A German Bridge Too Far - The Nijmegen Counter Offensive
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- čas přidán 24. 06. 2023
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Following Allied defeat during Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the Germans launched a furious counter-offensive in October to try and recapture Nijmegen and surrounding towns and remove the Allied salient in German lines. British, US and Canadian troops faced huge odds in trying to hang on to Nijmegen.
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Bundesarchiv; Greatpatton; Duncan Jackson.
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War thunder sucks
War Thunder would be so much better if they limited units for each side to being contemporaries. Putting WWII units up against Cold War and beyond units is stupid.
Seriously pushing ads for a Russian company?
How long would this be valid for?
Hey Mr. Felton. As a comparison to nazi Germany to a current similar regime, could you upload videos on Walter Stennes and Ernst Röhm's "protests" against their leader? William Partlett correctly compared Russia and Nazi Germany in his recent "WHY PRIGOZHIN’S MARCH ON MOSCOW WAS NOT A COUP", and those two came to mind.
Three things I really like about Mark Felton's content;
1. Objectivity
2. Detail
3. He covers parts of the war that other people ignore.
I live in Andelst, between Nijmegen and Arnhem. It's a village next to Zetten. My grandma lived during the war in Elst and was evacuated to a village in Belgium called Aspelare. There they could live with the Verhoonhoven family. My grandmother had a great time there in belgium. She gave plays with a couple of friends which people could visit voor 25 cents. When they returned back to Elst, a clockmaker gave a clock to my grandmother just when they were about to leave the town with a Red Cross vehicle. The clock always hung in the livingroom at my grandmother's house and still works. Unfortunately she is not alive anymore, but one of her sons still has the clock.
When they went back to their home in Elst they saw that their house was used by the germans. An anti aircraft machine was placed in their garden and the germans made a mess of their house. Everything in the house was covered in human poop and dirt.
When the paratroopers landed in Elst a neighbour went to my grandmothers parents. They went outside to take a look which was a bit dangerous. My grandmother described it as a beautiful moment in which they felt like freedom was coming back. A british plane also landed next to their house. I am not sure, but I think there were two soldiers inthere which both survived the crash.
My grandfather lived his whole life in Andelst. He was also evacuated, to a place in Limburg called Roermond. He unfortunately never really liked talking about the war so I don't really know a lot of what he went through in that time.
When they still were alive everything they told about the war I wrote down and I am still very glad I did!
Herr Hendriks i am glad that wrote everything down also! 15 minutes ago i looked a google maps for photos of Elst. it seems to be a very pleasant place for sure. amongst the photos there is one of a memorial to the 82 nd Airborne. my humble thanks to the people there . a resident of New Amsterdam, Ray Tonns
Elst is one of the most beautiful small villages ever. I would drive through there sometimes. I lived in Kleve and my daughter went to school in Arnhem.
My grandmother is from Nijmegen and she also was evacuated to Belgium. She needed to walk every day to the square of a town in Belgium to look if there names where there so that they could return to Nijmegen. She is still alive, trying to ask her a lot of stuff and make audio recordings. She is 92 atm. Eventually I want to make a short animation film from the story of my grandmother.
@@raymondtonns2521 Just a heads-up: "Herr" is a German term, not a Dutch one. "Meneer" would be the Dutch equivalent to "Mister (Mr)" or "Herr".
@@Kholdaimon neem me niet kwalijk
As a Dutch, this part following the battle of Arnhem is so often neglected in our history stories. Many thanks for bringing this up!
*Dutchman, Dutch is not the correct reference to referring yourself as 'a' Dutch.
Piemel, penis, potato, tomato.@@DutchGuyMike
@@hermanvanspringel6981 Eikel ook en ik ben engelse of voor mike een engelseman 🙃
If you get a chance, read Antony Beevor's book about Arnhem. We in Britain know of Kate ter Horst, but Beevor expands upon the heroism and sacrifice of Dutch civilians during Market Garden.
@@DutchGuyMike
Never tell another man what to call himself or how to spell his name.
He knows better than you.
My Dad Was In The 101st & I Remember Him Telling Me About It Some 55 Years Ago. I Always Look For Him In The Videos & Thank You.
My great grandfather was a truck driver in 21 Company, Royal Army Service Corp (now the royal logistics corp). He found the extent of the destruction in the Arnhem so disturbing he refused to go back until the 80's. Having gone on a holiday to the Netherlands one year at the insistence of my great grandmother and having seen the restoration work that had been completed as well as the gratitude of the Dutch people, he could hardly be kept in England afterwards. Arnhem is one of those places that resonates with me even though I've never been there, just from the stories I've had passed down to me from my mother.
Awesome video Mark. You never cease to impress and entertain.
You Should visit Oosterbeek in September during the commemoration of the battle. it is worth it!
The Germans faced exactly the same situation as the Allies in mid September 1944.... but in the opposite direction: the problem of assaulting in open terrain down one or two roads with soft ground on either side that reduced manuoeuvrability....and Allied artillery was likely the biggest tank killer, much as it is in the current Ukraine conflict. Thank you, another excellent video , Mark, and I think another little focused part of the Western Front campaign.
I completely agree.
The Western allies love air power and The Germans loved to win tank vs tank duels, but it's artillery that wins wars.
We need to start the Second World War again and get it done properly! 😂
@@fatdaddy1996and that’s why the western proxy war will ultimately fail in Ukraine.
I’d be curious to know for the Ukraine war if artillery is really the number one APC and Tank killer. Part of me thinks it may actually be javelins and NLAWS
I spent years getting to know a vet from 3RD AD 83RD RECON...Who was WAY the hell out front of 3RD AD and the entire allied army...he told me when they needed the German tanks removed they preferred P47 thunderbolts...he said the bomb just had to land near it and the concussion flew the turret off.
It was a valiant attempt! Got to love Mark for never forgetting to mention the Canadian and Polish assistance!
Well the Canadians were always there as empire / british commonwealth. Quite often they just get placed with british for recognition.
British Empire was one power in ww2, so the Canadian contribution was massive, it wasn't just assistance, they were one of the superpowers.
There were Canadian divisions in many ww2 british armies.
It is nice to see them recognised.
Except the use of the wrong (idiot modern) flag to depict Canadian troop movements.
@@projektkobra2247 I missed that. While it is "incorrect", I don't know what to say about "idiot modern". It is dumb to use it in past maps, but the modern flag itself is inspired by the Canadian military, and even the old flag has always had small maple leaves.
'Assistance' That is top US main character syndrome here.
