Freebird
Master Sergeant
Question for our Dutch/Belgian members. (hello Marcel!)
There are numerous (& erroneous) accounts of Market Garden describing the British ground forces "advancing up a single road".
There were in fact two separate primary routes, plus a third flanking route to the East (via Helmond)
Most people are aware of XXX Corps route up highway 69 (Hell's Highway)
Start-> Eindhoven -> Zon -> Veghel -> Grave -> Nijmegen -> Arnhem
The planned route was altered due to damage to the canal bridge between Grave and Nijmegen, so they detoured to another Maas bridge farther east near Hueman, then up to Nijmegen along the north side of the Maas - Waal canal.
In the 70s (80s?) a new Waalbrug was built over the Waal near Ewijk, so the modern A50 bypasses Grave and Nijmegen.
What's very rarely mentioned is the route plan for Richie's XII corps, a parallel drive towards Nijmegen, also intended to secure the western flank of the operation.
XII corps start -> Tilburg -> S' Hertogenbosch -> Oss -> Nijmegen
In modern times, this looks to be via N 65, A 59, and N324
So, my questions:
1. What was the historic designation of the road from Tilburg to Grave, via Oss?
2. Was there a designation for the highway from Nijmegen heading SE, (on the NE side of the Maas), past Grosbeek and towards Venlo?
All of my searches seem to turn up the modern designations (A50 etc), not the WW2 era numbering.
Thanks!
There are numerous (& erroneous) accounts of Market Garden describing the British ground forces "advancing up a single road".
There were in fact two separate primary routes, plus a third flanking route to the East (via Helmond)
Most people are aware of XXX Corps route up highway 69 (Hell's Highway)
Start-> Eindhoven -> Zon -> Veghel -> Grave -> Nijmegen -> Arnhem
The planned route was altered due to damage to the canal bridge between Grave and Nijmegen, so they detoured to another Maas bridge farther east near Hueman, then up to Nijmegen along the north side of the Maas - Waal canal.
In the 70s (80s?) a new Waalbrug was built over the Waal near Ewijk, so the modern A50 bypasses Grave and Nijmegen.
What's very rarely mentioned is the route plan for Richie's XII corps, a parallel drive towards Nijmegen, also intended to secure the western flank of the operation.
XII corps start -> Tilburg -> S' Hertogenbosch -> Oss -> Nijmegen
In modern times, this looks to be via N 65, A 59, and N324
So, my questions:
1. What was the historic designation of the road from Tilburg to Grave, via Oss?
2. Was there a designation for the highway from Nijmegen heading SE, (on the NE side of the Maas), past Grosbeek and towards Venlo?
All of my searches seem to turn up the modern designations (A50 etc), not the WW2 era numbering.
Thanks!
