Since we’re all sitting around waiting for OF, or for the patch to DL here’s a little something to keep your minds busy.
In light of all this OF madness, I have decided to dedicate part 5 of the history of Coh maps to the spanking new map with the appealing name of ‘Best’.
Picture: Best countryside
Best is located in the Netherlands around Eindhoven and the village of Son, which in September 1944 placed it right in the path of operation Market-Garden, one of the new single-player missions and the greatest airborne operation ever attempted. The bridge at Son was the first of four major bridges that would have to be secured in the operation. The bridges at Best were important secondary objectives in case the Son bridge got destroyed. Best is located some 10 miles north of Eindhoven.
Picture: Operation Market Garden
Market would employ three of the five divisions of the First Allied Airborne Army. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division, under Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, would drop in two locations just north of XXX Corps to take the bridges northwest of Eindhoven at Son and Veghel. The 82nd Airborne Division, under Brigadier General James M. Gavin, would drop northeast of them to take the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen, and the British 1st Airborne Division, under Major General Roy Urquhart, and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade would drop at the extreme north end of the route, to take the road bridge at Arnhem and rail bridge at Oosterbeek. This means that the fighting around Best was done mainly by Americans from the 502nd PIR of 101th Airborne. They did receive support from British armored units later in the battle.
Garden consisted primarily of XXX Corps under Horrocks and was initially spearheaded by the Guards Armored Division, an elite British armored formation, with the 43rd Wessex and 50th Northumbrian infantry divisions in reserve. They were expected to arrive at the south end of the 101st's area on the launch day, the 82nd's by the second day and the 1st's by the third or fourth day at the latest.
Picture: Airborne during market garden
The First Allied Airborne Army was to drop from the skies behind enemy lines and hold that corridor open at all costs. If Operation Market (the airborne part of the overall plan) was successful, the airborne would control the key bridges and strategic points and the British XXX Corps could roll in with maximum speed and complete the Garden (ground) phase of the operation.
It was of the utmost importance for the entire operation that this strict timetable was respected, however, the armored forces of the Garden attack soon become embroiled in heavy fighting and their advance was significantly delayed with the destruction of several key bridges in the area, notably at Son and at Best. Eventually, the Airborne troops valiantly managed to hold out twice as long as they were expected, but after 8 days of desperate fighting, they were forced to evacuate or surrender in the face of German numerical superiority. The failure of Market-Garden left the Allies with a bloody nose and most of the Netherlands had to endure another winter under German occupation before the final liberation came in April 1945.
Picture: The German defenders: Walter Model
Feldmarshall Walter Model was in command of the German forces, He was initially completely taken by surprise by the Airborne assault, even thinking that the whole operation was merely a British commando raid to capture him! Nevertheless he could count on able commanders such as General Kurt Student and the feared SS Panzer commander Bittrich, who quickly made preparations for a staunch defense of the bridges, and preparing them for demolition. The presence of the Panzers was not foreseen by the Allied command despite intelligence reports confirming their presence, and this oversight put the whole operation in jeopardy. While Bittrich was stationed around Arnhem, Student’s troops were the ones defending the Eindhoven region.
Now that we’ve got down the basics on market garden and know the principle actors, let’s get into the battle for Best itself now.
Picture: The four major bridges to cross: Son, Grave, Nijmegen and Arnhem
Without losing time, Student immediately arranged to destroy the bridge at Son to cut the armored allied advance, and he sent 59 Division to Best, to reinforce Reinhard’s LXXXVIII Army Corps. Fallshirmjaeger Battalion Jungwirtt were the first to be engaged in combat with elements of the 101st airborne . This battalion, together with the whole Kampfgruppe Chill, received the order to resist at any expense. Student would also rush forth the XXX and XIIth Army Corps, while the CVII PanzerBrigade would counter attack the positions of 101st airborne North American Division around Best and Son.
Picture: the German defenders: Kurt Student
If we look at the tactical map of operation market garden, we discover that the area around Best and Veghel was assigned to the 101st Airborne. The 101st mission was to secure the 15 miles of “hell’s highway” stretching from Eindhoven North to Veghel. Under the command of Col. Michaelis the unit was to land in Holland on DZ C, seize the small highway bridge over the Dommel river north of Saint Oedenrode and the railroad and road bridges at Best. The 502nd was also given the mission of guarding DZ B and C for the subsequent glider landings. At 13.15 hours on 17 September the 502nd gathered up and headed for their objectives.
