1953-11-28 — Page 7

Page

AIRBORNE

FORCES

THE CHINA ... · MAIL,

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1953.

13 of

STRIKE AT ARNHEM

In order to get across the Lower Rhine an attempt was made to seize a bridgehead at Arnhem by the combined action of XXXth British Corps nrid of British, American and Polish airborne troops.

M

TONTGOMERY planned to drop the 1st British Airborne Division.

later by the supported Polish brigade, on the north bunk of the lower Rhine to seize the Arnhem bridge. The 82nd U.S. Airborne Division was to capture the bridges at Nijmegen and Grave, while the 101st U.S. Airborne Division, secured the road from Grave Eindhoven.

to

The XXXth Corps, led by the Guarda Armourell Division, would force their Way.

rond to the up Eindhoven and thened to Arnhem along the "carpet” of airborne troops, hoping to find the bridges over

the

three major water obstacles their in already safely hands.

The Preparations for this daring stroke, by far the Kreatest operation of its kind ever attempted, were complicated and urgent, be cause the enemy were grow-

ing stronger every day. It is remarkable

that they were completed by the set dute, Sept, 17. There were not sufficient aircraft to carry the whole airborne force simultaneously, and the movement had to spread over three days.

A popular wartime photograph of the author reading the news while waiting for the train at a Scottish railway station. Sir Winston Churchill will be 80 on Monday, November 30, and this event has prompted Beverley Baxter, MP, to write the tribute that appears on Page 13 of today's China Mail.

1111 the

Chapter 13

“Triumph |_ And Tragedy," the sixth and final book of World War Two memoirs by Sir WINSTON CHURCHILL

our aircraft from

with demolition charges. Grad- (mus was captured. Meanwhile, prevented ually the thres "corps of the 'the last pockets of enemy -ci taking off. Second Army expanded the Breskens "island" were being 50-mile, salient it was 20 eliminated and all, was set for Very effective fighty bomber mules wide. It

still was

too the Walcheren aliaek.

attack: helped the landing at s eritien) moment, but theTM Mar- narrow, but for the moment il

The Canadian Army's success ines met much stronger opposi- sufficed.

sa errential preliminary tien, from much,less” damared Heavy risks were takeń in to more spectacular operations. drifnces, than we had hoped. the Battle of Arnhem, but they in four weeks of hard fighting, were justified by the great during which the 2nd Tactical That evening No. 48 Com- prize so nearly in our grasp. Air Force, under

had Air Marshal mando

advanced two Had we been more fortunate in Coningham, gave them con miles along the fringo towards tho-

weather,

which turned spicuous support, they took no Flushing, but was held up by embedded against us at critical moments fewer than 12,500 German pri- a powerful butlery and restricted our mastery in soners, who were anything but the air, it is probable that we ready to surrender, should have sucecoded. No riska daunted the brave men,

including the Dutch Resistance, who fought for Arnhem.

19

of

in conerole. The whole of the

wwws

Artillery of First Canadiana Army, firing across the water The island of Walcheren is from the Breskens shore, shaped liko

saucer and brought to bear, rimuned by sand dunes which aring aircraft attacked the em

and rocket-

stop the sea from flooding the

brasures. In the gathering central plain. At the western darkness the Commando killed edge, near Westkapelle. #

of captured the defenders. gap in the dunes where the sea Next morning it pressed on and 1s held by a great

dyke, 30-1 feet

took Zouteland by midday. high and over a 100 yards wide LEARING the Scheldt estuary at the 10,000 men was installer tack, and, with

base, The

garrison

There No. 47 took up the ai- and opening the port of nearly

a weakening Antwerp had been delayed for in str

In strong artificial defences, and defence, reached the outskirts the sake of the Amhtm thrust supported by about 30 batteries : Flushing, On Nov. 3 they Thereafter it was given Arst of artillery,

of large joined hands with No. 4 Com- priority, During the last fort--calibre In concrete emplace mando after its stift house-to- night of September a number menis. Anti-tank obstacles, house fighting in the town. In of preliminary actions had set mines, and wire abounded, for the stage. The Ind Conadiun the enemy had had four years Corps bad forced the enemy in which to forty the gate back from the line Antwerp way to Antwerp. Ghent-Bruges Into the restricted Breskens "sland,” bounded

the

to

south by the Leopold

Also under

Canal. East of Antwerp the 1st [British] Corps, Canadian Army command, had reached and crossed the

some

a few days the whole faland was in our hands, with 8,000 prisoners.

threes

Minesweeping began as roon 28 Flushing was secure, and in the next weeks 100 craft were used to clear the 70-milo`channel Nov. 28 the first convoy

and Antwerp Was

On

destinations by the fine Eindhoven-Nijmegen rallent be made from the southern bank was hard fighting to cross the the oast. the 2nd Canadian 'the only reason for trying to

and grew in

of

дорую

On

and

Ant- Farly in October the Royal rived,

M Air Free struck the first opened for the British and werp-Turnhout canal.

