Jag har plockat ut några speciellt intressanta och spännande bitar:
"There was still hope among the Allies as daylight arrived on 22 September that the Brittish 43rd Inf Div might yet break through at Ressen north of Nijmegen, relieve the Brittish paratroopers, and bring overall success to operation Market Garden. This was, however, dependent upon events in the airborne corridor. General Taylor, still holding indian-territory with the 101 Airborne Div south of Grave, faced a major task keeping Hells Highway open because of the slow progress of the VIII and XII British Corps attacks coming up on either flank of the corridor."
Så här såg amerikanarnas läge ut den 22 sept:
"General Taylor, the commander of the 101, had already engaged the bulk of Colonel Johnsons 501 PIR to a limited offensive action near Schijndel. They would soon come into contact with the Kampfgruppe Huber. This left one battalion of the 501 in defensive position i Veghel. There was nothing in Uden, seven kilometers north-west of Veghel, which was shortly to be brushed by the right fringe of Walther´s attack. Concerned now at recent sightings of German tanks between Gemert and Erp, adding to the previous unease stemming from Dutch Resistance Report, Taylor decided to despatch additional forces to Uden and Veghel. One Battalion immediately set off by truck, another on foot. Col Sinks 506 PIR was ordered to send troops to Uden as they were relieved by British troops at Eindhoven and Son. About 150 men hastily clambered aboard trucks for the northward journey; they should arrive by 1100."
Och nu blir det spännande...
"At 0900 German commanders in the Kampfgruppe Walther stared intently at watch faces as the final seconds ticked off H-hour. Fists jabbed skyward in the tugging motion that signified 'advance'. Slowly, reluctantly, the infantry got to their feet and walked steadily forward. Stomachs tightened with fear - this was it!"
”Uden and the outskirts of Veghel had been reached by 1100. Colonel Sinks contingent from the 506th Regiment arrived minutes before the first skirmishing outside Uden. The Germans however, had eyes only for Veghel. Its unmistakeble church spire was already proving to be an excellent artillery aiming point.
Virtually unopposed on the right of the road, the Panther and Panzer-grenadier battalions cut Hells Highway between Veghel and Uden.”
101 på ingång…
”By about 1400 Major Hubers tank-destroyers and ertillery began to bring down fire upon the bridge over the Wilhelms canal at Veghel. At the moment Col Sinks truckborne element of the 506 PIR arrived from the south, driving for Uden. They were supported by a squadron of British tanks. Discouraged, Hubers Kampfgruppe recoiled from the roadside. The British tanks left one troop behind and went on to Veghel. Walthers Kampfgruppe was now too far ahead of the infantry, who were struggling to keep up. SS-Lieutenant Damaske recalls:
’The English then fired a protective barrage out of all available barrels, including smoke, particulary in Richters sector. At the same time, the attack along the main road stalled against formidable (enemy) tank units.’
Slaget om Veghel fortsätter och den tyska attacken börjar komma av sig. Tyskarna som attackerade från båda sidor av ”The Corridor” kunde inte samverka tillräckligt bra på grund av dålig kommunikation. Den tyske soldaten Karl Max Wietzorek, veteran från Normandie, beskriver hur han slogs mot soldater ur 501 PIR i närheten av Veghel:
”If only I could describe it properly, the close combat in the Dutch woods! I wish I had the chance to go back to this country, Holland and tell what happened there…at the Hydrochloric acis factory by the canal road – a fight against parachute troops on the ground and snipers in tree-tops. That night the former General der flieger Student himself took part in the German counter-attack. We came up against hard, bitter opposition and our desperate attempt at attack was brought to a halt. It was raining and many of our men slipped and slithered down the the wet slope into the canal where they drowned. Then the Americans let the hydrocloric acid into the trenches, which were partly filled with water. This acid caused terrible injuries n the bodies of the soldiers, few survied this ordeal.”
Det gick dåligt för både Huber och Richters förband och man la om taktiken:
Richter directed: ”…that fire now be opened from the flank against the allied armoured forces moving on the Veghel road. The canal bridge was taken under fire by the Sturmgeschutz assault guns from the line we had reached.”
”Fortunately for the americans, the canal bridge was protected by a moat of swampy ground produced by the river Aa. Damaske observed that:
’Further progress was not possible. Morever, the engineers and Panzer-grenadiers came under well-aimed rifle fire delivered by the american paratroopers and were not able to take a further step forward.’
Trots förluster hade nu Kampfgruppe Walther lyckats blockera ”The Corridor” med beskjutning och de allierades framryckning var stoppad. Tillfälligt. Hårda strider fortsatte den även den 23 september. De allierade lyckades till slut öppna vägen mellan Veghel och Uden men den 24 gjordes en ny attack mot ”the corridor”, den här gången vid ”Koevering”. Se karta.
Även här sattes 506 in i en attack från nordost. Striderna fortsatte fram till den 27 september och tyskarna var nu helt slutkörda. General Chill i 85 div sa:
”…the terrible combat capability of our own troops, which in the case of Luftwaffe units were simply recruits under questionable commanders. He remarked that one could hardly expect to take the road bridge at Veghel with these.”
En tysk officer i 712 Inf Div rapporterade följande:
” 25 september 1944. We march about 45 kilometers. Everybody is dead tired.”
”26 September 1944. There is not a dry thread on us. The Battalion slumocks along the road.”
”27 September 1944. The men are done. They are all old chaps. Unnecesary marching and counter-marching is making them discontented. We have now been two days without food. Three companies attacked Hees. Only a few stragglers came back. … Poor Germany. Everybody is under the impression that he is selling his life cheaply.”
Efter den 27 lyckades tyskarna aldrig mer skära av ”The Corridor”. Däremot tog de allierades framryckning slut på ”The Island”. Området mellan Nijmegen och Arnhem. Där för övrigt avsnittet ”Crossroads” utspelar sig.
/Gribing
