Arnhem
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The German attack also fell on the remainder of the 1st Border’s frontage. At C Company’s positions astride the Koude Herberg junction on the Utrechtseweg, Corporal John Swann led a party of six against an estimated platoon of Germans attempting to outflank one of the Company’s positions, dispersing them with grenades and a bayonet charge that earned Corporal Swann the Military Medal. Some infiltrators nonetheless must have succeeded in interfering with C Company’s rear links, given that Major Neill ordered HQ Company to clear the woods between the two locations; CSM Leslie Fielding swept the area with a fighting patrol made up of pioneers, signallers and anyone else available, which killed two snipers. A Company was also attacked in the early afternoon after a morning enduring a lack of food and water and dealing with a mounting number of wounded who could not be safely evacuated from the Company Aid Post. The attackers made an ‘awful noise’ as they came through the trees, presumably in an effort to boost morale, while the glider soldiers held their fire until they were within thirty yards in order to conserve ammunition. Despite suffering heavy casualties the Germans nonetheless regrouped and attacked twice more before fading back into the woods. As the trees were again interfering with radio communications the commander of the 1st Border’s Mortar Platoon, Captain Barry Ingram, resorted to a human chain for passing back fire support requests from the Rifle Companies. Ingram had the requests called out to his position at the bottom of the garden behind the Battalion HQ house, which he then shouted to 1 Mortar Platoon’s commander Lieutenant Michael Holman stationed in the open twenty-five yards away, who in turn shouted them across the mortar pits, all the while under artillery and mortar fire and exposed to the ever-present infiltrators.
The attacks also spilled over onto the units flanking A Company. The 4th Parachute Squadron RE element on the left reported killing at least a score of attackers with Bren fire and grenades while the Glider Pilots from E and F Squadrons reported a day of ‘continual attack’ and mortaring that caused a ‘considerable number’ of casualties. This included coming under fire from a self-propelled gun infiltrated into the woods to the detachment’s front with a number of infantry, which the F Squadron contingent forced back in the afternoon with a counter-attack.59
On the north-west tip of the perimeter Captain Henry Brown and the 4th Parachute Squadron’s Ommershof detachment were again receiving visitors, this time in the shape of an 08:00 visit from Squadron commander Major Æneas Perkins as arranged the previous day. Perkins briefed Brown on the situation, relayed praise for his Brown’s performance from Major Wilson from the adjacent 21st Independent Company and delivered some rations, ‘which were much appreciated even though they were lamentably meagre’, before embarking on a tour of the detachment’s positions.60 By this point the constant German mortar fire had rendered such activity a risky business and Major Perkins was badly wounded in the neck and throat by fragments from a mortar bomb while talking to Lieutenant Kenneth Evans from 1 Troop, who was also wounded in the left elbow; both men were treated in the aid post in the Ommershof before being evacuated to the MDS at the Hotel Schoonoord. Command of the Squadron therefore devolved to Captain John Cormie with effect from 09:15.61 Captain Brown was then left to his own devices, beating off a German attack at 11:00, warning a nearby Bren manned by Sappers Randall and Parker to conserve ammunition in the process, and posting a newly acquired PIAT assigned to Lance-Corporal Michael Flannery to the west of the Graaf Van Rechterenweg‒Oranjeweg junction, ten yards or so from Brown’s slit trench. At around 15:30 a group of men and a gun of some kind were spotted on the Graaf Van Rechterenweg a hundred yards to the west. Fearing they were lost Poles redeploying a 6-Pounder, Brown ordered Flannery to display his fluorescent recognition panel. The group response was a hail of machine-gun fire, one round of which took a chunk from the bomb ready-loaded in the PIAT; fortunately the maltreated ammunition did not detonate. Meanwhile the German gun, which may have been the same weapon that prompted the counter-attack by the F Squadron Glider Pilots, also opened fire on the British position, killing Lieutenant Michael Eden from 2 Troop and wounding three other men. In the event an undaunted Lance-Corporal Flannery retrieved the situation by unloading the damaged bomb from his PIAT and engaging the enemy gun; his fourth round scored a direct hit and prompted the German crew to abandon their weapon.62
The main German effort on the northern sector of the perimeter was against the adjacent positions held by the 7th KOSB. The 7th KOSB’s pre-dawn mortar and machine-gun bombardment did not deter Kampfgruppe Bruhn from launching its attack on schedule at 09:00, advancing through the woods into the vicinity of the abandoned Hotel Dreyeroord/White House from where they could enfilade the positions along the Graaf van Rechterenweg and fire directly into D Company’s positions. One of the Anti-tank Groups’ 6-Pounder guns located near the gates of the hotel was particularly exposed, with all the crew being killed or wounded by machine-gun fire. The situation was resolved by Sergeant Dennis Keyes who, despite intense enemy fire, crawled out to the gun, closed the trails and prepared it for movement before hitching it up to a Jeep that towed it to safety; it is unclear whether Sergeant Keyes was also responsible for