Operation Market-Garden: behind the enemy lines (página 2)

Partes: 1, 2

4. THE KAMPFGRUPPE VON TETTAU

The term Kampfgruppe is used to refer to a type of tactics used by the Germans during the whole war and with wide success. It consists of the massive employment of groups of troops of varied nature and with the aim to conquer a precise point of the front. It was a group of troops ad hoc used without bearing the origin of the units in mind but yes the power of fire and mobility. These groups of combat were identified normally by the name of his commander, but some of them were taking the identification of its units of origin. The Kampfgruppe von Tettau, supervised by the lieutenant general Hans von Tettau had a relevant performance during Arnhem's events.

The Lieutenant general Hans von Tettau, on having shaped the Kampfgruppe that was taking his name, met a heterogeneous group of combat, composed principally by novices scanty instruction for the battle. The units that were integrating it were including troops belonging to the army, the SS, the sea-coast and the German air force, many of them of battalions school, or Lehr, with few preparation for the struggle that one was approaching. The following list gives an idea of the conformation of the Kampfgruppe von Tettau:

S.S. Schule Arnheim, School Arnhem Commander: SS Colonel Lippert, 3000 men.
S.S. Polizei Schule, School of Military Policeman(Police) of the SS, 600 men. 4 ° Battalion of Training and Replacement of the SS, Commander: Lieutenant Labahn
3° SS Watch Battalion . Commander: Colonel Paul Anton Helle . 600 men.
Schiffsturm Abteilung 10 . 10° Maneuver Navy Battalion. Commander : Kapitan Lieutnant Zaubzer .600 men.
Schiffsturm Abteilung 6/14 . 6/14 Maneuver Navy Battalion . 600 men.
Fliegerhorst Bataillon 2. 2 Ligth Cavalry Battalion . 600 men.
Fliegerhorst Bataillon 3.. 3 Ligth Cavalry Battalion. 600 men.
Artillerie Regiment 184 . 184 Artillery Regiment. 450 men.
Regiment 42 Sicherheit . 42 Security Regiment.
S.S. Bataillon Eberwein. "Eberwein" SS Battalion
KG Knoche . Kampfgruppe Knoche. Commander: Major Knoche
Military Police Battalions: Bataillon I, Sicherheits Regiment 26, (450 men) . Bataillon II, 26 Sicherheits Regiment 26, (450 men) . MG Bataillon 30, (390 men)
AntiAir Battalions: (Luftwaffe): Bataillon I, FlaK Abteilung 688, (2 x 37L98 FlaK) . Bataillon II, FlaK Abteilung 688, (4 x 20L113 FlaK)
Hermann Göering Schule Regiment . Hermann Göering School Regiment. Commander : Oberst (Colonel) Waldemar Kluge

Other Units:

I, HG Schule Regiment, (600 men) . Reichs AD, (300 men) , Panzer Abteliung 224, (French tanks Char B, 17 Vehicles)
S.S. Ersatz Abteliung 4, (450 men)
Deelen Airfield Flak Kompanie, (8 x 20L113 LW FlaK)
Wach Kompanie (500 men)

Since it can be estimated, the composition of these troops, as well as it quality, it was very varied. Nevertheless, they were having a high level of mobility and power of fire.

On the other hand, the colonel general Kurt Student, possibly the maximum authority in troops parachutists in Germany, had been nominated a commander of the First German Airborne Army (1° Fallschimjäger Armee). Student had the painful task of bringing together the German dispersed parachutists for the whole western front, since after the capture of the island of Crete in May, 1941, these units were destined as infantry specializing and incorporated into other units of line. His 59 ° division of Infantry also was in Holland in September, 1944, in a desperate attempt for repairing the dam of German defenses, before the enormous one to flow of allied tanks. The destiny would provide to Student a surprise wire brush: he would receive in his headquarters a package with you notarize in English. It was the whole plan "Market-Garden", found among the corpses of a British crashed glider. In 1940, during the invasion to Holland, the German plan of invasion got lost and was found by the allied troops. " The history repeats itself ", was saying Student continuously. When the plans were taken to the Marshall Model, this one did not agree with Student's affirmation. "It is a trick", he said, "these men come for my Headquarters, and not for another thing". The Battle for Holland had begun.