blow. In a series of brilliant American Armies. Fising The problem was threefold: attacks they blow a great gap, bombs and rockets plagued the the capture of the Breskens nearly 400 yards across, in the city for some time, and caused Through it many casualties, but interfered on the left munition, and the 1st Airborne "Irland; the occupation of the Westkapelle dy and the XIIth protected the flanks of the were in desperate straits. Un peninsula of South Beveland; poured the sea, flooding all the with the furtherance of the war

able to reach their bridge, the finally, XXXth.

the capture of Wal- centre of the saucer and drown- rest of the division

was con- cheren Island by attacks from ing such defences and batteries no more than in London.

most But the reinforcements, food and The read was obstinately defined to a small perimeter

amast, south, and west. The first as lay within. llowever, on Sept. 17 the

and two proceeded simultaneously. formidable emplacements leading elements of the fended, and-the Guards did not the northern bank and endured

obstacles were on the saucer's well reach the Americans

Breskens "Island," defended rim, and their capture can be were three divisions

their attacks

afirnoon of Sept. 18. German violent assaulis.

by an experienced German divi- told here only in outline. against the narrow and truly taken to

NTWERP'S ordeal was not Every

possible. effort

and there was sion, proved tough,

The attack was concentric. In work of the Allled air forces, un next day

to rescue them, but the enemy Leopold Coal. The scales were Division tried to advance from thrust the Germans farther away strength. The 101st Division were to strong. The 101st U.S. Division ac-

The Guards, turned by a Canadian brigade, South Beveland over the cons Whoa the 2nd Canadian Divi- had great difcully In keeping the 43rd Division, the Polish which ambarked upstream,

and necting coureway. complished most of their the road open. At times traffic Parachute

finally on ewung west into South Brigade, dropped landed at the eastern extremity seized a bridgehead with the Beveland there were sulll four task, but a cana bridge on hed to be stopped unti tine

the road. all failed in of the' "island," and forced 11 help of a brigade of the 52nd German divisions in a pocket the road to Eindhoven was extmy were beaten of..

their gallant attempts at rescue. way along the shore towards Division. In the centre.

on south of the river Meuso LOUT more days the Breskens, which fell on Oct. 22. Nov. 1, No. 4 Commando was west of the Nijmegen cor- blown and they did not cap- By now the news from Ara- Fur

ferried across from Bresken rddor. It was.

Ewkward ture the town til Sept. 18. hom was bad. Our parachutis's strugglo went on, in vain.

and boldly landed on the sea- sultent, which by Nov. 8 was The 82nd U.S. Division also still held the northern end

On Sept. 25 Montgomery or- .

front of Flushing. This first eliminated" the 1st and the

by derun the survivors of the

Kilth Corps. did well, but could not seize the bridge, but the enemy re-

by muined in the town,

wave was followed rapidly And the

On the other iroops nt the.

Dank of the of the 52nd Division. 1st Airborne gallant 1st Airborne back. They the main bridge at. Nijme- m

rest

the fast-flowink

into Nijmegen corridor there was Division, which had landed 10 had to eros gen.

MEANWHILE the 1st Corps who battled their way craft

west slowly the west, falled to break in and river n might in small

*kill_an_obriivate enemy, but surely the town. and under close-range fire. By reinforce them.

the daybreak about 2,400 men out advanced northwest from

The main attack was from the of the Meuse, in a pocket cos

Venio. ired on

Farther south The canal was bridged

were Antwerp-Turnhout canal, meet west, launched by three Marine- of the original 10,000

ing increased opposition as they

the First US Army breached Commandos under

Brig. the Sept. 18. und carly next morn- tutely on our bank.

Siegfried Line. north went. The South

Beveland

Leicester. Embarking at Ostend, Aachen

ΟΙ ing the Guards had a clear rum

In the first week lathmus was sealed off, and

Westkapelle, October. talled for news to Grave, where they found the

they

The town was als plans could be made for

at- con and at 7 am. on Nov. 1 they

sides was scarce, but it seem- 02nd US. Division. By night-

and tower tacked from three unumg the operations west sighted the lighthouse

surrendered on Oct. 21. On ed that some of our Para- fall they were

words towards Walcheren.