@@arjenh7214 Well, I'm Canadian and I know we weren't as huge or armed as the US or Soviets. I don't mean "assistance" in any other form than it's original meaning for "helping". We all "assisted" each other, there is no main winner of World War 2. I'm not trying to stir anything up like everyone else.
I living 25/30km from Arnhem/Oosterbeek. You still can see here the remnants of the hard battle in the landscape and buildings.
Thank you for sharing this video.
06:00 The British Grenadier Guards tanks captured the Bridge itself. The 82nd Abn captured the northern end but never went onto the bridge itself. Guard veterans who did the capture walked out of the cinema in the premieres when A Bridge Too Far showed the 82nd taking the Bridge before the tanks arrived.
I saw a TV documentary about this a few years ago, hosted by Al Murray.
Decisions like this were made by Attenborough et al to make the Yanks look better and the Brits look stupid. The funding for the movie came from the Yanks. Sad.
@@raypurchase801 if youre that smart go make a better movie.
@@Humanoidablewhat a stupid comment
@@Humanoidable What an incredibly moronic response
Its one of my favourite war films..loved it since a kid..an unfortunate set of blunders lost us it..monty wasn’t up to scratch
Thanks Mark. This story is a post script to what I have read about Market Garden. I never knew that the allied forces came under attack in this area and were successful at repulsing the German counter offensive. I imagine that the allied efforts had the effect of wearing down the Germans and tying up valuable resources.
I live in this area, in Nijmegen, and regularly cross the distance between Nijmegen and Arnhem. Takes me about 50 minutes to travel from South Nijmegen to South Arnhem. So bizarre to think that this area saw such bitter fighting and stalemating until april 1945. Also sorry for the grafitti on the Waal Bridge, Mark. We all hate it here in Nijmegen, but the bridge is a national monument. Only the national government can clean it up, and they don't give a toss about us out here in the periphery.
what's wrong with Nijmegen pictures I've seen look very nice - everybody can't hate it
@@bigwoody4704 We love the bridge, it is city's symbol, but we hate that it is covered in graffiti. A few years ago the bridge was renovated, but there was not enough money to repaint the bridge. As its a national monument the government gets to decide and they decided to let it be as it is for another 10 years.
@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 ya that goes on everywhere unfortunately. Thumbs up to the Dutch who paid a terrible price,between the Honger Winter and their male population getting shipped off to the Reich to be slaves really - hope things are well there and getting better
graffiti is everywhere. it doesnt take away from whatever that bridge stands for. let the taggers have their little place in history too lol, lighten up a little... its kind of like the kilroy was here tags from ww2, but modern.
Thks to Albert Hein supply points at key strategic positions, the Allied troops at Bemmel could keep their logistic support up and running. The famous "Bonusaanbiedingen" saved their day.
😂😂😂
Dont forget the frikandellen speciaal that were given to the troops by the Dutch government!
Mark's Attention to detail and locating the IKEA in the correct historical defensive location is why I keep coming back to his channel.
@@FallNorth So true, there's no historical detail without knowing where IKEA is.
The Germans got their Sausage and Beer from Lidl Arnheim.
Maybe Mark can do a small follow up about the collapse of the IKEA furniture.
My great-uncle was a glider pilot, who having missed Overlord on account of getting a leg injury was sent to Arnhem, fortunately he managed to escape by swimming across the river to meet up with the Canadians, but not without getting shot at by machinegun fire across his back. Amazingly he was able to participate in Operation Varsity the following year.
The following year? It was 6 months later! What a badas
I live in Nijmegen, cross the bridge on a daily basis, love history and still i did not know about this counter attack.
Clearly operation Market Garden stole the fame.
Thanks you for showing this Mark!
My mother and three siblings lived in Nijmegen before and during the war. My brother was very traumatized during his life.😢
I crossed the bridge of Nijmegen last Friday.(Cause 4 daagse)
I live in Duiven, study in Nijmegen and work in Arnhem. I knew about fighting on the Island but never knew how much fighting there was. I've been in Huissen a ton of times and no one ever told me the village was flattened and 106 civilians were killed there for example.
he talks about the 506 Parachute div, that's the Band of Brothers company.
Thanks Mark for covering this battle that took place in my country!
I'm impressed at how brilliantly the British and Canadian forces performed in these engagements. They contained multiple, heavy assaults while preventing any large-scale German breakthroughs. At the same time, they inflicted very heavy losses on elite German formations on more than one occasion. It was a complete turnaround from early in the war, when Commonwealth troops were often out-maneuvered, forced to give ground or even surrender. I'm guessing they had sorted any prior logistical and leadership issues which let them fight the German on an even footing.
Even though a bridge across the Rhine was not taken, Market Garden nonetheless made a sizeable thrust into German held territory and helped Dutch morale in that they now knew the Allies were coming no matter what. The truth is that any military venture is a gamble. It might work, it might not, but to play it safe can be viewed as a flawed concept too. Bold commanders who throw their forces into potentially positive circumstance are often the winners. That's the problem with warfare, it isn't a fixed equation.
On the date of the 75th anniversary of Market Garden, I was in Oss, NL standing on the John S. Thompson bridge. All the larpers came out; a column of hundreds of vehicles participated. All period correct uniforms. They were passing out candy to the kids, (not ciggies).
It was very special to see and be a small part of.
A memory that surely will be with me until the day I die.
I have that same memory of being at the menin gate on the 100th anniversary of the battle of Ypres, where our great uncle was killed when his howitzer battery was counter shelled by a German battery.
To hear the last post was profoundly moving, especially given the anniversary and all the officers and generals standing amongst the townspeople, who come out EVERY night, with their families oftentimes, to honour the last post for the foreign soldiers from Britain and the allied armies who died and fought to save their little villages.
Even the kids come out, and it's absolutely humbling to witness.
The Belgians never ever leave that daily last Post sounded without presence.
Glorious testament to the difference our lads made.
One thing the operation really did do was tie up a large amount of German defenders. By holding that ground huge gains were realized elsewhere. Market Garden didn't achieve all it's ambitious objectives but it wasn't an all out loss either.
Yeah it was we have two daddy's now days
Came here to say the exact same thing .
@@josefmengele181 You are despicable...
90 per cent apparently
@@josefmengele181 What the fook are you on aboot
Yet another part of the European campaign neglected by many historians. Thank you Dr. Felton.
Are you insane? Every aspect of that war has been analyzed to death. Moreover, I wouldn't believe 99% of what you are allowed to hear on CZcams. Mark Felton is shameless liar.