5. THE BATTLE OF HOLLAND

September 17, 1944

On September 17, 1944, from early hour, big quantities of bombardiers and planes of assault to the soil, hammered the anti-aircraft German defenses of the jump corridor of the airborn allied forces, from Walcheren's Island up to Arnhem. Approximately at 13.00 hours it began the airborne assault in a rectangle that was going from Eindhoven on the south up to Arnhem to the north. At 14.00 hours, and for space of 35 minutes, to the north of the Belgian frontier village of La Chaude Fontaine, 11 regiments of field artillery and 6 regiments of medium artillery, belonging to the XXX Army Corps supervised by the Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, opened fire on the lines of German defenses stationed along the highway to Eindhoven, with the intention of making the way to the forces "Garden", with the Irish Guards Brigade to the head, of the Lieutenant Colonel J.O.E. Vandeleur, veteran commander of tanks, and that was coming attacking from the capture of Paris, practically without rest.

To the south of Veghel, a speechless Student was exclaiming before the general Reinhard, observing the step of the set squares of planes C-47: " Oh, if I had had at some time average so many people to my disposition!. To have so much planes, though only it was once! "

Without losing time, and guessing the intentions of the allies, the general Student arranged immediately the blowing-up of the bridge of Son, (the bridge flew to the eyes of the North American parachutists) to cut the armored allied advance, and sent urgently to 59 ° Division to Best, to reinforce the LXXXVIII Army Corps of Reinhard. Right here, the Battalion parachutist Jungwirtt strike up in combat with effective of 101 ° airborn American division. This battalion, together with the whole Kampfgruppe Chill, received the order to resist at any expense.

Among so much, on the North, in Nijmegen, a surprised colonel Henke, commander of a Kampfgruppe, receives the terse innovation of the airborn assault. His unit could not be more heterogeneous: belonging railway police officers and soldiers of land were shaping it and to the Luftwaffe. The combats are enraged, but Heumen's bridge, in the locality of Grave, it stays in North American hands.

To the 13.30, in Arnhem, come the news of the airborne landing, the mechanics and the service of maintenance of 9 ° Waffen SS "Hohenstauffen", receives the order to unload the tanks that had been embarked in a train to be moved to German locality of Sieggen, with the intention of regrouping the division. In a feverish activity, the men begin to put in conditions the vehicles.

At this hour, the field marshall Walter Model, convinced that the parachutists were coming for his Headquarters, moved hastily up to Terborg, where he had a join at 15.00 hours with the general Wilhem Bittrich, commander of 2 ° SS PanzerKorps. In a harsh conference, Bittrich advises the immediate blowing-up of the bridges of Nijmegen and Arnhem, to which the commander of the Group of Armies B, answers with the round one not. " We need the bridges for the counterattack, Willy ", he was run through by the marshall Model. Bittrich, in ironic tone, answered him: " to counter-attack?, Herr Feldmarschall, with which we are going to counter-attack?", refering Bittrich to the terrible shortage of troops in the Western front. Model only guarded silence.

Among so much, in the headquarters of the Führer, this one is informed about the assault in Holland. Hitler arranges immediately the intrusion of 300 fighters of the Luftwaffe to offset the invasion, but it is a vain order. Such a quantity of fighters is very difficult to obtain in the western front.

In Holland, the general Christiansen begins to mobilize to the troops that will stay under the control of the general von Tettau, including the men who were in use of permission in Wessel's locality, which added to the soldiers in military instruction approximately 3000 men would add. These battalions were depending on the Military German District of the West or Wehrkreis VI.

