Arnhem by Antony Beevor

Author:Antony Beevor [Beevor, Antony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141941295
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-03-25T00:00:00+00:00

18

Arnhem Bridge and Oosterbeek

Wednesday 20 September

Wednesday dawned with light rain, which did little to dampen the flames around the north end of Arnhem bridge and the town centre. One of the few civilians left in the area gazed in horror at the church of St Walburgis and noted that ‘the towers looked like great columns of fire’.

Frost’s force suspected that they did not have what Monty considered a ‘sporting chance’ of holding the bridge, yet they also guessed that their presence had more than inconvenienced the Germans. Brigadeführer Harmel, while directing operations in Nijmegen from the north bank of the Waal, longed to hear that the British 1st Airborne had been crushed. ‘Damn them, but they’re stubborn!’ he cursed. He desperately needed the road bridge opened because the improvised ferry system at Pannerden simply could not cope with reinforcements and supply. Bittrich’s headquarters felt obliged to explain to higher command that the delay in eliminating Frost’s battalion was due to their ‘fanatical doggedness’. Frost and his men would never have accepted the word ‘fanatical’, but they would have acknowledged a thoroughly British bloody-mindedness.

Ammunition was almost totally exhausted. Not a single PIAT round remained to deal with armoured vehicles. Although Frost was no longer optimistic about their chances, a belief had taken hold that ‘this is our bridge and you’ll not set one foot on it.’ A signaller told him that they had made contact with divisional headquarters. Frost had his first chance to talk to Urquhart, who told him that things were very difficult for them too. Frost assured him that they would hold on as long as possible but ammunition was the problem, along with medical supplies and water. He then asked about XXX Corps. Urquhart knew little more than he did, and Frost sensed that he and his men would not be relieved. Jokes about the Guards Armoured Division stopping to blanco their belts and polish their boots were no longer funny. The day before he had discussed with Freddie Gough of the reconnaissance squadron what they should do if they had to break out. The obvious direction was due west to Oosterbeek, but Frost thought it might be better to slip out in groups towards the north through the back gardens.

The desire to know the whereabouts of XXX Corps continued to preoccupy everyone. Captain Bill Marquand in brigade headquarters sent a signalman up into the attic with a 38 Set. Desperate to make contact, he was broadcasting in clear, over and over again: ‘This is the 1st Para Brigade calling Second Army.’ There was still no response.

More and more buildings had been destroyed by fire or shelling. Often the two were linked as the Germans used phosphorus shells to accelerate the process. After capturing the second last house on the eastern side, the Germans sent in pioneers to fix charges to the underside of the bridge so that it could be blown if British tanks did break through from Nijmegen. A counter-attack led by Lieutenant Jack Grayburn forced them back, and sappers removed the charges.

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