kills the SS & 3rd baseman
1953 Dept of Health, Education & Welfare created
1954 Mil Braves' Joe Adcock sets record of 18 total bases (4 hrs, 1 double)
1960 Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a black state
1961 2nd All Star Game of 1961 ends 1-1 due to rain at Fenway Park
1962 Federation of Malaysia formed
1963 Cleve ties record of 4 consecutive HRS (Held, Ramos, Francona, Brown)
1964 Al Parker glides 644 miles without any motor
1964 US Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on Moon
1966 Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark
1966 Charles Whitman wounds 46 & kills 5 at University of Texas
1968 Beatles close Apple Boutique, giving clothes away for free
1969 Mariner 6 flies past Mars
1969 National Guard mobilizes in racial disturbances in Baton Rouge, La
1970 Chet Huntley retires from NBC, ends "Huntley-Brinkley Report"
1972 Chic White Sox Dick Allen hits 2 inside-the-park-homers in Minn
1972 Thomas Eagleton withdraws as Democratic VP candidate
1973 ABA Virginia Squires trade Julius Erving to the NY Nets
1973 Delta Airlines DC-9 crashes in fog at Logan Airport, Boston, killing all but one of 89 aboard. Lone survivor dies 6 months later
1978 Gunman shoots his way into the Iraqi Embassy in Paris
1978 NY Yanks now 7« out of 1st, picked up 7 games in previous 2 weeks
1979 N Chernykh discovers asteroids #2402 Satpaev & #2416 Sharonov
1980 John Phillips of the Mamas & Papas is arrested on drug charges
1980 Soyuz 37 crew returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 36
1981 42 day old, 2nd major league baseball strike ends
1981 Arnette Hubbard installed as 1st woman president of the Natl Bar Assn
1982 46 kids & 7 adults die as 2 buses & several cars collide in France
1984 US men's gymnastics team won team gold medal at LA Summer Olympics
1987 Rockwell International awarded contract to build a 5th shuttle
1988 Miami Dolphins beat SF 49ers 27-21 in London
1988 Willie Stargell became 200th man inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame
1990 Nolan Ryan becomes the 20th major league pitcher to win 300 games

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Mexico : Day of National Mourning (1811-Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla)
Gilroy, California : Garlic Festival ( Friday )
Make a Budget Day

Religious Observances
Ang, RC : Feast of Joseph of Arimathaea
Buddhist-Thailand : Buddhist Lent
Witch : Lughnasadh, sabbat
Ang, RC : Memorial of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits

Religious History
1773 Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'Duty is ourpart; the care is His.'
1776 Francis Salvador, a plantation owner from South Carolina, became the first Jewto die for American independence, when he was killed in a skirmish with the British.
1874 Patrick Francis Healy was inaugurated president of Georgetown University, theoldest Catholic university in America. Healy at the same time became the first African-American to head a predominantly white university.
1889 Death of Horatius Bonar, 81, Scottish preacher and author of the hymn, 'I Heardthe Voice of Jesus Say.'
1970 The complete New American Standard Version of the Bible (NASB) was firstpublished. (The completed NASB New Testament had been released earlier, in 1963.)

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Conceit is God's gift to little men."

You might be a bad cook if...
the EPA requires that all your garbage cans be marked with large bright red 'biohazard' symbols.

Todays Murphys law...
Nature always sides with the hidden flaw

Cliff Clavin says, it's a little known fact that....
A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks.

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