Operation Market Garden Tribute, 17th Sept. 1944

[Johnny Tip]

On 20/09/2020 at 01:55, tonyot said:

 I used pencil crayons for the partly removed stripes.

That's very interesting! I'll have to try it... and then again after effing it up.

 

Once again, a splendid collection! 

[tonyot]

2 hours ago, Johnny Tip said:

That's very interesting! I'll have to try it... and then again after effing it up.

 

Once again, a splendid collection! 

Trial and error Johnny,.... thats how you learn! Thank goodness for rubbers,.... or should I say `erasers'. 

[Michael51]

On 9/18/2020 at 8:41 AM, tonyot said:

Well nice to meet a fellow Airborne soldier,.... respect mate. 

Hope you got to watch the film and have an ale!

Thanks Dave,.... I was so glad when Italeri brought out the Mk.V version of the Stirling! 

 

Thanks mate,...... when the veterans of Arnhem/Oosterbook returned after the war to make the film `Theirs is the Glory' they were nervous to meet the locals because they thought they would hate them for ruining their beautiful town/village but they were amazed at how friendly and welcoming they actually were. Prince Bernard may have said that about Monty but I say in return,.... at least the Allies did something about freeing the Netherlands and the rest of Europe from Nazi tyranny!!  

 

Brereton seems to have been something of a control freak,..... and he made some awful decisions,...... he just did not seem to grasp the main benefits of airborne warfare and was just concerned with the logistics of it all, which is strange as he first commented about using parachute troops in France during WW1. The RAF`s 38 and 46 Groups wanted to fly two sorties,....morning and early evening,.... but as the USAAF were to drop the paratroopers at Arnhem Brereton deemed them to be too poorly trained to fly in the dark,.... which would be needed for an early morning take off and an evening landing,..... something all RAF navigators and aircrew were trained to do. I don`t hold Brereton solely to blame,..... there were plenty of cock ups by other senior officers too,..... plus some very bad luck too. 

Thanks John,.... much appreciated.

I wonder if Brereton is being evenly dealt with here. Was it not Williams, the commander of IX Troop Carrier Command, who pushed for no more than one lift per day? Brereton acceded to this but did not instigate it.

 

The absence of tactical air cover, the dropping of 1st British Airborne too far from the Arnhem Bridge and the failure to place a force simultaneously at the other side of the bridge seem more central to the failure.

 

Michael

Edited September 26, 2020 by Michael51
Alzheimer remembers

[tonyot]

3 hours ago, Michael51 said:

I wonder if Brereton is being evenly dealt with here. Was it not Williams, the commander of IX Troop Carrier Command, who pushed for no more than one lift per day? Brereton acceded to this but did not instigate it.

 

The absence of tactical air cover, the dropping of 1st British Airborne too far from the Arnhem Bridge and the failure to place a force simultaneously at the other side of the bridge seem more central to the failure.

 

Michael

As I said,.... a catalogue of errors,....... I also blame Browning for taking so many gliders from the Arnhem lift to take his Tac HQ in on day one,...... where they did next to nothing. Brereton was the man in charge,.... so he has to take some blame. It was the air side who also said no to a drop closer to the bridge,.... a coup de main was requested by 1st Airborne and rejected due to the proximity of Deelen and its flak defences. ....... so thinking opposition would be light they went with the Recce Jeep plan instead,..... they even rejected an offer from 6th Airborne Recce to provide some Tetrarch`s or Locust`s for a coup de main dash.

I also mentioned the lack of air cover from 2nd TAF as the UK side ordered them to stay clear,..... until common sense dictated otherwise towards the end when I said this earlier "Thanks Steve,....... yes the blokes on the ground gave their all but I`m not sure those in charge of it all did. I have always been baffled why the 2nd TAF was not used for close support of the blokes at Arnhem,...... turned out it was a squabble between Brereton and 2nd TAF,..... Brereton,..... who also vetoed two drops at Arnhem on the first day did not want 2nd TAF over his theatre of action,...... crazy,.... especially when the blokes at Arnhem were attacked regularly by German aircraft and German armour was allowed to move around in daylight with impunity! ",

 

Cheers

           Tony

Edited September 26, 2020 by tonyot