Relying on these forces and with the II SS PanzerKorps, the field marshall Model, known by his incredible aptitude to improvise defenses in zones under pressure, he drew a plan of countermeasurements before the critical situation in Holland:

· In Eindhoven, to the south of Holland, the general Student would rush forth at the XXX and XIIth Army Corps, while the CVII PanzerBrigade would attack the positions of 101 ° airborn North American Division.
· At the level of Nijmegen, 10 Division Panzer SS "Frundsberg", it would cut the step to the allied armoured vehicles, protecting the enormous bridge on the Waal river. The forces of the Wehrkreis VI, supervised by the general Feldt, and reinforced with the II Parachutists' Corps comes from Cologne, would occupy Groesbeek's highs, zone of landing of allied parachutists.
· To The north, in Arnhem, 9 ° Panzerdivision SS "Hohenstauffen", would protect the bridge on the Rhine river, preventing the occupation of the same one on the part of the 1 ° Airborn British Division.

While all that was happening in the feverish headquarters of the marshall Walther Model, in Arnhem, more to the north, the Kampfgruppe Kraft hits with the British parachutists who have begun to approach the city. It is three o'clock of the evening, while the group Weber from Luftwaffe, the subofficials' academy SS in Wolfheze and the Dutch security force, they form and send to the battle a battalion each one. It is given besides, the order to demolish the railway bridge on the Nederreihn, which was fulfilled to the 18.30 hs.

At 19.00 hours, the IX SS Panzergrenadiere Recognition Battalion, supervised by the captain Víctor Grabner, and with not less than 30 vehicles, crosses Arnhem's bridge to verify if parachutists' landings had happened. The immense bridge was left, since the guard had returned to their units of origin before the alarm of the assault. Likewise, the lieutenant colonel (Obersturmbannführer), 32-year-old, Walther Harzer, commander of 10 ° Division Frundsberg, had taken charge forming the force of blockade supervised by the lieutenant colonel SS Spindler, the kampfgruppe Spindler, who took positions along Dreyenseweb, cutting the route between the landing zones and Arnhem's bridge.

An hour later, to 20.00 the Grabner's first elements meet troops of the lieutenant colonel John Frost, of the Second Airborn British Battalion, which had occupied the north side of the bridge on the Rhine.

Meanwhile, the general Harmel, from 10° Waffen SS Frundsberg, before the presence of Frost's troops, had to cross the river for Pannerdern's ferryboat, to the east of Arnhem, which alone was allowing the step vehicles of up to 40 tons.

September 18, 1944

For September 18, the capture of Arnhem's bridge by the Germans was of absolute priority. It was commissioned to the troops assembled in the Kampfgruppe Knaust, to unblock the north access of the bridge. Simultaneously, was ordained to the captain Gräbner to pushing with his battalion from the south. Rapidly, Panzergrenadiere's armored transport rushed forth at the obstacles placed in the ramps, but the intense english fire could more. In an instant, 12 vehicles remained involved in flames stopping up the access to the bridge. Among the German falls there was the captain Gräbner, container of the Knight Cross, who had been decorated the previous day, in the morning, hours before the airborn assault.

While, the heterogeneous Kampfgruppe Tettau began to move from Renkum's locality, including to 224 company panzer, endowed with captured tanks Renault FT35, French, and the Kampfgruppe Spindler was throwing an assault against the positions of 3 ° Airborn British battalion.

Much more on the South, in the surroundings of Eindhoven, the troops fitted in the Kampfgruppe Walther aborted successive foolhardy attempts of the armoured vehicles of the Irish Guard of occupying the village of Helmond, extreme North of the unfolding of the diminished LXXXVI Korp of German army, of the general Oberstfelder, which painfully was taking positions from Weert, on the South. It composition was the clear demonstration of the German decadence in the western front. Division of Infantry 176 was composed of 7000 recruits and invalid soldiers, but in conditions to fight. This way they did it. On September 18, suffering serious losses, they retained Best, pushing back assaults of armoured vehicles and of infantry constant.