Picture: Col. Robert Cole
The 1st battalion went north to capture St Oedenrode. 3rd battalion sent patrols through the Zonsche forst, trying to move toward the town of Best and the bridge. German resistance was tough in the vicinity of Brest as the 502nd fought their way to within 100 yards of the bridge before the Germans blew it up before their eyes. Private Joe Man, who was seriously wounded twice during the battle, was killed when he threw himself on a German grenade to save his fellow soldiers in the same foxhole. He was later awarded the medal of honor for this selfless heroism. Meanwhile, Col Robert Cole, had already received Medal of Honor in Normandy for leading his battalion in a fix bayonet charge on the Ingouf farm house, a German stronghold around Carentan , He never got to wear it though, as he was killed by snipers in the Zonsche Forest. Even the LT. Col Michaelis and some of his staff were severely injured when an artillery shell hit their HQ.
The daylight landing itself proved to be a great success, but the troops were to encounter fierce resistance when they approached their main objectives: the bridges. The 101st Airborne had seized most of its objectives by 16.00 with the 501st Parachute Infantry securing the road and rail bridges at Heeswijk and Veghel, just North of Best. Another push by the 2nd Battalion of 502nd PIR towards another bridge south of Best was turned back. Now that we know the Airborne operations around Best developed, let us now turn to the armoured advance.
Picture: Kattenbergsebrug at Best today
At 14.00 on the 17 September, 408 guns of XXX Corps opened fire to support the initial attack at Joe's Bridge. The Irish Guards battlegroup led by Lt Col J Vandeleur advanced "on a front two tanks wide" with infantry from the 50th Northumbrian Division keeping pace. The initial breakthrough went well, with Kampfgruppe 'Walther' being unable withstand the superior Allied firepower. The Guards Armoured Division (under Major General A H Adair) halted at Valkenswaard at 19.30. The XII Corps (under Lt General N M Ritchie) attacked north with the 15th (Scottish) Division and 53rd (Welsh) Division against Kampfgruppe 'Chill' but made slow progress.
picture: bren carrier of the Irish Guards
The 506th PIR had cleared Eindhoven of a small German presence and the spearhead of Garden forces, the Guards continued around the town and had finally reached the destroyed Son Bridge by the evening when work on a Bailey bridge started. On the German side, the LXXXVI Corps under General Hans von Obstfelder arrived between Weert and Helmond to reinforce the LXXXVIII Corps at Best...Meanwhile, another attempt by 2/502nd and 3/502nd Parachute Infantry to seize the bridge at Best was foiled with the bridge being blown by the 59th Infantry Division. With the vital bridges at Best and Son destroyed, all now depended on how quickly the Bailey bridge at Son could be completed.
Picture: civilians by a British glider around Best
The paratroopers had mostly achieved their objectives, but they had now lost the element of surprise and had to hold on to their positions around the crucial bridges all along the Eindhoven-Arnhem line until the main armoured forced reached them. On the 2nd day, units of the 101st sent to take Best the day before were again forced to yield to German counterattacks during the morning. British tanks arriving during the day helped push back the Germans by late afternoon, but then a small force of Panthers arrived at Son and started firing on the Bailey bridge. The allies managed to beat the Panthers back by anti-tank guns which had recently been landed with the 2nd wave of the operation, and the Bailey bridge was secured. Nevertheless, at the end of two days the allied advance was way behind schedule, and the Nijmegen and Arnhem bridges were still in German hands.
Picture: Allied tanks in front of Nijmegen bridge
While much of the corridor along "Hell's Highway" was firmly in Allied hands, German counterattacks were still being mounted all along its length. During the second night, two mixed armored German formations on either side of Highway 69 attacked between Veghel and Grave; and one group managed to cut the highway and prevent any further advance on Arnhem for the time being.
picture: the retreat from Arnhem
After 8 days of heroic resistance around Arnhem, and with the armor unable to reach them in time, the decision was made to withdraw the depleted British 1st Airborne and set up a defensive front around Nijmegen. With this decision, operation Market Garden was over, and the German defenders had proven they were still a force to be reckoned with. Arnhem proved to be the now famous ‘bridge too far’.
Picture: destroyed Arnhem bridge shortly after Market Garden.
Bonus tip: i strongly advise you to rent ' A bridge too far' it's from the 70's but hands down the best WW2 movie ever and it will teach you everything you need to know about market garden.
I hope you enjoyed it, leave your feedback
Now that you're done reading all this, you'r all set to kick some PE or British ass in OF!
Thanks for this article Cadmus, especially the pics of the glider/bren carriers are nice ones! Is there a link collection for all your "History" articles stickied yet?
