The sandy-heathered waste ground South-west of Hechtel

It was at Leopoldsburg that the plan for the joint land and air assault on Holland (Market Garden), followed by the proposed right wheel into Germany from the north, was unfolded. 30 Corps, with the Guards Armoured Division leading, were to break out of the bridgehead now established across the Meuse-Escaut Canal and were to head for Eindhoven, Graves, Nijmegen, Arnhem, Appledorn and the sea. They were to be closely followed by the 43rd (Wessex) Division and the 50th Division.

The Airborne Army was first to drop at Graves, Nijmegen and Arnhem and to seize the vital bridges across the rivers Maas, Waal and Neder Rijn.

The weather was still very warm by day, but the days were rapidly getting shorter and the nights were cold with a heavy wet mist, making early rising a rather miserable business.

And so it was at about 16.30 hours on 20th September the 1st Worcesters formed up ready to move out once more to take its place in the seemingly endless column streaming northward towards Eindhoven. The battalion finally left at 18.00 hours on its cold and weary drive north into Holland.

After about 30 minutes the Worcesters were crossing Joe’s Bridge (named after Brigadier J. O. E. Vandeleur of the Armoured Guards) across the Meuse-Escaut Canal, west of the village of Neerpelt, and after crossing the Dutch frontier it was now a straight road to Valkenswaard.

214 Brigade passing through Valkenswaard, 20th September 1944 (IWM_B10148)

Travelling up “Hell’s Highway”

By first light (21st September) the 1st Worcestershire and the rest of 43rd Division had passed through Eindhoven and at approximately 08.00 hours halted on the road at the village of St. Oedenrode, about eighteen miles south of Graves.

After about an hour the column moved on again, heading for the town of Graves. After crossing the River Maas the battalion moved up to the southern outskirts of Nijmegen, where they stopped by the roadside and prepared food.

The men settled down for the night, which was fairly quiet with only the intermittent sound of the Divisional artillery shelling German positions on the other side of the River Waal.

Corporal Bozward (17 platoon, ‘D’ Company), remembers arriving in Nijmegen “We had got somewhere by Nijmegen. It was evening time, just getting dusk, and we were passing by some men of the Guards Armoured Division who were dug in by the roadside. Suddenly the Jerries started to drop a few shells on us and one of the guardsmen said, ‘Don’t get worried, it’s only Jerry sending you a goodnight kiss!’ From somewhere up front a voice quickly replied, ‘It’s you that’s worried mate! If you go any deeper you’ll soon be digging coal!’ There was quite a lot of laughter after that.”

Earlier the same day the Guards Armoured Division, who were pushing forward towards Arnhem, on the main Nijmegen – Arnhem highway, were brought to a halt at Elst by tanks and anti-tank guns of the 10th SS Panzer Division. No further advance was made that day.

The following morning (22nd September) was dull, cloudy with intermittent rain and mist was hanging over the River Waal. At 07.00 hours the 7th Somerset Light Infantry started its advance over the Nijmegen Railway Bridge and then left following the riverbank towards Oosterhout, at 09.30 their lead company (“D” Company) came under heavy fire south of the village. Their commanding officer Major Sidney Young was mortally wounded and died later the same day.

Corporal F. H. Bozward

Positions on 22nd September 1944

The 1st Worcesters remained in Nijmegen all day awaiting news of the 7th Somersets advance and at 16.00 hours the Battalion C.O. was again called to another ‘O’ Group meeting at Brigade HQ. The 7th Somersets supported by tanks had been held up all day on the outskirts of Oosterhout by a strong contingent of the 64th Panzer Grenadiers. Brigadier Essame now ordered an all out attack supported by a forty-minute fire plan by the Divisional artillery. At 15.20 hours the Somersets attacked again with ‘A’ and ‘B’ companies supported by tanks of ‘A’ squadron of 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. This time the attack succeeded and by 16.30 hours the village of Oosterhout was overrun with the Somersets taking 130 German prisoners.

The 5th DCLI were now ordered to take advantage of the situation and push forward as quickly as possible to Driel, 10 miles north, on the south bank of the Neder Rijn (Lower Rhine).

Here the local Dutch villagers went wild with joy as the armoured vehicles quickly passed by heading for Driel. At Valburg a despatch rider remained at the crossroads to direct the soft-vehicle column that followed later.