@@EnvironmentalEnglish ur dum
@@EnvironmentalEnglish It's a failure unless you want to call the Schlieffen offensive in WWI a success
Monty Garden was a debacle the Port of Antwerp could have been opened.Supplying all 3 Allied Army groups. American Trucks could not keep lugging supplies all the way from Cherbourg 483 miles away Why IKE allowed Monty to have his way is a head scratcher many said to shut up the yapping jackel and that it did
That is history Englishman you need to stop practicing British Mythology. Bernard got scarce as HIS plan came apart almost immediately.Why don't you cross the channel - that shouldn't take you 4 years like it did Monty. Of course after the big boys came 3500 miles to make sure he didn't get Dunkirked again
*Why did Horrocks,Dempsey,Vandeleur sit on their arses in their tanks at the Belgian Border until the Troop & Supply transports flew over at **2:30** in the Afternoon? Did they think they would catch up? If they were charging hard like Horrocks had promised they could have made the bridge at Son before it got blown.*
The Armored column made it a whole 7 miles the 1st day as Panzerfaust teams taking out 9 Shermans 3 miles from the start .Bringing the whole column to a halt .This of course wasn't their fault but Monty's pathetic planning.This operation is a prime example of the clownish incompetence of his command. But in Britain that get you the title of Field Marshall
You think Monty could have inconvenienced himself to attend his own operational debacle that after the war he fessed up to? Largest Air Drop in History up until that point and the poof couldn't be bothered? There were cock ups all the way back to the Belgian Border and it didn't involve Gavin or the 82nd.Ya but go ahead and try to blame this abortion on an Americans 55 miles down the road.
*And why did Horrocks,Dempsey,Vandeleur leave the bridging equipment in the rear when the Germans blew the bridge over Wilhelmina Canal the 1st day? That might have come in handy don't you think ? While approaching an objective with 17 bridges over 12-13 rivers/canals? All 3 Senior British officers and NOT ONE thought of this glaring over site?*
16:48 "Son, why are you playing War Thunder now??? It's an hour past your bedtime!!!!!!!" "Sorry, dad. Mark Felton told me me to play War Thunder now. And as we all know his orders can't be refused." "...Of course, son. I didn't realize Mark told you. Go back to playing. Can I bring you a snack?" "No I'm fine but thanks, dad." "Of course, son. I love you." (together) "...and we both love Mark Felton!!!!"
Right! First glaring howler comes in at 2:50 with "XXX Corps took far longer that the two days it had been allotted to advance the 62 miles behind German lines...." No mention of the fact that XXX Corps arrived at the Nijmegen Bridge ahead of schedule but could not proceed further because Gavin's 82nd Airborne had not taken the Bridge yet, two days after they landed! Would others care to comment?
the first howler is a 2:00, where Mr Felton says that the first bridge was captured by the 101st on the 8th September, and those assigned to 82nd the same day. Given that the 8th September was the initial planned date for Operation Comet and no US forces were even part of Comet, it's a real faux par.
It's even more galling with regards to the 82nd as they never did take the road bridge at Nijmegen. Yes, the 504PIR crossed the river in that infamous and heroic attempt in boats obtained from the engineers of 30 Corps (& steered by engineers of 30 Corps), but the 504PIR didn't get to the road bridge at all - that was taken by the tanks of the Grenadier Guards, with additional covering fire from 505PIR.
The units of 30 Corps would have been in Arnhem within their 48 hours if this road bridge at Nijmegen had been already in US hands, like the one at Grave was.
I'm glad you included the film of typhoons, I love the gaping maw of the front end of certain planes. Plus the ever so slight gull wings. One of my favorites.
The Island was called: The Isle of men. The children and women were evacuated. The men stayed behind to take care of the cattle and farmland.
I live there now. Quite close to both bridges.
What a place to live!!!
We visit our beautiful island every May for the TT races and have a deep affection for the islanders.
God bless your races.
@@NiSiochainGanSaoirse
That’s another isle, called Man.
The island I referred to was the isle of men 🫢👍🏻
My uncle was a member of the 508 PIR of the 82nd Airborne. During the D-Day drop they encountered German paratroopers and once again when they were trying to cut the Wylerbahn, in order to keep Germans from reenforcing the Nijmegen bridge from Wyler, Germany. My uncle was killed in the Village of Beek (not to be confused with Groesbeek). My aunt never blamed the Germans for her brothers death and her mothers a few months later from a broken heart, but God forbid if you ever mentioned "Montgomery".
I want physical proof
Pathetic to be honest.
Very typical and poignant-Monty had an overinflated ego.
Every truly great general is at least thoroughly loved by his own troops;he wasn't really. There was sort of a mistrust. But the general english public viewed him as a genius.....
They just didn't know. Ike should have let Patton have all the resources he gave to Monty for Market Garden. And Monty knew there was German armor in the area, disregarded it and that's what screwed whole operation up. Yes Monty messed it all up from J street and most historians agree. War might have indeed ended much earlier if had given all that stuff to the best general Patton instead!
@@woodrowpreacely7521unds like the ignorance is yours. Americans simply don't like Montgomery, but refuse to learn anything about him beyond the fact that he came up with this plan. The plan Eisenhower approved.
The armour was NOT in the area. The Germans got it there at a very admirable speed. It already being there was made up for the movie.
I have respect for Patton by the way, but if you think he was the best, or didn't do anything wrong or make any mistakes...you honestly need to read up on him a bit more.
This account is such an important part of the aftermath of Market Garden, which I suspect not many of the general public know about. It must have been taking place about the same time as the opening up of the Scheldt estuary to Antwerp and the liberation of Walcheren peninsula by the Canadians.
My Uncle was awarded the Dutch Bronze Cross for his actions during the attack on Walcheren. He was serving with the British Essex regiment attached to a British Commando unit.
@@nickjung7394 other way around - assume the commando unit was attached to his regiment.
@@uncletimo6059 yes, you are correct. He retained his Essex cap badge.
Every time I think I know about most of the major WW 2 battles, I'm humbled by your next video, Dr. Felton. This topic would make a great follow-up movie to A Bridge Too Far, albeit nearly 50 years after that film.
Operation market garden is one of those operations you can look at in hindsight and just be confused at, However that is what it is, Hindsight. Thank you for the videos as always Dr. Mark Felton!
This is definitely one of the least talked about German offensives of the war and when it is mentioned, hardly anyone goes into as much detail as you Dr. Felton. Thank you for another enlightening video!
It’s always a good day when Mark posts something
Real
Yawn.
Hooyah to that.
Agreed
Real
My Dad spent Christmas at the Nijmegen bridge area in December and January in a static position until they move out to Germany in February. First time seeing jets trying to bomb the Nijmegen bridge. 2nd Canadian Div.
