- Thread starter
- #21
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
At the rear of the old church lie the meadows leading down to the Lower Rhine and, close by, poppies grew in the field close to the church.
Opposite the church, on the other side of the road, lay the edge of the town of Oosterbeek, the narrow streets once the scene of vicious fighting, where lightly-armed Airborne troops, very low on ammunition, and without food for days, held off numerous attacks by infantry and tanks.
Alongside the church is a small house, the home of Kate ter Horst, the "Angel of Arnhem".
We spent some time here, and I, at least, certainly felt a powerful sense of sacrifice and sadness.
After leaving Oosterbeek, we followed the river road towards the city of Arnhem (and actually drove down some hills !), passing the St. Elizabeth Hospital above the main road, the main casualty handling point during the battle, and were the wounded were taken during the famous truce, on Sunday 24th September, to allow the dead and wounded to be removed from the battlefield, as portrayed in the movie 'A Bridge too Far'.
We were soon approaching the bridge, with Marcel driving us through heavy traffic, in possibly the busiest city in the Netherlands.
PIC 1. The commemorative bench outside the front of the church, bearing the Regimental crests of the units who made the last stand, as 'Lonsdale Force', under the command of Maj. Richard Lonsdale of 11 Para, himself wounded and heavily bandaged around the head and left arm.
PIC 2. A view from the rear of the church, with the river just beyond the tree line in the center of the frame. To the left, in the distance, is the railway bridge over the Neder Rijn, which had been blown during the battle. In the meadows immediately to the front in the picture, the 105 mm pack howitzers of the Airborne artillery fired their last rounds. Further off to the right (out of sight) is the Heaveadorp ferry, which had been 'blown', preventing General Sosabowski's Polish brigade from crossing the Lower Rhine.
It was from these fields that the final withdrawal was organised, with the men following lines of 'mine' tape in heavy rain, at night, to cross the Lower Rhine, whilst their comrades who were too badly wounded to walk, or be carried, formed a final line of defence in order to make the Germans think that the Airborne troops were still in position.
PIC 3. Alongside the church is the house of Kate ter Horst (portrayed by Liv Ullmann in the movie), the 'Angel of Arnhem', who opened her house as a field dressing station, helping to tend the wounded, and praying for them as they died.
PIC 4. In this street opposite the church, tanks approached, including four Tigers, with one of the Tigers being knocked out.
PIC 5. This tree in front of the church, was blasted by mortar fire, killing a number of Paras, two of whom still lie beneath the soil at the base of the tree.
PIC 6. Passing St. Eusebius church in the city, close to the bridge. The tower was used by both sides as an observation point during the battle, and was badly damaged. The entire area around the church and the bridge was totally devastated during the battle, and all of the buildings around here today are new, some much newer than others.
PIC 7. Approaching the bridge, with the Airborne flag flying above the recently re-located Airborne Museum on the Rijnkade, on the banks of the Lower Rhine. Due to time limitations, we didn't visit the museum, although it looked like it was quite busy with young visitors.
PIC 8. The old and the new. One of the original brick arch gates, almost lost between the modern buildings on the approach to the Rijnkade and the bridge.
PICS 9 and 10. The bridge over the Neder Rijn, a 'Bridge too Far', and the river itself, narrow, but fast-flowing with strong currents.This was taken from the spot where very heavy fighting took place, house to house, and room to room, and where a number of German trucks and half tracks were knocked out.
Above, on the road bed of the bridge at the right in the picture, is the scene of the destruction of the German armoured patrol on the first day,again graphically portrayed in the movie and, beyond the bridge, out of shot beyond the road bed, is the site of Colonel Frost's HQ, now rebuilt with new buildings.
The bridge was eventually bombed and destroyed by B-26 Marauders of the 9th USAAF, in October 1944, to prevent the Germans using it to reinforce their front line. A new bridge, in exactly the same style, was eventually erected, on the same spot, in 1948 and, in the 1970's it was named John Frost Bruge - John Frost Bridge. (Note that the bridge used in the movie 'A Bridge too Far' was the one at Deventer, as the area around the Arnhem bridge was too modern.)
After the battle at Arnhem and Oosterbeek, the population of part of the city, and all of Oosterbeek, were evacuated, losing everything, both to destruction and looting, as the Germans reinforced their new front line.
This was a very special trip for Karl and I, and I would like to thank Sander for taking the time off to show us the Oosterbeek Cemetery, and Marcel, for driving us around, and thanks too to the people of Holland, who keep the memory alive, and are just so d@mn nice !!