As the 5th DCLI armoured column headed for Driel, ‘A’ company who where at the rear suddenly encountered 5 German tanks at de Hoop cross-roads coming from the direction of Elst. The first 3 tanks were quickly destroyed by a combination of PAIT fire and No. 75 mines strung across the road. The 2 remaining tanks toppled over in to the ditches at the road-side as they tried to turn back. The soft-vehicle column of the 5th DCLI were advised of the situation at de Hoop cross-roads and so took a detour and finally joined the armoured column at Driel by 21.00 hours.

Nijmegen showing Railway Bridge – 1st Worcesters postion marked by arrow

Lieut.-Col. Osborne-Smith (Worcestershires C.O.) called together his Company Commanders and explained that the 7th Somersets were to take Oosterhout and the 5th DCLI were to make a dash for the Neder Rijn with supplies as soon as Oosterhout was cleared. The Worcesters were to assist the Somersets where necessary and from now on must be prepared to move at a moment’s notice.

The day dragged slowly on when news came in at that the 7th Somersets had been successful and the 5th DCLI had started their dash. The Worcesters were to leave at once and expand the 7th Somersets’ gains. The Commanding Officer then went ahead with his Intelligence Officer (Lieut. Roy Humphreys), as the situation and their role was, to say the least, shrouded with a cloak of vagueness.

The Second-in-Command (Major A. A. Grubb) was to guide the Battalion to a previously arranged rendezvous, and so they moved, still in D.U.K.W.S. and with machine guns and tanks of the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in support, and started to crawl through the winding and narrow streets of Nijmegen to the bridges. They crossed over the River Waal by the railway bridge (the Germans had thoughtfully laid planks between the railway lines on one side) and this certainly showed evidence of a grim struggle by the Guards Armoured Division for its possession.

Lieut.-Col. R. E. Osborne-Smith

Major A. A. Grubb

Odd dead Germans lay in grotesque attitudes between the lines; twisted and bent girders gave even greater evidence of the struggle. Once they were across, the bridge was now their lifeline and it was foremost in the news at a later date. It was getting very dark and the pace was punctuated by periods of speed and halts. More halts than speed.

Suddenly, through the crackle of interference on the wireless set, was heard the order “All speed for Valburg”. Maps were scanned, anxious looks exchanged. It seemed desperate, one road, nobody on the left or right and miles in front of the nearest troops. No lights were allowed. The road was narrow and bordered on either side by typical Dutch ditches. Not for a long time had it been so dark; a gentle downpour added to the discomfort. Some of the corners were too sharp for the D.U.K.W.S. and they had to manoeuvre backwards and forwards to get round them, tanks skidded into the ditches, and every so often a D.U.K.W. plunged into those cursed dykes, drenching all those on board but causing no injuries. Dutch people peered anxiously from behind their darkened windows and watched as the Worcesters went by.

Finally at 22.00 hours the 1st Worcesters reached Valburg crossroads, as it was late there was no time for recces, no information. The commanding officer deployed ‘C’ Company right, ‘B’ Com¬pany forward, ‘A’ Company left near Valburg railway station, ‘D’ Company and Supporting Arms to the rear, Battalion Headquarters was set up in a public house at the main cross-roads in the village. All was quiet but this was not to last!

The signallers quickly laid communication lines out to the Companies. Unfortunately Brigade H.Q. was too far away, and therefore out of touch by wireless. Rumours started to pour in of tanks being heard and the sounds of men forming up, but no attack materialized. The Commanding Officer (Lieut.-Col. Osborne-Smith) called an ‘O’ Group in his headquarters and by candlelight over a glass of Dutch beer the chaos was sorted into a clear picture.

However, until 130 Brigade, who had priority on the road, had cleared Valburg cross-roads, it was impossible for 214 Brigade to start their day's task—the capture of Elst. The only road available for their mortars, carriers and anti-tank guns ran through Valburg. Movement by any type of vehicle across the soggy fields was quite out of the question. Some difficulty was experienced in explaining this embarrassing fact to Major-General Thomas on the wireless. He accordingly arrived at Valburg cross-roads to verify the situation in person. Here he found Brigadier H. Essame, the Commander of 214 Brigade, and his commanding officers seated round the bright green billiard table of the local public house engaged in settling the final details for the advance on Elst, now at last feasible. A more than usually vicious concentration of German 88mm shells, which smashed all the windows and killed several men outside, greeted his arrival. In the circumstances his opinion, expressed with his normal brevity and force, that the rendezvous was ill chosen, must be regarded as fair comment. A second salvo, equally well directed, brought the conference to an even speedier conclusion than the normal in this brigade.

