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Whilst rummaging in the archive at Middle Wallop for details of the Horsa’s undercarriage wanted on this forum by Big Vern, I came across this map which was prepared during the planning for Operation Comet, the attack on Arnhem Bridge which was cancelled a week before operation Market Garden.
It is interesting in a couple of ways.
Firstly the map doesn’t show the road Bridge at Arnhem only the rail and pontoon bridges.
Second, the arrow (drawn on the original in pencil) shows the route to be taken by the gliders that were to land to the South of the river, a route famously dismissed only days later. (Don’t blame the RAF the air plan for Market Garden was an American one).
The route would also appear to be best placed for the troops to reach the pontoon bridge. Just when did they realise that there was a road bridge at Arnhem? and was this one of the reasons Comet was cancelled?
Being a glider pilot and having been to Arnhem and seen the ground on the South bank I still find it incredible that a landing there wasn’t tried. I was also involved in a coversation whilst stood on Arnhem bridge with a serving RAF pilot and an Arnhem glider pilot veteren. I’d suggested that a Coup de Main landing could have been acheived on the bridge itself. To which the RAF poo pooed the idea as that would result in damage to the glider’s wings. The GPR agreed the wings would be damaged “I’d have used them as brakes!” The RAF didn’t have an answer to that. 🙂
Sorry for the quality but its a scan of a black and white photocopy – I must remember to take my scanner on my next rummage.
By: Arabella-Cox - 20th August 2008 at 21:31
…FOR FOR OPERATION COMMET READ OPERATION COMMET READ FOR OPERATION COMMET READ OPERATION COMET…
or so the story goes… 🙂
I think there were some sixteen or so aborted glider missions between D-Day and Arnhem and as mentioned, most of them were ill conceived and didn’t take into account the speed with which ground was being taken. Boxer, Axehead, Linnet, Linnet II and Comet to name a few of them. In retrospect it seems a lot of them were unsound and over ambitious.
I believe Comet was supposed to take place on the 10th September and was only cancelled some four hours before the “off”. The plan was that a single division would capture the bridge at Arnhem and part of the plan was a coupe-de-main style landing to capture the bridge similar to the Caen and Orne bridges in Normandy. It was also planned to bring the whole lot in during a single day via two huge lifts.
As I understand it, one big problem with the chosen landing sites in the polder close to the bridge was that it was within range of the massed AA guns at Deelen aerodrome which probably would of torn the gliders and tugs to bits. This was one of the reason the RAF insisted on the landing grounds to the west for Market to protect their aircraft from having to fly through it.
I was chatting to an ex-Arnhem glider pilot a few weeks ago actually and the subject of Comet (which he’d been briefed for) came up. I suggested that Comet would never of worked as even Market didn’t with three times the forces available. He quiet rightly put me in my place saying that although ultimately Market Garden didn’t achieve its final aim, the mission to capture and hold the bridge DID succeed and in fact exceed it considering the duration the bridge was held versus how long they were expected to hold it. He also mentioned that he was surprised that the coupe-de-main part of Comet was omitted from the Market plans as it has seemed a good idea, at least to him, and may of helped a lot in the scheme of things.
Incidentally a lot of the glider load lists for Market were “recycled” from Linnet and Comet. If you look at them the names and dates of the operations have been crossed out and amended. It seems the loads for many gliders were the same for each operation with only the tug crews and glider pilots being altered.
By: Pete Truman - 20th August 2008 at 20:26
Unfortunately, as far far as the Arnhem campaign was concerned, I’m sure that the General Staff were totally convinced from the outset that the Germans were so demoralised at that time, that they would totally collapse and that the whole affair would be a walkover, thats why some of your findings seem a little strange to you, along with driving the whole of XXX Corps more or less along a single road, expecting to roll all opposition before them without much of a fight.
My old man was in the forefront of the battle, he was an advanced artillery observer for Horrocks XXX Corps attack.
He encountered his worst battles of the war, mainly against SS troops prepared and well capable of giving the Allied troops a good kicking, whatever tactical decisions had been made beforehand, it meant nothing compared to what well seasoned German troops, no doubt happy to be away from the Russian Front, to be able to show what they were capable of.
In his stories he told to me, time and time again, he was saved from stupid orders from his British seniors to be rescued by American Airborne troops, wise to what was happenning.
The whole battle was an extension of Montgomery’s massive ego, it was badly planned and should never have taken place without proper forethought, many brave souls died because of that, it truly was a Bridge too Far.
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August 20, 2008 at 7:28 pm