Great piece, my father fought with the Duke of Wellington Regiment until he was shot by a sniper and hit twice in the Liberation of s- Hertogenbosch. He spent 12 months in Harefield recovering and had lost a lung.
prove it
Fun fact: while the SS are the most famous defenders of Arnhem, the defense actually used a startlingly high number of Army and Luftwaffe personnel. Most units in and around Arnhem were stripped of basically anyone who could carry a rifle, as the existing SS forces were actually pretty weak, having been pulled back there as a rest and refitting area after getting the stuffing kicked out of them in the Falaise pocket and the headlong retreat across France . Both units had taken over 50% casualties and lost most of their heavy weapons and vehicles. They were repairing vehicles, training new soldiers, and getting wounded back from the hospitals, and really pretty far from an "armed to the teeth, ready for action" combat unit. This is why the later Nijmegan battle used so many Wehrmacht troops-the SS units were still too weak, the replacement troops were poorly trained, and they were short of equipment. The scratch units of supply, repair, ordnance and transport troops of the Army and the same plus numerous flak gunners of the Luftwaffe by all accounts acquitted themselves well. Some people might be interested to know that the 9th SS Hohenstaufen and 10th SS Frundsberg divisions consisted largely of troops that were conscripts, mostly through the Reich Labor Service (RAD). I know many people think that all SS were hard core Nazi volunteers but this is just not so.
Fun fact? What's funny in a war?
Definitely has to rank as one of the greatest British defense ops of the whole war.
What a hell of a fight, where both sides did not gave in whatever the cost.
The war memorials in the Netherlands are remarkable. And quite moving.
There is a Canadian cemetery in Groesbeek, near Nijmegen where you have the most amazing view on the landscape the soldiers lost their lives for… It’s very impressive.😔
@samuelclaessens7699 they didn't lose their lives for the landscape, they were cannon fodder for international jewish finance
Mark, you are the only historian whom I know of on CZcams who bothers to mention the Canadian contribution in the war. And for that, I thank you.
Again a brilliant video, Mark!
It is all about this small part of the Netherlands where so much history has been made. I live in the middle of it in Bemmel, just a fwe hundred meters from Haalderen. And before that I lived over a decade in Elst in a house that survived the battles but was full of the scars of war: granate impacts, scores of bulletholes in the bricks and the wooden roof. Every now and then the remains of (mostly German) soldiers are found nearby. In Dutch the Island was called "Manneneiland" (mens island) in those days because only about 1000 dutch men were allowed to stay in these villages and feed the animals that were stil here. But imagine the traumas of the civilian population. Not only many deads, but they lost almost everything during that 7 months that this area was frontline. Not only by war, but also by looting. The US soldiers were notorious in taking everything out of the abonded houses and farns without considering that they were in a country they were supposed to liberate ....
I live in Arnhem, a lot of roads and paths on this "island" are named after these legends and their companys. Besides that, every year, mid-september they are honoured and remembered.
Was there a month ago, amazed by the amount of small memorial bridges too.
In the chaos and fog of war and battle I am simply amazed how much precise detail lives on from the time so that the story can be told so well.
The Germans always considered the British to be formidable when on the defensive, this story reinforces that idea.
Napoleons generals once told him, "The English are the very devil in defence"
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-Napoleon said britain has been saved by geography
@@SergyMilitaryRankings Poor excuse
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- excuse ? France alone defeated the military Superpowers of the day 6 times out of 8 , Napoleon humilated Britain
@@SergyMilitaryRankings Does that include getting his navy utterly destroyed at Trafalgar and the Nile?
People stating, “historians neglected this history.” Apparently these people don’t read books and it shows.😂
What a terrible waste of lives war is, but when the outcome is long decided how much more terrible the futility of waging war becomes.
The 82nd Airborne did not capture the Nijmegen bridge on the first day- Gavin sat on the Groesbeek Heights for 6 hours before making a token effort to do so.
Monty ordered this forward and the British Column sat on it's ass until 2:35 in the after noon at the Belgian Border and watched the transports fly over. Did they think they somehow would catch up?The tanks NEVER showed up on time and in force like Horrocks promised - because of Monty's crap planning
@@bigwoody4704nice try, but it’s the American failure at Nijmegen that caused the real delay and failure. Simple fact that American history seems to overlook for some reason…….
Stick to facts with British forces being "evacuated" from:
Norway,Netherlands, Belgium and France,Dunkirk in 1940
Greece, Crete,Hong Kong and Libya in 1941
Tobruk and Dieppe,Singapore in 1942
If the Americans were bad Monty should have stayed home and saved a bunch of Englishmen. Monty had FOUR FULL YEARS to cross the Channel why wait for the GIs - ya Empire. Your crown usually fought to the last colonial - usually the Aussies
@@bigwoody4704 Yes, the British were pushed out of many areas in the early years of the war. Something about peacetime armies with outdated equipment going up against opponents who had been mobilizing for several years...
1942 truly was the turning point year. The Axis had advanced as far as they would ever go, and the Allies were beginning to learn how to beat them at their own game.
The Americans were not bad, but inexperienced and not as strategic as the British were. As to your comment about Monty having "4 years to cross the channel," you seem to forget that 1) it wasn't Monty's decision to make, 2) he wasn't in command all 4 of those years, 3) Churchill was fighting tooth and nail to go towards the Balkans in order to keep the Soviets out, and 4) The British were in no position to make the cross-channel invasion alone.
Trying to bash "ya empire" for "fighting to the last colonial" is 1960s counterculture pretending its unrealistic expectations made them smarter, and justifying their "year zero" idealism.
the only thing Churchill knew of Military Campaigns was mismanagement, he couldn't dislodge the Germans let alone block the Russians.He was using GIs to hang o to Britsh Interests .He took 50 thousand troops from General O'Connor - the original Desert Fox after his complete victory. And put them in Greece/Crete and it was disasterous in both places and weakened the Desert army also it may have led to O'Connor getting captured. And if Monty was all of that it shouldn't have been a problem - only 30 miles. And of course Gallipoli in the 1st war for winnie. By the summer of 1944 Monty's star had faded,specially after Sicily/Italy/Caen/Falaise .What he won he won with overwhelming superiority in men, materials,ULTRA and air support. And then barely.......and poorly.Not because of maneuver,guile or tactics.
Churchill wrongly removed General Auchinleck who argued that his men had not regrouped and needed reinforcing. Several military analysts accused Churchill of misunderstanding desert warfare tactics, saying he placed too much emphasis on territorial occupation Auchileck/Dorman-Smith stated they needed 6 weeks to refit,reinforce and resupply. Made perfect sense attrition on men and materiel,sand took it's toll on tanks and artillery. So what does Monty do - took 10 weeks(Aug-13-Oct 23) to advance - much more time than Auchileck and Dorman Smith insisted on and got fired for in the 1st place.
