Britain at War - 09.2019

Market

Garden

RIGHT

A British parachute

caught on the

side of Kasteel

Doorwerth, sited

on the banks of

the Rhine, near

Arnhem. The castle,

which dates back to

around 1260, was

badly damaged in

the fighting.

TOPFOTO

RIGHT

British paratroopers

in well-concealed

defensive positions

each side of a road

in Oosterbeek.

TOPFOTO

48 http://www.britainatwar.com

presumably seeking a suitable position.

As the jeep drew level with the hotel, it

came under fire. The first shot missed,

the team leapt clear and took cover.

However, Christie ran back, clambered

inside, started the engine and began

to move the jeep off-road. A loud

explosion followed. The blast from

what was most likely a mortar round

struck Christie in the chest. He didn’t

die immediately – although an arm

was blown off, as well as part of his

shoulder and chest – but got out of the

jeep and ran to his men where he died

in Bill Bateman’s arms.

WE KNOCKED THEM DOWN

Lieutenant John Stevenson of ‘A’

Troop wrote of that day: “We

were then ordered to leave our

vehicles entirely and, taking as much

ammunition as we could carry, to hold

several houses as strongpoints in the

northern part of Oosterbeek.” The

move was made at 4pm, the rest of

the day passing without major incident.

The same couldn’t be said for the

following morning when the house

in which Stevenson was sheltering

they had a savage encounter in a

bakery, the largest building in their

defensive area. “As fast as they came,

we knocked them down.” But the

Germans set the structure on fire,

forcing Stevenson’s machine gun team

to abandon it. The men decided to

demolish the bakery as it dominated

their positions. PIAT rounds were fired

at it and grenades lobbed in. For the

remainder of the day the enemy “left

us alone”. Abandoned German dead

and wounded were horrific evidence

of the toll the attack had taken.

Friday, September 22 saw the

Germans using mortars and artillery

rather than infantry. A two-man

recce team, an NCO and a trooper,

were positioned in a slit trench at the

crossroads, awaiting the next self-

propelled gun. They engaged it from

about 70 yards, immobilising the

vehicle – but not its weaponry. The

crew opened fire on the trenches with

their machine gun,

killing a glider pilot

and wounding

another in the

trench closest to

the recce men, who

escaped unhurt.

More shellfire

prompted a

withdrawal to a

house 100 yards

to the rear, several

casualties were

suffered in the

move – including

‘A’ Troop leader, Captain Mike Grubb.

Food and water were short and by

evening just two officers and 17

men remained of the troop’s original

strength of four and 38.

"“Machine guns

swept the river, each

crossing took only a

few minutes, but to

those in the boats it

seemed much longer”"

took a direct

hit, destroying the front of the roof.

“This provided a better view,” wrote

Stevenson.

Stevenson’s men held out for the

remainder of the battle. On Thursday,

BASH ON! GOUGH'S RECCE MEN|ARNHEM

42-49 BASH_ON_GOUGHS_RECCE_MEN_ARNHEM BAW SEPT2019.indd 48 8/14/2019 5:23:00 PM