bringing up the Jeep but his actions led to him being awarded the Military Medal.63 D Company initially attempted to suppress the Germans with small-arms and PIAT fire and by infiltrating small patrols into the German-held woods to identify enemy strongpoints, but by late morning the growing pressure prompted Colonel Payton-Reid to order Major Sherriff to counter-attack and drive the Germans back. Lieutenant Joseph Hunter’s 13 Platoon reoccupied the White House and provided covering fire while a platoon borrowed from C Company commanded by Sergeant Clifford Wilson performed a right-flanking attack across the Stationsweg. The attack cleared the Germans from the east side of the perimeter and forced them into the houses and gardens on the north side of the Graaf van Rechterenweg where the glider soldiers were able to inflict a number of casualties, although they suffered losses themselves; Lieutenant Hunter was killed while performing a reconnaissance in the wake of the action. The wounded included the commanders of C and D Companies, Majors Dinwiddie and Sherriff, Sherriff for the second time. The counter-attack was concluded by midday and German activity died away apart from the constant artillery and mortar bombardment. Lieutenant-Colonel Payton-Reid was visited in the course of the afternoon by Liaison officers from the 21st Independent Company and the Reconnaissance Squadron. The latter brought a warning order from Airlanding Brigade HQ instructing the Battalion to prepare for a withdrawal to narrow the 400-yard gap on the left between its location and the 21st Independent Company’s positions, providing Payton-Reid considered it feasible.64 He did, providing the move was co-ordinated to avoid the Independent Company being left exposed.65
The respite was only temporary, however. Colonel Payton-Reid called an O Group at 16:30; attendees included Captain James Livingstone in Major Dinwiddie’s stead as OC C Company, a twice wounded Major Sherriff ‒ even though he had been supplanted at the head of D Company by Lieutenant William Lamond from HQ Company’s Signals Platoon ‒ Major Alexander Cochran from HQ Company acting as Battalion second-in-command and the Adjutant, Captain David Clayhills. In light of the seemingly imminent relocation Colonel Payton-Reid decided to cut his HQ down to the bare minimum and post the remaining HQ and Support Company personnel to reinforce the rifle companies; Captain Livingstone and Lieutenant Lamond’s command appointments were confirmed along with that of Captain James Dundas, who had been leading the B Company contingent since Major Forman had gone missing during the evening of 19 September. It was at this point that the Germans launched another attack, heralded by an intense mortar barrage; according to the 7th KOSB War Diary the attack began while the O Group was underway and Colonel Payton-Reid cut the meeting short to investigate.66 Captain Brown from the 4th Parachute Squadron provides a different version of events, however. Brown became aware of the German attack on his neighbours from a ‘terrific commotion along [the] Graaf van Rechterenweg’ and more importantly, when
some KOSBs fell back through his lines; these included a ‘rather large officer with a wild look on his face…shouting “The Germans are coming, the Germans are coming”’. After persuading the officer to return whence he had come by shouting and waving his pistol, Brown made his way to the 21st Independent Company’s command post to warn Major Wilson of developments where he found Wilson with ‘a good looking sandy haired Lieutenant Colonel. They were enjoying a glass of whisky. The unknown officer was introduced to me as Lieutenant Colonel Payton-Reid commanding the 7th KOSB. I told my story in half a dozen words. Payton-Reid was off like a shot.’67
The German attack came from the east across the Stationsweg in at least company strength and pushed deep into the KOSB’s perimeter, capturing the White House and occupying the recently vacated British slit trenches around it. Sergeant George Barton’s 6-Pounder was overrun in the initial rush: ‘I managed to fire only two rounds of high explosive before the Germans were upon me. My Sten then jammed, and I stood alone, in the open, waiting to be killed. But the Germans just rushed straight past me.’68 The German advance penetrated as far as the rear of C Company’s positions, which appear to have brought it to a halt as recalled by Captain Livingstone:
They came across – running and shouting – to within about twenty yards of us before I opened fire. I killed an awful lot of Germans then, with my Sten. There was a big tree in front of me, and there was one German who was on his knees, wounded, but still preparing to fire. I remember David Clayhills, the Adjutant, who was standing by the side of the hotel, shouting ‘Kill the bastard!’ and I did so.69
At this point Colonel Payton-Reid appeared on the scene, rallying his men, ensuring every possible weapon was brought into action and arranging ‘a two-minute crescendo’ with the Battalion 3-inch mortars firing on the woods, Support Company’s Vickers Guns on the German-occupied slit trenches and the Anti-tank Group’s 6-Pounders on the White House proper. He then led a counter-attack in person, spearheaded by CanLoan Lieutenant James Taylor’s 12 Platoon augmented by a number of stragglers Taylor had rallied whilst retreating across the hotel grounds. The attackers were also reinforced by a party of stragglers rounded up and led back to the White House perimeter by Division HQ liaison officer Lieutenant Colin Macduff-Duncan.70 The Battalion War Diary notes that the resultant bayonet charge ‘came at a most opportune moment, so far as the Bn was concerned, when everyone had reached a state of extreme exasperation at the continuous shelling and sniping. As a result, when the GERMANS showed themselves the BORDERERS rose in their wrath and slew them, ‒ uttering the most blood-curdling howls meantime.’71 The charge had the desired effect, as recalled by Private Henry McClusky: ‘I have never screamed aloud so much. It was hell. Fortunately, Jerry took to his heels and ran, leaving behind a terrible scene of dead and wounded – dreadful!’72