And it was just under 2700 nautical miles to italy Marshall/IKE weren't going to keep dragging men and materiel past that FFS when France was 30 miles across the way it was idiocy. Going thru the straight of Gibralter was a choke also easy to pick off ships. It is fantasy that the Atlantic wall was any where near complete Rommel actually started on it in earnest in Jan '44. The Germans kept taking pictures of finished bunker casements from different angles to make it appear it was one solid fortress from Switzerland to the North Sea. He did get alot of beach ostacles,traps,mines tec.
And back to the original point it was abslutely Monty's decicion to go ahead with Market Garden - all of SHAEFF insisted on opening the Port of Antwerp - to supply any/all of the 3 Allied Army groups moving forward. They couldn't keep dragging supplies from Cherbourg 483 miles into the upper Netherlands
Its not the 11th SS Panzer Korps, its II Panzer Korps, which means 2nd.
I always appreciate when you upload, thank you for being consistent. I really like your historical videos. They offer great information on the topic you speak about. Keep making great videos!
Thank you Mark. Fascinating and very refreshing to here something positive to come out of Market Garden for us Brits.
If you're fed up with all the Montgomery bashing from our cousins over the pond, I can recommned reading from more recent research that has revised the conventional narrative on Market Garden that started with Cornelius Ryan's unfinished book (he had terminal cancer in 1974) and the Hollywood film loosely based on it, A Bridge Too Far (1977). The film had an anti-establishment British director and American producer, and screenwriter William Goldman had previously written Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid (1969). The implications in the book, more pronounced in the film, was that the heroic Americans were trying to save an incompetent British disaster.
It seems that now all the key figures have long since passed away, historians are going back to unpublished primary sources and finding records of a different narrative on what really happened, which had been covered up in official records and the public perception whitewashed by a Hollywood film.
The best overall history is probably Swedish historian Christer Bergström's Arnhem 1944: An Epic Battle Revisited, vols 1 and 2 (2019, 2020), which uses unpublished documents and interviews in the Cornelius Ryan Collection held at Ohio State University.
A book explaining how the air planning process was carried out, based on previous German and Allied airborne experience, is by Sebastian Ritchie - Arnhem: Myth and Reality: Airborne Warfare, Air Power and the Failure of Operation Market Garden (2011, revised 2019).
Sebastian Ritchie also authored the RAF's study of the one aerial photo showing German tanks in the Arnhem area that recently came to light in a Dutch Government archive when it was digitised in 2015. The story of Browning dismissing this photo out of hand relied entirely on his Intelligence Officer Major Brian Urquhart's interview with Cornelius Ryan, as both Browning and the photo were long gone. The photo confirms Browning's judgment and justifies his widow's upset over the way he was portraayed in the film. The study is available as a free pdf download called 'Arnhem: The Air Reconnaissance Story' from the Air Historical Branch (Royal Air Force) on the MoD website. Your tax pounds at work!
The critical error that occured at Nijmegen on the first day was fatal to the entire operation, but was completely ignored or missed by Cornelius Ryan and therefore not in the film either. The film was released just two years after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War and American theatre audiences continued to queue around the block for Star Wars instead of wanting to watch another Allied defeat. There was no way the real story of what happened in Nijmegen would even be filmed by Hollywood. There's nothing in it for American audiences. For book references I would recommend:
Lost At Nijmegen, RG Poulussen (2011)
Put Us Down In Hell - A Combat History of the 508th PIR in WW2, Phil Nordyke (2012)
September Hope - The American Side to a Bridge Too Far, John C McManus (2012)
There's also TIKhistory channel's CZcams videos on Market Garden, particularly the videos on Browning and Gavin, which manage to drill down to Gavin as the one most to blame, although a reading of the 508th regimental history would reveal Gavin was only responsible rather than directly at fault. The fault lies in the regiment's command, which goes back to Normandy and the formation of the 508th, which is why Nordyke's regimental history is so important for the background and context.
As a dutch citizen, born in Nijmegen, so very familiar with the topography, it is haunting to hear this story. Never heard of it. The story of “ A bBidge Too Far” of course very familiar.
Thanks.
Ha mede Nijmegenaar!
One major issue was the Air Plan, something that Montgomery had no control over. Interestingly, Brereton, who devised the Air Plan was described by Eisenhower as a "Nincompoop"! Posession, by the Germans, of a set of the battle plans facilitated very efficient use of their resources!
NICK - Monty the troll knew exactly what he had and was warned but he ordered this pis poor plan that had been scrapped when it was both Linnet then Comet. Monty knew all the prat falls & they could only do 1 drop because it was 300 miles one way and the much shorter days but slappies keep repeating that drivel to get Monty off of the hook
So often war seems to be a matter of who screws up the least.
True...but mainly who has the most men and resources, as was the case here.
Kelly's Heroes were the winners because they'd got what they'd wanted.
Some really nice work by our beloved British ally. 🇺🇸🤝🇬🇧
🤮
Why are you so jealous Josef?
@@SerenityMae11 why should I be jealous about a third world African caliphate? It's what you all fought for
Its amazing to see infantry with proper artillery and air support could withstand King Tiger and Panther attacks
No other channel can condense so much information in such a brilliant way, keep up the great work Dr. Felton.
Sounds like the real Operation Market-Garden. More history I never knew about, thanks Dr. Felton.
Thanks Mark excellent research. I always wondered what exactly happened after the bridge attack. My father was in Holland with the RAF and made many friends with the local people ,farm family giving them coffee and what food he could get hold of. He was living in tents on the airfield . This brings back many memories. It’s a long time ago. But not for some of us. 👍🇬🇧🇨🇦🇺🇸🏴
Someone attacked a Bride?
@@BA-gn3qbThey slammed cake in her face!
@@nowthatsfunny1 It was damn good triple layer swiss chocolate ice cream cake too! None of that fondant crap either!!
Every august in Tidiute Pennsylvania they do a reenactment of this battle on a bridge across the river..been there once . pretty good 👍
Chubby old guys running around in faux ww2 uniforms startched and new equipment. A tribute or Insult to ww2 sacrifices
@@Eric-kn4yn yes the equipment was well kept..and there were chubby people...but it was a reenactment of what happened..I interesting to me..