The final selection will show some general shots taken in the Arnhem area, and a few of the area around the north of the country.
Opposite the church, on the other side of the road, lay the edge of the town of Oosterbeek, the narrow streets once the scene of vicious fighting, where lightly-armed Airborne troops, very low on ammunition, and without food for days, held off numerous attacks by infantry and tanks.
Alongside the church is a small house, the home of Kate ter Horst, the "Angel of Arnhem".
We spent some time here, and I, at least, certainly felt a powerful sense of sacrifice and sadness.
After leaving Oosterbeek, we followed the river road towards the city of Arnhem (and actually drove down some hills !), passing the St. Elizabeth Hospital above the main road, the main casualty handling point during the battle, and were the wounded were taken during the famous truce, on Sunday 24th September, to allow the dead and wounded to be removed from the battlefield, as portrayed in the movie 'A Bridge too Far'.
We were soon approaching the bridge, with Marcel driving us through heavy traffic, in possibly the busiest city in the Netherlands.
PIC 1. The commemorative bench outside the front of the church, bearing the Regimental crests of the units who made the last stand, as 'Lonsdale Force', under the command of Maj. Richard Lonsdale of 11 Para, himself wounded and heavily bandaged around the head and left arm.
PIC 2. A view from the rear of the church, with the river just beyond the tree line in the center of the frame. To the left, in the distance, is the railway bridge over the Neder Rijn, which had been blown during the battle. In the meadows immediately to the front in the picture, the 105 mm pack howitzers of the Airborne artillery fired their last rounds. Further off to the right (out of sight) is the Heaveadorp ferry, which had been 'blown', preventing General Sosabowski's Polish brigade from crossing the Lower Rhine.
It was from these fields that the final withdrawal was organised, with the men following lines of 'mine' tape in heavy rain, at night, to cross the Lower Rhine, whilst their comrades who were too badly wounded to walk, or be carried, formed a final line of defence in order to make the Germans think that the Airborne troops were still in position.
PIC 3. Alongside the church is the house of Kate ter Horst (portrayed by Liv Ullmann in the movie), the 'Angel of Arnhem', who opened her house as a field dressing station, helping to tend the wounded, and praying for them as they died.
PIC 4. In this street opposite the church, tanks approached, including four Tigers, with one of the Tigers being knocked out.
PIC 5. This tree in front of the church, was blasted by mortar fire, killing a number of Paras, two of whom still lie beneath the soil at the base of the tree.
PIC 6. Passing St. Eusebius church in the city, close to the bridge. The tower was used by both sides as an observation point during the battle, and was badly damaged. The entire area around the church and the bridge was totally devastated during the battle, and all of the buildings around here today are new, some much newer than others.
PIC 7. Approaching the bridge, with the Airborne flag flying above the recently re-located Airborne Museum on the Rijnkade, on the banks of the Lower Rhine. Due to time limitations, we didn't visit the museum, although it looked like it was quite busy with young visitors.
PIC 8. The old and the new. One of the original brick arch gates, almost lost between the modern buildings on the approach to the Rijnkade and the bridge.
PICS 9 and 10. The bridge over the Neder Rijn, a 'Bridge too Far', and the river itself, narrow, but fast-flowing with strong currents.This was taken from the spot where very heavy fighting took place, house to house, and room to room, and where a number of German trucks and half tracks were knocked out.
Above, on the road bed of the bridge at the right in the picture, is the scene of the destruction of the German armoured patrol on the first day,again graphically portrayed in the movie and, beyond the bridge, out of shot beyond the road bed, is the site of Colonel Frost's HQ, now rebuilt with new buildings.
The bridge was eventually bombed and destroyed by B-26 Marauders of the 9th USAAF, in October 1944, to prevent the Germans using it to reinforce their front line. A new bridge, in exactly the same style, was eventually erected, on the same spot, in 1948 and, in the 1970's it was named John Frost Bruge - John Frost Bridge. (Note that the bridge used in the movie 'A Bridge too Far' was the one at Deventer, as the area around the Arnhem bridge was too modern.)
After the battle at Arnhem and Oosterbeek, the population of part of the city, and all of Oosterbeek, were evacuated, losing everything, both to destruction and looting, as the Germans reinforced their new front line.
This was a very special trip for Karl and I, and I would like to thank Sander for taking the time off to show us the Oosterbeek Cemetery, and Marcel, for driving us around, and thanks too to the people of Holland, who keep the memory alive, and are just so d@mn nice !!
The final selection will show some general shots taken in the Arnhem area, and a few of the area around the north of the country.