A commentary separates deserves the performance of for then lower Luftwaffe. The German air force, reduced to a pilots' handful endowed with unimaginable experience and supporting pressures in every sense, they fought as lions hurt in the skies of Holland. But soon they saw that almost they were not have opposition. Really, few ones were the allied fighters that went out to defend to the solitary " air trains " of parachutists, due to an incongruous order of the British command, which it was ordering to RAF and USAAF to not to intervene during the air landing. The bridge of La Chaude Fontaine, in the Belgian border, acquaintance as " Joe's bridge", is so for the second day of combats, the Germans could bombard almost without enemy response. This action, and others throughout the days of Market-Garden, did of this battle the first one from Normandy in the control of the air on the part of the Germans. And also the last one, up to the fall of Berlin.

While, in the landing zone of Groesbeek's, near Nijmegen, German troops of 406 division Landesschützen (regional troops), tried to occupy the area, but they were pushed back before the arrival of the second big wave. At the same time, they began to approach Nijmegen, the troops mounted in bicycles for 10 ° division Frundsberg.

More to the north, the battle was making feel in Arnhem. The landing of the IV Brigade of British parachutists was bloody. They were getting down on 3 ° Battalion of Military Policeman of the SS, which produced numerous falls among the english men.

September 19, 1944

Already from the dawn of the 19th, the civil Dutches could verify how hardly of roer it would be the bone in Holland for the allies. There was constant the arrival of troops and German vehicles to the zones of battle. Several trains came this day from Germany and from other zones, transporting cannons and tanks. The whole armored brigade, 207, was coming from Denmark. It was formed for the fearsome StuG III, self-propelled very versatile cannons and that were unfusing fear of the infantry. They were not tanks, in strict sense, but it aspect was very similar. They were vehicles to caterpillar on which there had been mounted a cannon of 75 mm by a very low profile and anguled, which was making it very difficult to neutralize. For it side, the Luftwaffe proved to be very active, realizing 125 flyng only this day.

Spindler and his group had taken positions, including cannons of rapid shot, financing the river Rhine, aborting any attempt of the lieutenant colonel Frost of taking the side South of Arnhem's bridge, while the groups of Knaust and of Brinkmann, they were approaching from the North and from the East.

In this, the forces panzer SS of the lieutenant colonel Harzer and the infantry of the general von Tettau was making move back to the British parachutists in the side North of the bridge.

The general Heinz Harmel, commander of 10 Waffen SS "Frundsberg", established his headquarters in Doornersberg's locality, to 9 Km to the north of Nijmegen, from where he was directing the assaults the forces of 101 ° American division. The North Americans suffered such losses, which decided to cross the river Waal in barges, instead of crossing the bridge. The problem is that the little boats were too much to rear, this way that did not have other one exit for that to hope that they were coming.

More on the South, at Son, near Eindhoven, the battle had taken bleeding dimensions. 107 brigade panzer threw to the assault supported by 59 ° division of infantry, in a tries of blocking the highway to Nijmegen, but the assault was stopped at the end of the day in the surroundings of the headquarters of 101 North American division.

September 20, 1944

For the morning of the 20th, the things were indicating that the battle was slow down, in such a way that to the assaults the counterattacks were corresponding, totally bleeding and with serious losses for both decrees. From Oosterbeek, in the North, even Son, in the South, were produced continuous clashes that did not come to anything, only more dead and injured men. The only exceptions were the noisy step of Bittrich's Panzer Tigre across Arnhem's bridge, in the North, and the bloody step of the North Americans in boats, in Waal river, which to the end had come to the line of fire.

At 21 hrs. of this laconic day, one took to end a truce to the effect of which both decrees them injured men were gathering and were giving them the due attentions. The picture that would exist before the eyes of the men entrusted to transport and attend to the injured men surprised them exceedingly. They met a field of terrible battle, framed by the ruins of the nice Dutch cities, diminished to rubbles for the artillery and the tanks. Multitude of German and English corpses they were merry everywhere, and the vehicles of all kinds, were burning between the ruins. The German soldiers who had fought in the distant Russia, could not less that to compare this with that one. Some of these soldiers even would comment then, that the combats in Arnhem had been more violent than that they had suffered in the Russian front.