The KOSB counter-attack was over by about 17:30 and succeeded in driving the Germans out of the perimeter, but at heavy cost. Major Cochran, whose body was found head to head with a slain German officer on the White House veranda, was among the dead along with Provost Sergeant Andrew Graham, who had also participated in the morning counter-attack and was reported as being ‘well on the way to winning a VC’ when he was killed.73 The wounded included Major Sherriff with his third wound of the battle, this time to his thigh, sustained after leaving the RAP to take part in the bayonet charge; Captain James Coulthard commanding the Battalion MMG Group; 11 Platoon’s commander Lieutenant Martin Kaufman, and Captain Ronald Bannatyne and Lieutenants Alexander Hannah and Arthur Sharples commanding the Battalion Anti-tank Group and its 1 and 2 Platoons respectively.74 Lieutenant Sharples was likely the officer carried to the Ommershof by Private Alan Dawson from the 21st Independent:
There was a KOSB lieutenant with a lot of wounds, in the neck, chest and stomach; he was covered in blood…I picked him up in my arms and carried him to the house where our Company HQ was…There was a lot of lead flying about, but I got him there, and ‘Doc’ Taylor took him under his wing straight away. I went back to my position but I wished I had found out after the war whether he survived. He was only young.
Lieutenant Sharples died of his wounds later that day.75 By this point all the Battalion’s Company commanders had become casualties, only one CSM and a handful of senior NCOs were left and the Battalion RAP was again ‘completely filled up’ by casualties from the day’s fighting. The medical situation was alleviated by the serendipitous arrival of Captain John Buck RAMC from 156 Parachute Battalion to replace the 7th KOSB’s Medical Officer Captain Brian Devlin; as we have seen Captain Devlin had been captured the previous afternoon, unbeknown to his Battalion.76
The units assigned to Brigadier Hackett’s command on the east side of the 1st Airborne’s perimeter were also hard pressed in the course of 20 September. On the line of the Stationsweg running south from the 7th KOSB’s corner position Major Powell’s group of survivors from 156 Parachute Battalion had increased to sixty and were ensconced in buildings at the north-east and south-west corners of the crossroads formed by the junction of the Stationsweg, Dennenkampweg and Cronjéweg. Powell had also been placed in command of the Reconnaissance Squadron’s A and D Troops, although these were not located on the Stationsweg proper but on streets to the west behind 156 Battalion’s location. A Troop HQ was located in a large house on the Mariaweg close to Major Powell’s HQ with other elements occupying a large house and bakery on the other side of the road, while D Troop were ensconced in two houses on the Steijnweg 200 yards or so to the west.77 156 Battalion came under heavy mortar and artillery fire from 07:00 but there was no direct attack on its two strongpoints, although German troops were subsequently spotted infiltrating into the Divisional perimeter on either side of the Battalion’s position; they were likely the left flank of Kampfgruppe Bruhn’s attack on the 7th KOSB.78 The two Reconnaissance Troops took a more proactive role, despatching patrols to comb the surrounding area for German-held locations and especially mortar positions. Lieutenant John Stevenson’s patrol from A Troop unwittingly passed close to houses used as a forming-up point for the main German attack at 09:00; Trooper Alfred Webb later saw the attackers ‘pouring out of those same houses. We realised then that the bastards could have been watching us all the time….and probably held their fire so as not to give away their positions.’79 At 10:00 a self-propelled gun was heard manoeuvring nearby and an hour later shelled A Troop HQ and 2 Section’s locations before being reportedly knocked out by a PIAT manned by Sergeant Gwyn Williams and Trooper Frank Mann.80 D Troop HQ also acted as an observation post to control the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment’s guns, and called in artillery fire on a German armoured vehicle, possibly that engaged by A Troop’s PIAT, spotted to the north at 11:00.81
An hour later both the Reconnaissance units were attacked by the German infantry who had bypassed 156 Battalion’s location. Lieutenant Stevenson and 1 Section were driven out of the bakery on the Mariaweg after the attackers closed up under intense machine-gun fire and lobbed bundled stick grenades through the windows although it was retaken at 13:00 in a counter-attack organised by A Troop’s commander, Captain Michael Grubb. Grubb arranged covering fire from small-arms and a PIAT initiated by a long whistle blast, along with smoke to cover the approach to the bakery before leading a charge across the road; No. 36 grenades were posted through the windows prior to entering and Corporal James Taylor recalled Captain Grubb cursing unrestrainedly when the ring became separated from the pin on his grenade.82 The bakery was cleared and reoccupied, only to be abandoned again later in the afternoon after catching fire, eventually burning to the ground.