Now you have mroe maps to do. Hooray.
.
Since we’re all sitting around waiting for OF, or for the patch to DL
here’s a little something to keep your minds busy.
In light of all this OF madness, I have decided to dedicate part 5 of the history of Coh maps to the spanking new map with the appealing name of ‘Best’.
Picture: Best countryside
Best is located in the Netherlands around Eindhoven and the village of Son, which in September 1944 placed it right in the path of operation Market-Garden, one of the new single-player missions and the greatest airborne operation ever attempted. The bridge at Son was the first of four major bridges that would have to be secured in the operation. The bridges at Best were important secondary objectives in case the Son bridge got destroyed. Best is located some 10 miles north of Eindhoven.
Picture: Operation Market Garden
Market would employ three of the five divisions of the First Allied Airborne Army. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division, under Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, would drop in two locations just north of XXX Corps to take the bridges northwest of Eindhoven at Son and Veghel. The 82nd Airborne Division, under Brigadier General James M. Gavin, would drop northeast of them to take the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen, and the British 1st Airborne Division, under Major General Roy Urquhart, and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade would drop at the extreme north end of the route, to take the road bridge at Arnhem and rail bridge at Oosterbeek. This means that the fighting around Best was done mainly by Americans from the 502nd PIR of 101th Airborne. They did receive support from British armored units later in the battle.
Garden consisted primarily of XXX Corps under Horrocks and was initially spearheaded by the Guards Armored Division, an elite British armored formation, with the 43rd Wessex and 50th Northumbrian infantry divisions in reserve. They were expected to arrive at the south end of the 101st's area on the launch day, the 82nd's by the second day and the 1st's by the third or fourth day at the latest.
Picture: Airborne during market garden
The First Allied Airborne Army was to drop from the skies behind enemy lines and hold that corridor open at all costs. If Operation Market (the airborne part of the overall plan) was successful, the airborne would control the key bridges and strategic points and the British XXX Corps could roll in with maximum speed and complete the Garden (ground) phase of the operation.
It was of the utmost importance for the entire operation that this strict timetable was respected, however, the armored forces of the Garden attack soon become embroiled in heavy fighting and their advance was significantly delayed with the destruction of several key bridges in the area, notably at Son and at Best. Eventually, the Airborne troops valiantly managed to hold out twice as long as they were expected, but after 8 days of desperate fighting, they were forced to evacuate or surrender in the face of German numerical superiority. The failure of Market-Garden left the Allies with a bloody nose and most of the Netherlands had to endure another winter under German occupation before the final liberation came in April 1945.
Picture: The German defenders: Walter Model
Feldmarshall Walter Model was in command of the German forces, He was initially completely taken by surprise by the Airborne assault, even thinking that the whole operation was merely a British commando raid to capture him! Nevertheless he could count on able commanders such as General Kurt Student and the feared SS Panzer commander Bittrich, who quickly made preparations for a staunch defense of the bridges, and preparing them for demolition. The presence of the Panzers was not foreseen by the Allied command despite intelligence reports confirming their presence, and this oversight put the whole operation in jeopardy. While Bittrich was stationed around Arnhem, Student’s troops were the ones defending the Eindhoven region.
Now that we’ve got down the basics on market garden and know the principle actors, let’s get into the battle for Best itself now.
Picture: The four major bridges to cross: Son, Grave, Nijmegen and Arnhem
Without losing time, Student immediately arranged to destroy the bridge at Son to cut the armored allied advance, and he sent 59 Division to Best, to reinforce Reinhard’s LXXXVIII Army Corps. Fallshirmjaeger Battalion Jungwirtt were the first to be engaged in combat with elements of the 101st airborne . This battalion, together with the whole Kampfgruppe Chill, received the order to resist at any expense.
Student would also rush forth the XXX and XIIth Army Corps, while the CVII PanzerBrigade would counter attack the positions of 101st airborne North American Division around Best and Son.
Picture: the German defenders: Kurt Student
If we look at the tactical map of operation market garden, we discover that the area around Best and Veghel was assigned to the 101st Airborne. The 101st mission was to secure the 15 miles of “hell’s highway” stretching from Eindhoven North to Veghel. Under the command of Col. Michaelis the unit was to land in Holland on DZ C, seize the small highway bridge over the Dommel river north of Saint Oedenrode and the railroad and road bridges at Best. The 502nd was also given the mission of guarding DZ B and C for the subsequent glider landings. At 13.15 hours on 17 September the 502nd gathered up and headed for their objectives.
