Combat Blog: 03/15/08

15 March 2008

Men at Arnhem

When I think about Operation Market-Garden, I've always thought of the view presented by the classic 70's movie, A Bridge Too Far.

It wasn't until recently that I thought that it would be interesting to read more books about the battle and learn more about it.

One of the first books I read was Men at Arnhem by Geoffrey Powell, an officer of the British airborne forces at Arnhem. He was among the main body of British airborne troops who landed far away from Arnhem (according to the original plan!) He recounts their attempts to reinforce Frost's forces holding the Arnhem bridge. As we know now, the British airborne troops were in trouble right from the beginning, due to their poor mobility and being landed so far away from the bridge. In a very engrossing read, Powell writes about the desperate attempts of his troops to push through to the bridge and how they were quickly stymied by strong German forces. He writes about how men would suddenly be killed around him and about the declining morale of the British troops as the airborne troops starting running out of ammo, rations and other essential supplies.

This book provided really interesting information about the state of the British airborne troops trying to reinforce the bridge and their thoughts about the British XXX Corps who were supposed to relief them by land. As well, there are interesting sections about how the British and Polish airborne troops interacted (the Polish troops did not speak much English).

It's a book I highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about Arnhem. This book is considered one of the best squad level combat books. Interesting footnote: originally, this book was published under the pen name of "Tom Angus" in the 70's and the names of his soldiers and officers were all changed. In this newer version, all the correct names have been reinstated, creating a greater sense of realism.

Another book about Arnhem which I'm currently reading is 'It Never Snows in September' by Robert Kershaw. This book is most interesting because it presents Operation Market-Garden from the German viewpoint, based on German interviews and battle reports. You very quickly learn why British XXX Corps took so long to reach Arnhem -- the width of the traffic corridor was extremely narrow and was cut off by German troops numerous times as the Germans fought determinedly against the airborne forces trying to keep the passageway open. It really shows how ambitious Monty's plan was!

Colin
Combat Films and Books
Combat-Blog

The Courage of Our Veterans

As I watch movies like Saving Private Ryan or read my military history autobiographies from war veterans, I realize more and more what courageous lives these men led when they went to war in World War 2.

War sounds positively frightening. It really is amazing that anyone survived such a meat-grinding experience! Everyone must surely have suffered from some kind of post-traumatic stress syndrome -- how can you not if you see a soldier's head getting blown off and your buddy getting shredded to pieces by shrapnel.

I read Messerschmitts over Sicily last year and German ace, Johannes Steinhoff (who later joined General of Luftwaffe Fighter Command Adolf Galland's famous Me262 Squadron of Aces), wrote of how he blew a pilot's head off with his Me109 cannon. Gruesome stuff. In air combat, it can be very personal if you get to see the enemy's face before you shoot him down. It must be frightening to have someone chasing your tail, especially if you realize that he's a much better pilot than you and that you WILL be shot down by the other pilot.

I visited the Normandy beaches in the mid-1990's with my brother when we did a battlefield tour of Europe. We went to Gold Beach: beautiful wide sandy beach where the tide goes out really far, exposing a beautiful huge stretch of sand landing up to the seaside town. Standing at the edge of the water, I realize just how exposed I was on that beach and how far away I was from the seaside town. I can't imagine running across that beach early in the morning, fully laden with a heavy combat pack and under fire all the way! How did our war veterans do it?? They deserve our utmost respect and admiration. I guess it was probably fear. I guess it was probably because they had nowhere else to go. I can only imagine how tempting it would have been to cower behind any wreck or beach obstacle because the thought of crossing that bullet ridden beach must just have been terrifying.

What would I have done in their place?

Where would one find the courage to be courageous? It would have taken so much fortitude just to be brave and run the lead gauntlet to the seaside seawall much less find the fortitude to be courageous and risk one's life further by attacking the German bunkers. What a generation of men that was!

As that generation of war veterans die away, we should always remember to thank them whenever we see any of them. I always appreciate hearing their stories in the media during Rememberance Day (in Canada) or Veterans' Day (in the US) memorials.

This is where I find it so engrossing to read these war autobiographies, to read the testimonies of these war veterans as to how they experienced the war, what terrors they felt, what fears they had, what hopes and dreams they harboured then, where they found their individual courage, how they survived... Truth if stranger than fiction, some say. I find truth (war autobiographies) to be more interesting than war fiction or any other fiction.