As they approached, the naval strongly

Nijmegen

bombarding squadron opened their flank the Third Army and on Sept. 20 thero TAVEN after all was chute Regiment had estab- bridge.

wore 20 miles cost of under Are Here ware H.MS. Warspite Moselle. The Seventh Army and This hard lasic was lished themselves at the was a tremendous struggle for Arnhem there was hard taken by the 2nd Canadian and the two 18-inch-gun moni-

of the bridge. It. The Americans crossed the high ing for a fortnight to hold Division, which forced its way tora Erebus and Roberis, we drawn level and were probing

the First French Army north end The

The Germans con westwards through large areas a squadron of armed landing towards the High Vosges Guards Armoured yr west of the low, swung our gains.

right, and seized the far end of

of flooding, their men often craft. These latter came close Division of the XXXth the railway bridge. The Guards.ceived that our calient imperilled

the whole western bank of the waist-deep In water,

harsh the Belfort Gap, bey Inshore, and, despite to advance charged across the road bridge. lower Rhine, Corps began

and later events were helped by the greater casualties, kopt up their fire The Americans had all but defenders were over-

620d in the afternoon up the The

proved they were right. They part of the

[Lawland

until the two leading/ Com- outrun their supplies in their and both bridges

mude many heavy counter- Div

Division, who чето ferried

Higháning advances of Eindhoven road, preceded whelmed

Sep- attacks to regain Nijmegen. across the Scheldt and landed mandos were safely ashore.

lember, and pauso was by an artillery barrage and were taken intact.

There remplied the last up. The bridge was bombed from on the south shore at Barriand. rocket-firing planes.

sential to build up stocks and of Arthem, where bad weather the air, and damaged, though By the end of the month, after

prepare for large-scalo opera- VIIIth Corps on the right had hampered the By-in of not destroyed, by swimmers great exertions, the whole isth-

ilons in November.

FROM Arnhem the

The

on

close to the

defended

*

over at

MALENKOV LAUNCHES

A NEW

DEWARE of spies and

Boboteurs, suspect

SPY

By ROBERT FENWICK

SCARE

in Poland. Its instigator, was showing how Gestapo agents were re-trained for service in the the Anglo-American Intelligence Vishinsky.!!

Polish) Archbishop

It continued: "crime and es». pionage always go together" and, asserted that citizens, who

talkative strangera; guard cussing three espionage novels Referring to the Agency's "chatter, needlessly, me vain of the glorious Soviet Union written by Soviet authors, com "network," it said: "Recently an their successes and are careless against wreckers and foreign plimented Georgi Briantsov's agents.

"Secret Ways" for "conclusively espionage centre was unmasked and forgetful" are also liable to

help espionage agents...

These are some of the old Stalinist slogans now being launched again at the Rus- sian people by Malenkov in his present "be vigilant" campaign.

are

service."

:༔

++

The booklet stressed that it was dangerous to talk to stran- to gers: about anything relatiest It added: "Vigilance. Is the Soviet economy, transport, foreign "Secret Ways"," the nowe battle cry of all the peoples of affairs, the army, navy or alr or government- paper added, "unmasked the the democratic, camp,"...

force, factories offees and organisations: treacherous methods used by the

"Provocations"

were

Imperialist agents nowadays, In 3. A 50 - page booklet, On his orders, the Com- peacetime." It aito Blated that Vigilance of the Soviet People," Berlin Rising munist newspapers, popular 30,000 copies of the novels magazines, specialist printed, "but this is a very small published by the Soviet "Society number in view of the tremen for the Propagation of Scientide publications and radio talks dous demand for such works." and - Polifical · "Knowledge”: total 4. Trud, the newspaper of the of 200,000 copies devoted to ful page to describing the Soviet Trade Unions, devoted a all warning against

teaching Busalans how to fight adventures of one Gunther cloak-and-dagger men dis

"Impecialist agents and provoca stein, an East German who patched from the Woat to

teurs." undermine the Soviet.

took part in the June 17 Berlin people's morala and collect

2. Ogonick, the popular Soviet Giving numerous examples of rising, escaped to the West, then illustrated

returned to Lost Germany after aySoviet citizens. gone astray, tho magazine with weekly

circulation of "B80,000 booklat warned that any arrow two months. Hore are some of the most coplas published a two-page gularity against Sovlet laws may recent examples of this article describing the organiza lead a citizen to becorida victim The Flory nation-wide propaganda tion of the American Central of foreign agente, head to provide first-han drives

of thek, main, tha Beri Intelligenco - Agacy and its blackmail is one Komsomolskaya Pravda, provocations" spinst the USSR weapons, together with mobey Hoe were Communist Youth organ, in dine and its antalllton,

information.y

und.

WAS + mount.

with

o!

the

had

and

No. 14, landing at the northern

*The Ist Corps at this time was a end of the gap in the remarkable example of Alfled inte- inca-wall, captured the village gration, It consisted of four divi-

of Wostkapelle and drove an' sions, English, Canadian, American towards Domburg. No. 48, land and Pouch."

Berce resistance. Invaluable

ing south of the gap, soon met

though the naval covering fire

had been, a principai adjunct

(Continued on Monday)

Re.

was lacking. A heavy, bom- World Copyright reserved. bardment had been planned for production, even partially, in any, the previous day, but mist language, strictly prohibited.

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