Picture: Col. Robert Cole
The 1st battalion went north to capture St Oedenrode. 3rd battalion sent patrols through the Zonsche forst, trying to move toward the town of Best and the bridge. German resistance was tough in the vicinity of Brest as the 502nd fought their way to within 100 yards of the bridge before the Germans blew it up before their eyes. Private Joe Man, who was seriously wounded twice during the battle, was killed when he threw himself on a German grenade to save his fellow soldiers in the same foxhole. He was later awarded the medal of honor for this selfless heroism. Meanwhile, Col Robert Cole, had already received Medal of Honor in Normandy for leading his battalion in a fix bayonet charge on the Ingouf farm house, a German stronghold around Carentan , He never got to wear it though, as he was killed by snipers in the Zonsche Forest. Even the LT. Col Michaelis and some of his staff were severely injured when an artillery shell hit their HQ.
The daylight landing itself proved to be a great success, but the troops were to encounter fierce resistance when they approached their main objectives: the bridges. The 101st Airborne had seized most of its objectives by 16.00 with the 501st Parachute Infantry securing the road and rail bridges at Heeswijk and Veghel, just North of Best. Another push by the 2nd Battalion of 502nd PIR towards another bridge south of Best was turned back.
Now that we know the Airborne operations around Best developed, let us now turn to the armoured advance.
Picture: Kattenbergsebrug at Best today
At 14.00 on the 17 September, 408 guns of XXX Corps opened fire to support the initial attack at Joe's Bridge. The Irish Guards battlegroup led by Lt Col J Vandeleur advanced "on a front two tanks wide" with infantry from the 50th Northumbrian Division keeping pace. The initial breakthrough went well, with Kampfgruppe 'Walther' being unable withstand the superior Allied firepower. The Guards Armoured Division (under Major General A H Adair) halted at Valkenswaard at 19.30. The XII Corps (under Lt General N M Ritchie) attacked north with the 15th (Scottish) Division and 53rd (Welsh) Division against Kampfgruppe 'Chill' but made slow progress.
picture: bren carrier of the Irish Guards
The 506th PIR had cleared Eindhoven of a small German presence and the spearhead of Garden forces, the Guards continued around the town and had finally reached the destroyed Son Bridge by the evening when work on a Bailey bridge started. On the German side, the LXXXVI Corps under General Hans von Obstfelder arrived between Weert and Helmond to reinforce the LXXXVIII Corps at Best...Meanwhile, another attempt by 2/502nd and 3/502nd Parachute Infantry to seize the bridge at Best was foiled with the bridge being blown by the 59th Infantry Division. With the vital bridges at Best and Son destroyed, all now depended on how quickly the Bailey bridge at Son could be completed.
Picture: civilians by a British glider around Best
The paratroopers had mostly achieved their objectives, but they had now lost the element of surprise and had to hold on to their positions around the crucial bridges all along the Eindhoven-Arnhem line until the main armoured forced reached them.
On the 2nd day, units of the 101st sent to take Best the day before were again forced to yield to German counterattacks during the morning. British tanks arriving during the day helped push back the Germans by late afternoon, but then a small force of Panthers arrived at Son and started firing on the Bailey bridge. The allies managed to beat the Panthers back by anti-tank guns which had recently been landed with the 2nd wave of the operation, and the Bailey bridge was secured. Nevertheless, at the end of two days the allied advance was way behind schedule, and the Nijmegen and Arnhem bridges were still in German hands.
Picture: Allied tanks in front of Nijmegen bridge
While much of the corridor along "Hell's Highway" was firmly in Allied hands, German counterattacks were still being mounted all along its length. During the second night, two mixed armored German formations on either side of Highway 69 attacked between Veghel and Grave; and one group managed to cut the highway and prevent any further advance on Arnhem for the time being.
picture: the retreat from Arnhem
After 8 days of heroic resistance around Arnhem, and with the armor unable to reach them in time, the decision was made to withdraw the depleted British 1st Airborne and set up a defensive front around Nijmegen. With this decision, operation Market Garden was over, and the German defenders had proven they were still a force to be reckoned with. Arnhem proved to be the now famous ‘bridge too far’.
Picture: destroyed Arnhem bridge shortly after Market Garden.
Bonus tip: i strongly advise you to rent ' A bridge too far' it's from the 70's but hands down the best WW2 movie ever and it will teach you everything you need to know about market garden.
I hope you enjoyed it, leave your feedback
Now that you're done reading all this, you'r all set to kick some PE or British ass in OF!
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