Exceeded by the events, and pressed for his proper personal officers, the field marshall Walter Model finished for arranging the blowing-up of the gigantic bridge on the river Waal, in Nijmegen. Too much late. The English armoured vehicles had passed already, thanks to the bold North American assault across the river. Of all forms, the attempt of blowing-up failed inexplicably, and it constitutes until today a mystery.

September 21, 1944

The High German Control was restructured, of such form that was taking as reference the axis of the allied advance. The forces that were fighting to the west of this axis, were staying under the control of the general Gustav von Zangen, commander of the XV° German Army , a powerful force, but not taken advantage suitably. The troops placed to the east of the axis of assault, would depend directly on the general Kurt Student. Model did something more: he put all the troops that were fighting in Arnhem, under the control of the general Britrich and of his II SS Panzerkorp.

By the end of the day there had come mas German troops, expert in street combat, and on the part of the allies, to the end there could land the Polish airborne Brigade, supervised by the general Stanislaw Sosabowski, who had the effect of unbalancing the scale around Arnhem. Sosabowski, expert in airborne troops was a sceptic of Market-Garden. When he landed in the areas semiflooded of Gelderland, his worse dreads made real. The things were not since his English chiefs believed. The Germans, he was thinking, they are very far from being defeated.

September 22, 1944

During the whole day increased the pressure on the First Airbone Division in Arnhem, submitted to the permanent assault of artillery, tanks and infantry. The fence on the lieutenant colonel Frost was becoming increasingly small.

While, on the South, the forces of Student, they achieved to close the highway in the bridge on the Aa river, in Veghel.

September 23, 1944

More German troops continue coming to the zone of Arnhem and of Veghel, on the South. In a rather desperate order, the field marshall Model orders to general Bittrich to clean Arnhem in 24 hours, but the Britishers resist fiercely.

In Veghel, bleeding combats stop to the German forces, but they do not manage to open the route towards Nijmegen. Model, with his staff, has planned Nijmegen's fall effecting counterattacks of such form of opening a corridor up to the bridge and to block it.

September 24, 1944

The commander in chief of the western front, field marshall Gerd von Rundsted, communicates to Berlin his intention of making move back the forces in Holland, up to behind the river Mosa. Hitler differs bitterly against this idea. On the contrary, the Fuhrer is a supporter of sending more troops and reinforcing the line in the river Aa, in Veghel. As many other times, Hitler had reason as for the disposition of the forces, in opposition to the opinion of his marshalls, many of them lacking in enthusiasm for the victory. On the other hand, von Rundsted, general who had never lost a battle, was absolutely fed up of the war and of Hitler, and was more partial to a German surrender, that to the maintenance of an offensive. This is reflected in his continuous messages to Berlin, requesting such-and-such retreat.

In June, 1944, while German troops was fighting fiercely in the zone of Normandy, von Rundsted sent a message to Hitler requesting the immediate retreat of troops towards the North-east of France, liberating Paris and centering there. The marshall Rommel, a born soldier, criticized Rundsted for not having attacked efficiently the allies in the beaches, which it was, according to Rommel, the only place where an invading force is weaker and with more possibilities of being destroyed. " When the enemy landing – said the hero of the North of Africa-, and they consolidates their beachead, we will never be able to throw them to the sea, less if they are supplies from a country as United States ".

September 25, 1944

The Kampfgruppe Allworden provided with immense tanks KönigTiger (Royal Tiger), bursted for the positions of the First Airborn Division, in the first hours of the evening, being contained by the intense fire at the end of the day.

While all that was happening after the German lines, the British already had resolved the " Operation Berlin ", the forced evacuation of what was staying of they forces in Arnhem. This retreat was going to be realized during the whole night from September 25 to September 26, and it can be said that it was a success. Little before 10 p.m., two companies of the Royal Canadian Enginners, using 21 boats manage to transport to most of what was staying of the First Airborn British Division. For the British the " Operation Berlin " had same importance as Dunkerke's evacuation.