Whilst the Worcesters were in Valburg they came in contact with the Dutch “Orange” underground move¬ment, who provided valuable information on the German positions in the area.

Today the location of the public house which was at the Valburg crossroads, used in September 1944 as 1st Battalion Worcestershires and 214 Brigade HQ’s, no longer exists having been replaced by a supermarket store.

Brigadier H. Essame

Captain Peter Hall

Captain Peter Hall, recalls; “’C’ Company was ordered as night fell, to patrol forward. This we did in an area West of Elst. A rather beautiful Dutch farm with outbuildings was our forward headquarters. I was ordered to reconnoitre, at night, a pine woods area about half a mile to the East of ‘C’ Companies established firm base. At about 23.00 hours, my patrol partner and I passed through our forward Company positions - and into the unknown! Without incident we got to the wood. I ordered my partner to stay just within its edge and listen out while I went into the wood to try to determine the situation. It was an eerie experience.

As I crept forward into the wood, I could hear muffled cries. I could not identify the language or the sound of the tracked vehicles. At that time the situation was very fluid. I did not know whether these units were elements of the Guards Armoured Division or 21 Panzer Grenadiers. I was disinclined to march forward and say, “Hi, fellows!” in case I got it wrong.

I crouched in the undergrowth for an eternity (actually only about 15 minutes) and found myself only about 30 yards from all of this activity. Suddenly, there was a loud, metallic crash! Two vehicles had collided in the dark. There was an explosive shout of ‘Dumkopf!’ At last I had my answer.

I rejoined my partner and, without further incident, we got back to Company lines I reported to my company commander Major Jerry Clover. He organised an Artillery ‘stonk’ in the wood - the result of which I never knew because.... I was allocated a sleeping place in the farmhouse. I grabbed a bale of hay on which I intended to sleep. I walked through an unseen open trap door and fell 15 feet onto hard concrete! This did not make me very mobile the next day and I was evacuated to ‘A’ Echelon for 24 hours rest.”

The night gradually gave way to dawn (23rd September) and ‘C’ Company solved their tank problem, for just in front of their position was a ditched Panther—the crew gave themselves up, four young Hitler Youths.

As the day progressed, interested Dutchmen came out of their houses to see this sudden change in their village life. Strange figures came into Battalion H.Q. dressed in half Dutch and half Air Force clothing. They were crews from crashed aircraft who hidden by the Dutch and hearing of our arrival, came out so that we might send them back to the nearest airfield. They gave us valuable information as to where equipment dropped from aircraft and destined for the Airborne Forces had been hidden by them to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. A great amount had been dropped but sadly on the wrong side of the river.

The ditched Panther Tank at Valburg (near ‘C’ Company position)

Valburg Railway Station

Captain Jock Bannister

CQMS Sanders

This is perhaps a suitable moment to pay some tribute to the work of ‘A’ Echelon, which was never better than in this sector. When the Battalion first crossed the Nijmegen railway bridge, ‘A’ Echelon, where all the meals are cooked, was left behind on the south side of the river on the western outskirts of the town. The bridge became the target of everything the Germans could hurl at it; their efforts to destroy it became frantic. Fighter-bombers came over in waves; shells crashed down on it. It was over this bridge, twice a night, that the Company Quarter-Master Serjeant Sanders, the cooks and the drivers (L/Cpl. Beech) had to run this gauntlet of fire. The first night was the worst. But the hot meal he was carrying was safely delivered to the hungry men. On the return journey, shells were still falling around the bridge, but no one was hurt. A few hours later, the ordeal had again to be faced, this time with the breakfast meal. Much of the food which the Battalion was eating at this time was German. An enormous enemy food dump had been captured near Nijmegen; it was said to be so large that the Germans were drawing supplies from one end at the same time as the British from the other! This was a godsend, for the narrow lines of communication stretching back into Belgium had been severed by the enemy, and for most of the first week of the operation the whole of 30 Corps was cut off from its supplies.

L/Cpl. Beech