The building held by Lieutenant Douglas Galbraith and 2 Section had reportedly come under fire from a German tank, and by 14:30 Grubb had been obliged to gather all three of his Sections into a tight perimeter around his Troop HQ.83 An attack on D Troop on the Steijnweg began with a determined assault supported by mortar fire and an armoured half-track on the house occupied by Lieutenant John Marshall and 10 Section on the northe
rn side of the Troop perimeter. Marshall’s right hand was almost severed by a hand-grenade or mortar bomb, he was shot in the left shoulder and then wounded in the face as he emerged into the back garden to clarify the situation with Trooper Jeffrey Williams; Williams was also wounded in the left shoulder and back as a number of Germans came over the rear garden wall. Marshall managed to crawl back into the house and ordered a Trooper Smith to withdraw to Troop HQ before taking shelter under the kitchen sink; Trooper Williams and at least four others including Trooper Bert Pegnall were taken prisoner. At 13:00 the focus of the German attack shifted to the adjacent position held by Lieutenant William Hodge’s 11 Section. This too was swiftly overwhelmed, with Hodge and a number of his men being taken prisoner along with the badly wounded Marshall, who emerged into the garden again only to find it occupied by a crowd of Germans and their prisoners. Marshall heard Hodge exclaim ‘Oh! Look what you’ve done to my friend!’ before passing out; he was evacuated to a hospital in Apeldoorn where his hand was amputated. The Germans then appear to have abandoned their gains, given that Lieutenant Alan Pascal’s 12 Section ran four patrols out to 10 and 11 Section’s former positions from 16:30 to collect up abandoned weapons and ammunition.84 While all this was going on Major Powell and the 156 Battalion contingent was left largely unmolested while firing on the German infiltrators moving past their location. The exception was the composite Platoon stationed on the north-east corner of the crossroads, which lost an undetermined number of casualties to heavy fire from mortars, machine-guns and a self-propelled gun or tank that began at 14:00.85
The central section of the eastern perimeter was held by the 10th Parachute Battalion. Lieutenant-Colonel Smyth and his sixty survivors of the fight in the woods west of Oosterbeek initially occupied three buildings around the Utrechtseweg–Stationsweg crossroads. This placed the Division MDS located in the Hotels Schoonoord and Vreewijk on the Utrechtseweg–Stationsweg crossroads directly in the front line, so the 10th Battalion therefore extended its perimeter around 150 yards further east along the Utrechtseweg, to the junction with the Annastraat running to the south. QM Lieutenant Joseph Glover and his group turned a large former restaurant on the latter junction into a strongpoint while another party, headed by Battalion second-in-command Major Peter Warr, accompanied by Colonel Smyth, occupied another house belonging to Mrs Bertje Voskuil, who had taken to the cellar with a score of her neighbours. The remaining third of the 10th Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Peter Saunders, appears to have remained in the Battalion’s original positions back at the Utrechtseweg–Stationsweg crossroads.86 It is unclear when the move took place as the 10th Parachute Battalion’s semi-official history makes no mention of it and while Brigadier Hackett’s Brigade War Diary account refers to it occurring in the afternoon of 21 September, this is likely another of his ex post facto insertions.87 The evidence suggests that the move forward was carried out in the early hours of 21 September, given that the 10th Battalion was occupying the Utrechtseweg‒Annastraat position when the German attacks commenced at around 08:00.88 More pertinently, Captain Stuart Mawson recalled being awakened from a well-earned sleep in an under-stairs cupboard in the Hotel Schoonoord at 04:00 by an orderly who informed him ‘our lads have returned and we’re back in our own lines.’89