The Epilogue

The battle of Holland had ended. The field marshall Walter Model estimated in 3300, the falls produced in the B Army Group, though other fountains were declared later by approximately 2000 dead men and about 6000 injured men. The famous II PanzerKorps, the divisions Hohenstauffen and Frundsberg, occupied Holland in a time, for then be re-supplied and envoys after the German border. They would take part in January, 1945 in the Offensive of the Ardennes, being almost annihilated on having remained without fuel for their tanks, in the middle of a particularly rigorous winter, since it was that of beginning of 1945. The survivors, welded very trained, would move back slowly and would form a part of the dispersed forces that defending Berlin of the Russian harassment. The commander, general of division SS Wilhem Bittrich, was brave for the North Americans on having finished the war, and submitted to a partial enough and coarse judgment, for supposed entail with the slaughter of Jews and other ethnic groups, but the evidences were showing that Bittrich was a born soldier and that he never had participation in slaughters of civil, for what was liberated, retiring to the particular life.

On his part, the North Americans had lost in their two airborne divisions approximately 3660 men and the Poles 378 trained parachutists. While, the losses of the British II Army belong 5354 men of which only 1480 they concerned to the XXX Corp of the general Horrocks. Also the loss is devastating in supplies: only 7.4 % of the whole came to British hands.

With regard to the terrible defeat of the Battle of Holland, the field marshall Montgomery would write then: "In my -prejudiced- view, if the operation had been properly backed from its inception, and given the aircraft, ground forces, and administrative resources necessary for the job, it would have succeeded in spite of my mistakes, or the adverse weather, or the presence of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in the Arnhem area. I remain Market Garden's unrepentant advocate."

Final commentaries

The Operation Market-Garden was a very well well-considered airborn operation, which of being successful, would have opened " the door towards the kitchen " of Germany, the industrial region of the Ruhr. In a little time, the Third Reich had remained immobile to mercy of their enemies. And maybe, the bloody European war had ended before the Christmas of 1944.

But Market-Garden was slightly more. It was the cruel demonstration of the internal competitions in the bosom of the Allied General staff, affirmation supported by several historians. The marshall Montgomery wanted to take Germany alone he, and only possessing a support of his principal rival, the LieutenantGeneral George S. Patton, of the American III Army. Patton had managed to make way for him to top of cannon in the south of the battlefront and was rivalling with Montgomery for the acquisition of supplies and for the speed of the advance. They are not any secret the numerous verbal skirmishes among both commanders, as whom it would have to have the gravit center of the assault. Montgomery wanted to aim a mortal blow at the enemy and Market-Garden was his hammer.

But since it is in the habit of happening lengthways and width of the History, not everything is like is programmed and is planned. It is known that the British intelligence scorned several reports of the Dutch Resistance that were reporting with luxury of details (that there were including the numbers and the emblems of the German regiments) the presence of a powerful body armoured in the surroundings of the zones of landing. The climate also would play an important role, since the evil time prevented that the soldiers were supplied correctly and the suitably bombed enemy. The conjunction of a good number of mistakes provoked what would be Market-Garden: a bloody battle in a sector that it was not leading nowhere. The words of the Prince Leopold of Belgium were forceful: " My country cannot give himself the luxury of another Montgomery's victory ".

For the Germans, the battle of Holland was one more test of what there could do fed well, rested troops and under a firm and supported control. But already it was late, so Germany was disintegrating. Harassed by several fronts, with their industrial power crushed day and night, with a civil population fed up with seeing to die to their young men, Germany could not wait for another thing that was not the defeat. Personally, it is worthy of a thesis in sociology the study of because the Germans stuck so much to the war when this one already was lost. After Market-Garden, the world and Germany especially, they had to wait six long months in order that the war was ending. The response, possibly, is after a long study, buried in the ruins of smoking Berlin, in the first days of May, 1945.

Ramon Antonio Padilla, Tucumán's National University.

San Miguel of Tucuman, Tucuman, Argentina February 2006.-