Britain at War - 09.2019

RIGHT

Three USAAF-marked

Dakotas drop men

and containers into

Arnhem. Note the

partial invasion

stripes under the

rear fuselage, as the

stripes had been

ordered removed

from upper surfaces

from July 1944.

TOPFOTO

BELOW

British airborne

troops in full kit

show the cramped

conditions inside

a Dakota while

flying into Arnhem,

September 17, 1944.

TOPFOTO

M22 Locust, a comparable but more

compact tank. Even two Tetrarch

or Locust tanks, with their cross-

country capability and light armour,

would prove valuable. However, it

seems that no approach was made to

ask for a troop on loan from the sister

unit. Gough had to operate with what

he had.

BASH ON, RECCE!

The squadron travelled to Arnhem on

Sunday, September 17 in two parties,

one parachuting from Dakotas, the

other in gliders. One glider carried

a jeep and trailer together with the

reserve petrol supply and a hamper

of 2in mortar bombs – a heavy and

combustible cargo. Others carried

less-frightening loads, including

20mm Polsten guns – a simpler

and cheaper

Polish derivative

of the Oerlikon

cannon. Two

Polstens, each

jeep-towed,

formed an anti-

aircraft section,

but their heavy

rounds and fast

rate of fire –

between 250

and 320rpm

• made them
  lethal defensive
  weapons against
  infantry and
  light armour. They were included
  the support troop, commanded by
  Lieutenant John Christie.
  A Royal Engineer unit, 9th Field
  Company, was to support Gough’s

Market

Garden

44 http://www.britainatwar.com

BASH ON! GOUGH'S RECCE MEN|ARNHEM

"“Despite being wounded

and captured, Arthur

Barlow had also been

lucky; the section wireless

operator, he should have

been with Peter Bucknall

but, as the wireless jeep

hadn’t arrived, Bucknall

had left him to await

its appearance.”"

force. This unit

had assisted

1 st Airlanding

Brigade in the

capture of the

Ponte Grande

bridge, near

Syracuse, in

July 1943, but at

Arnhem, it never

linked up with

the squadron.

Worse for the

engineers, one

of the company’s

gliders – carrying

21 Sappers – crashed in Somerset,

killing all on board. Gough’s squadron

fared better on landing, all but two of

the Horsas landed in the correct area. It

was a calm day, so most of the Dakota-

dropped party landed safely. Alf Hazell

was one of the few casualties. His rifle

became ensnared in his parachute

rigging. Although he managed to

untangle it, his drop resulted in a

broken ankle, possibly due to being

off-balance following the struggle

with rifle and rigging.

A rendezvous was effected,

one man appropriately yelled the

Reconnaissance Corps battle cry,

“BASH ON, RECCE!”, and the

squadron set off for Arnhem Bridge

in deliberate haste. As they advanced,

the jeep crews followed their standard

operational practice. They advanced

in phased rushes, one group covering

another, essentially leapfrogging their

way to the objective. However, not

all the jeeps reached the bridge. Near

Wolfheze junction, alongside the

railway line, No.8 Section, ‘C’ Troop,

under Lieutenant Peter Bucknall, was

ambushed by men of Battalion Krafft

• 16th Panzergrenadier Division’s
  Replacement and Training Battalion


• as his jeep rose from a dip. This
  formidable battlegroup consisted of
  three infantry companies, its own
  anti-tank and mortar sections and
  two reconnaissance sections and was
  spread out in three locations in the
  vicinity. Elements of Battalion Krafft
  reacted very quickly to the Allied drop
  and, in their ambush, Bucknall and
  Troopers Goulding, Brumwell and
  Gorringe were killed.
  The following jeep also came under
  fire from a concealed machine gun.
  The driver, Trooper Reg Hasler,
  stopped the vehicle which had taken a
  burst of fire in the radiator. Sergeant
  Tom McGregor ordered his men
  to dismount and to take up firing
  positions. In the uneven firefight that

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