@@fordfairlane662dr what happened Minüs blood guts shooting prisoners civilians houses destroyed. Yes I probably would have gone to see from australia
For those interested in the German perspective of Operation Market Garden, I highly reccommend "It Never Snows in September" written by Robert J. Kershaw. The book also ends with some poignant personal stories of German soldiers that perished in the battles described in this video.
I would also recommend this book but with the caveat that it is the pioneering work on the German side, just as Cornelius Ryan's A Bridge Too far was the first popular published account from the Allied side. Rob Kershaw was a Parachute Regiment officer serving in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in the 1980s and was a liaison officer to the West German Army and spoke German. He was asked by the staff college at Sandhurst to research the German side of Market Garden as he had access to the German army records.
My main complaint about this book is that Rob translated all the German military nomenclature into English, instead of using the original German and providing a glossary (this may have been a recommendation by the publisher). This makes it difficult to check the myriad German units out and research them further. He also misidentified some units and fell victim to the fact that many German units are referenced by up to three different names - the official designation, the name of the commander, and the home base. So the potential for creating an Order Of Battle (in the appendix) that has more German units than actually existed is obvious. Having found the Korps Feldt records online now, I can see where he has gone wrong in a few places.
The other main fault is copying an earlier one made made by Wilhelm Tieke, a former member of the 9.SS-Panzer-Division 'Hohenstaufen' who wrote a history of the II.SS-Panzerkorps in his book In The Firestorm Of The Last Years Of The War (1975), in which it is claimed the German vehicles seen at the southern end of the corridor around Valkenswaard were Jadgpanzer IV tank destroyers from SS-Obersturmbannführer Erwin Röstel's SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 10, when in fact this unit was detached from 10.SS-Panzer-Division to 7.Armee and operating near Valkenburg in Limburg with all 21 Jadgpanzer IV/L48 tank destroyers fighting the Americans. Kershaw believed that 4 of Röstel's vehicles were left behind with the division and sent to Nijmegen. He correctly describes them as assault guns, because they were in fact 4 StuG IIIG from 7./SS-Panzer-Regiment 10. The vehicles seen near Valkenswaard in Market Garden belonged to schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 559 and included a Jadpanther from the 1.Kompanie and StuG IIIG from the 2 and 3.Kompanien.
So long as the reader is aware the book is out of date, it is still the most outstanding pioneering work from the German point of view, and a lead into further research with more recent specialist books on specific German units.
So since I read the book “ A Bridge Too Far” and watched the movie, I figured I knew everything there was to know about operation market garden. Wrong! Once again, Professor Mark schools me in things I didn’t know. I had no idea all this action occurred after the Operation Market Garden failed . I continually learn brand new things about World War II from Mr. Felton that were not in the history books. I am very well read on World War II, but Mr. Felton continually teaches me new things, and I am so grateful.
Simply put if you don’t watch Mark Felton, you don’t know all of the real stories from World War II !!!
A Bridge Too Far is only 50% historically accurate, so half of what you see in the film is either deceptive and about 10% is complete fiction.
Cornelius Ryan's book terminates early because he had terminal cancer and published the book before it was complete, and of course the film is loosely based on the book and even more incomplete.
I can recommend two books, first Robert Kershaw's It Never Snows In September (1990), which was the first work on the German side of the battle and continues into this period after Operation Market had terminated with the evacuation of 1st Airborne Division on 25/26 September, while Operation Garden continued until 7 October. The only caveat is that the German order of battle is now out of date and even carries over an inaccurate unit identification from a German book published in 1975. I also recommend Christer Bergström's Arnhem 1944: An Epic Battle Revisited vols 1 and 2 (2019, 2020), which goes back to unpublished documents and interviews in the Cornelius Ryan Collection held at Ohio State University, and also seeks to debunk many of the myths in A Bridge Too Far.
Thanks for making this video. I had never learned about the counter offensive that followed Operation Market Garden so this was very interesting. While Market Garden may be considered a failure because it didn’t achieve all objectives I do believe that it was still a great achievement regarding the capture of the other bridges due to how ambitious and daring the operation was. Thanks again Dr Felton.
Thats cope, the whole idea of this operation was to breach into Germany, it failed and the Allies didnt cross over until april 45 in this sector.
It did succeed in thinning out the krauts
@@robinderoos1166 even in this case its a dubious success, most of the German units in the area suffering high losses were in fact 2nd or 3rd rate ones unlike the airborne forces and british guards units...Read "It ever snows in september" for a German pov on Market Garden, its kinda shocking with what kind of crappy units the Germans actually won.
@@DD-qw4fz if the 82nd airborne had followed the plan the
Outcome might have been a lot different!
@@garythomas3219 well thats the issue if the plan cannot survive even one serious setback then its a bad plan. Market Garden would have worked only, ONLY if everything went perfectly, and that never happens in war.
Albert Heijn must have done a lot of business with all those hungry troops in town.
Dr Felton you have produced amazing videos but this one is truly top shelf stuff !!!
Thank you for this outstanding review of history. So many times movies and books stop after the battle peaks, but there is so much more to learn during the aftermath.
Generał Sosabowski know how it would ends but he was accused of failure. Long live te Polish parashooters!
@@Elatenl His English is better than my Polish (or yours, I'd wager). ='[.]'=
ObywatelGTC: The word is paratroopers my friend. God bless everyone of them, they were good troops and are a wonderful people.
Brave men
As a jew of polish and german ancestry,never have a nation or a people been as brave as the poles in that war defending others..a truly selfless nation and i’m glad she is finally finding her feet
Brits accused Horrocks of failure, not Sosabowski xD
Typical Polish knowledge on OP Market Garden xDDD
Thank you for the lesson.
A lot of infornation is lost in history when a larger event overshadows it.
Thank you bringing this story to light.
Excellent video Dr. Felton!! I have no doubt that the fighting which happened in October ravaged the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions and weakened these formations which meant that when rebuilt, far too many veteran officers and troops were dead, wounded or missing. The fact that 10th SS Panzer did not participate in the Ardennes meant that one less panzer division was available to throw into that offensive.
Thank you once again for another enlightening video. I did not realize the soon-to-be "Battling Bastards of Bastogne" also participated in Operation Market Garden. While Market Garden did not achieve all its ends, it did further weaken the German positions in the Netherlands, especially in its failed Nijmegen counter offensive. If the Allies had not launched Market Garden, perhaps the war would have lasted longer - long enough for Germany to develop its atomic bomb.
