Narrative of the Operation - Reinforcement Impossible

The situation of the British 1st Airborne Division can only be termed extremely critical. It had been impossible to reinforce it with the Polish Brigade. Division headquarters had no news of the 1st Parachute Brigade, and heavy casualties were being suffered by the main body. Rations were one for three men. The enemy succeeded on 21 September in wrenching control of Heveadorp ferry from the British troops.

D plus 4 to D plus 5. --Again on 21 September the weather played the enemy's game. Low stratus persisted over eastern England until afternoon, when slight improvement made possible the attempted transport of about half of the Polish Parachute Brigade and the most urgently needed supplies. No glider tows were tried because of the miserable weather. Again the southern course was taken. One hundred nineteen British aircraft carrying supplies and 177 American aircraft carrying paratroops and supplies took off under escort. Of these, 114 British and 128 United States planes completed their missions, but 29 of the former and 4 of the latter were lost before they could return to friendly territory. Between 80 and 100 enemy fighters were in wait for Allied aircraft. These were engaged by some of the 137 Spitfires, Mustangs, and Mosquitoes of ADGB escorting the Stirlings and Halifaxes, and by some of the 95 P-47's and P-51's guarding the C-47's. Twenty of the enemy were shot down and 4 were damaged. Four P-47's were lost.

The outlook for the 1st Airborne Division was a little brighter on the morning of 22 September because air resupply had been accomplished and because about 900 men of the Polish Brigade were just south of the Neder Rijn, where they had dug in along the south bank of the river and were standing off assaults from the east and south. The previous day's rains had made the going for tanks impossible off the main highways; accordingly, the 43d Infantry Division passed through the Guards Armoured Division, held up at Elst. The German commander at Arnhem had gathered a strong fighting force of 15,000 to 20,000 men from the miscellaneous elements at his disposal. This force was mercilessly shelling and mortaring the main British body, and, by attacking from all sides, was slowly compressing the perimeter of the 1sxt Division defense zone. German loud-speakers went into action, demanding surrender of the British forces, which fought doggedly on.

Meanwhile, far in the rear, the Germans were keeping their pressure on the western side of the corridor; heavy fighting continued at Best. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment launched an attack toward Wintelre. Headquarters of the 101st Infantry Division was moved from St. Oedenrode north to Uden. The British 11th Armoured and 3d Infantry Divisions were moving up the right flank of the corridor toward Helmond.

D plus 5 to D plus 6.--Bad weather went to worse; on 22 September no air operations were possible. Until 1400 there was cloud at less than 1,000 feet over the English bases, with much the same conditions prevailing over the battle region all day. There were patches of stratus over the North Sea at 300 to 600 feet. Despite these conditions, 10 FW 190's were seen during the day at Oosterbeek.

On the afternoon of 22 September the advance of the Guards Armoured Division along the main roads toward Arnhem was being held up at Elst, but elements of the 43d Division had by-passed this resistance to the west and had made contact with the Polish Brigade near Driel at 2016. A ferry service was put into operation at Oosterbeek the night of 22-23 September, and a a few Polish troops crossed with supplies. The following day this ferry was reported destroyed by the enemy. Even though friendly forces were near, the plight of 1st Airborne Division was no better. Subjected to attack by tanks which had come up during the afternoon of the 22d, by self-propelled guns, and by mortars, the unit stubbornly maintained its perimeter defense. Some help was being given by friendly artillery, which was shelling German positions from across the river. A report from the Dutch resistance movement speaks of a group of Welsh, together with a few Poles, being surrounded and wiped out at Oosterbeek on 23 September.

At Nijmegen the 82d Division was buttressing its position by clearing out the enemy from the bend of the Waal to the east toward Erlekom. Farther down the corridor, the enemy made a sharp attack from the east with 30 tanks and 2 battalions of infantry on the afternoon of the 22d. For the second time since the junction of the Guards Armoured with the 82d Division, the supply corridor was cut. The Germans reached the main road between Uden and Veghel and were able to maintain their position until the next morning. The Guards Armoured started southwest from their position near Nijmegen when the attack was launched, and the next morning they succeeded in forcing the enemy to withdraw, thus clearing the supply channel again.

D plus 6 to D plus 7.--The largest airborne program since D plus 1 was carried through on D plus 6,  23 September. The weather, which had been wretched for 4 days, improved in the morning over England and in the afternoon over the Continent. The opportunity was seized to send troops and supplies to the hard-pressed 1st Airborne Division and the remaining glider lifts to the 82d and 101st Divisions. One hundred twenty-three British Stirlings and Dakotas transported the supplies to be parachuted to the 1st Division. None of these aircraft was abortive, but 12 were lost in the battle area. The drop itself was not a success; most of the ammunition and supplies were recovered by the enemy. Forty-one American aircraft dropped the Polish parachutists at Drop Zone "K" on the south bank of the Neder Rijn. While this drop was reported to be successful, 7 of the aircraft were lost. The missions for the 82d and 101st Divisions took 490 American tugs and gliders. Thirty-eight of these missions were abortive, but only 1 aircraft and 1 glider were lost. The landing of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment at Grave to reinforce the 82d Division was highly successful.

Escort for these large airborne forces was furnished by 123 fighters of ADGB and 586 of the Eighth Air Force. The Luftwaffe reacted more strongly than on any previous day; Eighth Air Force planes met some 135 enemy fighters, of which 8 were claimed destroyed, 2 probably destroyed, and 6 damaged. The ADGB encountered no enemy planes, but lost 2 Spitfires to flak. Total losses of the Eighth Air Force were 11 P-47's and 11 P-51's.