I have really enjoyed your videos Mark and this is another well researched example. A related story I guess...I got to know a lovely lady in Ireland (now sadly deceased) who was related to one of the Chaplains assigned to the 1st British Commandos that were in Arnhem. I believe he was her uncle, possibly with the surname Shackleton. Anyway he was captured along with the survivors of the ill-fated mission and spent the remainder of the war in a prisoner of war camp. He told his niece that he got to know the Commandant of the camp reasonably well and when the camp was about to be liberated, said Commandant formally surrendered to him and gave him his pistol, a Luger. Years later, this man gave said pistol to his niece as he said as a man of the cloth, he could not keep it. Anyway, Mrs. B (as I knew her) then went to boarding school in Dublin, and on the ferry coming into the port of Dun Laoghaire, she realised that she had the pistol in one of her bags (where it had been for a while apparently) so she threw it over the side, where it remains to this day!
Thanks, Mark, for all your hard work. You are keeping the heart of history alive and are very appreciated.
This is really interesting and I've learnt something new. Thank you Dr. Felton. Love to see more lesser known battles of WW2 and GFM Model.
Dr Felton, the shot crossing the Nijmegen Bridge was mesmerising, I had to watch it twice to attend to your words. The quality of your production is brilliant
I always appreciate that you dig up these minor yet important battles, Mark!
I’ve always been fascinated by Market Garden and this episode is a great ending to an epic battle. Cheers from Texas and great storytelling as usual. 🍻
Interesting! I grew up near Arnhem, around where the 1st parachute regiment made their drop. I learned a lot about the battle of Arnhem but somehow this stopped when the Brits crossed the river towards Driel.
Until now I didn’t know that there was a whole other offensive in the Betuwe area after that. 😮
My mother lived in one of the houses overlooking the bridge at Arnhem. She and her family were evacuated to Apeldoorn shortly before the attack, on foot.
She was 3 years old.
They lost everything, including most of her toys. She remembered that for the rest of her life.
@@jwenting What a story! I know some families from Oosterbeek with similar stories. They never expected such a peaceful place to turn into the frontline some day. Happy we didn’t have to go through this.
My family are fairly certain My great grandfather was a part of the duke of Cornwall's light infantry and my family are fairly certain he fought with 5th battalion, the one dr felton mentioned, we know he was taken out of the war by a shrapnel wound but as of yet have not pinpointed when, I'm happy the unit got some exposure here
steam , i salute your great grand dad
Now even my kids know of Mark Felton by recognizing the intro music.
I cracked my head open right before covid and that intro music saved my life!
Market Garden's overall outcome was unfortunate but to be fair it was still more successful and less costly compared to Hodges offensive in Hurtgen and Patton in Lorraine
And those offensives along with the Scheldt could have used the resources squandered by Market Garden.
@@markgarrett3647 Could also say that Market Garden could have used the resources squandered by Hodges in Hurtgen and Patton in Lorraine
@@32shumble No cramming a force roughly the size of two Corps' in a single road with mostly muddy ground on either side and with lots of rivers and bridges to cross is nuts even according to Ike himself who approved the hair-brained scheme that was Market Garden by Monty.
Not really
Terrain restricted movement
Other wise wouldn’t go down one road
@@markgarrett3647 not sure if its as nuts as approving to attack a forest and fortress with little strategic value held by cooks and men with stomach ulcers. Also the ground forces of market garden were actually successful. It was the airborne that failed.
Well done 👍 Limey!
It's been said that, while it's good to make a plan, it's not likely to survive unchanged, after contact with the enemy...
2:22 The plan failed at Nijmegan because Gavin was too cautious and didn't prioritise his primary target.
There is another internet historian who has tried to establish the identity of the " culprit "
using interviews from reports , etc
TIK History has an excellent documentary on Market Garden. It wasn't the British who messed up it was the 82nd.
Mark this was great, and as you say the story normally ends with the withdrawal and surrender at Arnhem. I knew nothing about this, but now I do.
Another fantastic video Dr. Felton!
Thank you!
I have been looking for info on what happened after market garden. This is the best video I have found. Grate work as always.
I became familiar with Operation Market-Garden and its aftermath through the PlayStation 2 video game Medal of Honor: Frontline and the HBO series Band of Brothers. The game depicts a thrilling urban combat scenario in Arnhem. The TV series had some of the best combat sequences in that part, in my opinion.
It's a shame that Market-Garden is glossed over in most WWII histories. I understand it's overshadowed by D-Day and The Battle of the Bulge, but it's an important part of the fight to win back Western Europe.
Somehow, I intuitively watch out for your posts.Great subjects from a master researcher. Your work is fantastic.❤
The British anti aircraft were certainly at Nijmegen. Dad was a member of the 123 Light anti aircraft group, they even took some casualties during the European campaign.
Thanks Mark, for reminding us of the brave men of British, Canadians, Polish, Americans, and German Armies, less we never forget the cost of freedom.
cost of freedom..... rhetoric.
Freedom 😂😂 yeah.. good one.
That seemed relentless, thanks for expanding on Arnhem / Nijmegen 👌🏻
Such an incredible loss of supreme men fighting under so many flags. No matter the uniform: guts, tenacity and deep bravery. An incredibly high standard for future generations and worthy of deep reverence.
That's how I feel whenever I see the millions of Soviets from across the USSR too, and in China
@@Shellslime Agreed, but would call them "Russians," who are a people, rather than "Soviets" who for decades were the political driving force behind the slaughter.
Awesome insight, a lot of research must have gone into this episode, so much packed into 10 minutes. I love this channel
Should all vote for Mark Felton Production movie length documentary. As forget the history channel only need this one.
Just a thought - why not use old maps instead of google maps? Lots of them is accessible online or on the websites of the museums
To give viewer exact location in modern perspectives
I have lived in Nijmegen for years ( close between the 2 bridges) and read J.Gavin's book about it ( CO 82nd)
That fight for Nijmegen deserves a movie on it's own
Great stuff from 82nd and later Irish Guards (Vandeleur....played by Michael Caine in Bridge too far movie)
Para's running the rooftops and shooting into the german foxholes and Guards blasting away with heavy armor at street level
The Nijmegen bridges were not captured the same day . Gavin spent the day shelling an imaginary SS Brigade in a nearby forest . By the time a force was organised under Warrento take the bridge it was too late and allowed 10th Panzer division to drive north from Arnhem to occupy Nijmegen South of the river .,A German hospital unit was eventually raised to attack Browning and Gavins HQ at Nijmegen crossing the open areas which were allocated to the 2nd wave of the 82nd . Thus ad hoc unit was no threat and quickly dealt with . After making up delays 30 corps now had a panzer division to battle before crossing the bridge . This delay could not be recovered and led to the failure of Market Garden . Had Gavin prioritised the bridge , the objective of operation , 30 Corps would have reached Arnhem and ' A Bridge Too Far ' condemning Brits for " drinking tea " would not have been made .
Gavin was a bit green . Monty wanted the Paras in the field instead of sitting around in England and the Broad front strategy was not working as it stretched supplies leading to American units in the South looting allied convoys and trains . This had to stop as Brits and Canadians in the North were suffering. The narrow front of Market Garden , even in its delayed form ( it was nearly 3 months old ), made more sense.
Gavin and his 82 nd eventually made good against Panzergruppe Pieper in the Ardennes a couple of months later , another dogs dinner that required the Welsh , Highland and Parachute regiments with elements of 30 Corps to pur the brakes on the German counter after Monty was given overall command . I've did this because Monty was right at Market Garden . Part of Market Garden after Arnhem was to divide the allies into 2 sectors one for the Ruhr and one to contain and mop up the western Netherlands .
1. Gavin was told there might be 'a regiment of SS troops' in Nijmegen, because the exact location of the 10.SS-Panzer-Division, known to be reduced to a 'regimental battlegroup with few if any tanks', was not positively identified and the city had excellent Dutch army barracks facilities. As a divisional commander, Gavin was not made aware of the existence of 'Ultra' decrypts revealing II.SS-Panzerkorps was refitting in the eastern Netherlands, the reason he only received a 'sanitised' report this vague. These troops could theoretically be used to occupy a blocking line on the ridge south of the city in the event of airborne landings, which is the reason why the 508th PIR were tasked with securing the Groesbeek ridge line with roadblocks at De Hut, De Ploeg, and Berg-en-Dal, as their initial objectives. Once these were secured then the regimental commander was expected by Gavin to send the 1st Battalion at De Ploeg to the highway bridge, but in the event only sent a reinforced platoon reconnaissance patrol instead. The city was not occupied by German combat troops, they were only along the canal defence line, and the Germans avoided using the barracks because of the obvious bombing risk. The 508th were also informed by local resistance leader Geert van Hees that the Germans had evacuated [rear echelon units from] Nijmegen and only an NCO and seventeen men guarded the highway bridge, so the decision to proceed with a platoon reconnaissance patrol was all the more extraordinary. At this same time, Lieutenant Colonel Frost was moving on the Arnhem highway bridge with most of his battalion, and that was the reason he secured the northern ramp area and was able to stop enemy traffic for 80 hours.
2. SHAEF intelligence believed the II.SS-Panzerkorps may be drawing new tanks from a depot thought to be in the Kleve area, on the other side of the Reichswald forest, but this was false and the depot was actually near Münster, deeper into Germany. This intelligence appears to have had a strong influence on Gavin's planning and may have prompted him to assign the more experienced and aggressive 505th PIR to hold the Groesbeek sector facing the Reichswald instead of assigning them the Nijmegen mission.
3. Forgive me, but "German hospital unit" might be misleading - medical units were non-combatant of course, but German training and replacement (Ausbildungs-und-Erstaz) units had convalescent units, usually the 8.Kompanie in an Ausbildungs-und-Erstaz-Bataillon is a Genesenden (convalescent) company of troops released from hospital and passed back to the reserve battalion for light training until fully fit to return to their field unit. Some training divisions had entire battalions of troops grouped into 'stomach' or 'ear' units, and this allowed the units to have specialised diets, and training regimes. Both types of unit were in the Wehrkreis VI (military district 6) units of Division 406 relocated to Kleve across the German border from Nijmegen, and they were expected to counter-attack the American Airborne at Groesbeek until II.Fallschirm-Korps arrived later.
4. Gavin may have been the youngest divisional commander in the US Army at the time, but I wouldn't describe him as "a bit green" at all. His own combat leadership experience dated from commanding the 505th PIR in Operation Husky - the invasion of Sicily in 1943. He was Assistant Division Commander to Matthew Ridgway in Normandy and inherited the 82nd Division when Ridgway was promoted to command US XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944. In his 1967 interview with Cornelius Ryan, Gavin said that Ridgway did not trust the 508th CO and wouldn't promote him, presumably to G-1 (Admin and Personnel Officer) to his XVIII Corps as he was a gifted S-1 in the early US Airborne forces, before given command of the 508th in formation and training. In fact, Gavin said Ridgway had a problem in that he couldn't promote any other Colonel in the division over the 508th CO because he had seniority in the rank. That may also explain why Gavin did not replace himself as Assistant Division Commander and was running himself ragged doing both jobs during Market Garden. The 82nd's internal politics did not surface in Cornelius Ryan's book and the post-war narrative was defined by Gavin seeking to muddy the waters over priorities (assisted by Browning in their post-war correspondence) instead of throwing a subordinate officer under the bus. People who rely on this 'priorities' narrative have fallen victim to the cover-up and not read the more recent books that interviewed witnesses to the final divisional briefing and have spoken freely now that the key players involved have passed away.
Sources:
James Gavin interview, Cornelius Ryan Collection, Ohio State University (online)
Put Us Down In Hell - A Combat History Of The 508th PIR in WW2, Phil Nordyke (2012)
September Hope - The American Side of a Bridge Too Far, John C McManus (2012)
Mark Felton brightens my day. He is like a treasure hunter of ww2 history.
Great episode Mark. As a kid I went to the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek with my dad. Visited both Arnhem and Nijmegen and we drove through ‘the island.’ At that time both river cities still showed the scars of combat. Or the after war hastily built structures showed where these cities had to have been repaired, almost like a bad dentist job on a filling. Still, some historical buildings survived in these cities. However, the villages on the island suffered much more damage, were almost plowed up by artillery from both sides and almost exclusively showed after war architecture, plus inconceivably large empty spots for towns and villages that seemed to revive. Further to the west along the rivers, one can truly observe the difference between those hamlets that haven’t been significantly affected and the ones that did. And as you said, there sure was no end to the fighting in that area until after the Allies crossed the Rhine for good and Canadian troops cleared the northern part of the Netherlands from German units.
Thanks Mark, always enjoy your content. One comment on this video though; in the first few minutes you mention the 101st Airborne capturing the bridge at Eindhoven on September 08th. I'm from Eindhoven, and it was actually on September 18th instead of the 08th. Small mistake, but thought I'd mention it. 🙂
I thought I'd misheard it, but then picked up a few more errors and posted them above. Minor details. I wonder if Mark has someone type up a script from an audio dictation or handwritten notes, because they seem to be 'typo' type errors that have crept in somehow. The content is essentially correct, as I'm familiar with this period in Market Garden, otherwise I wouldn't spot them.
These small but important events are what makes me watch your channel! Keep it up!
Love these documentaries. Thanks Mark