Arnhem: The Dreijenseweg and the Third Lift

[Jemima Fawr]

We're in Arnhem today:  The Third Lift and the battle for the Dreijenseweg: http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2018/05/03/operation-market-garden-the-dreijenseweg-and-the-third-lift/

[SABOT]

Terrific!

[Truscott Trotter]

very interesting scenario - not part of MG I have seen gamed before - well done - and the hand carved gliders look fine to me

[Marine0846]

Great photos that your friend took.
Really interesting game.
Thank you and your friend for the photos and the work it took to put on the game.

[Jemima Fawr]

Cheers chaps.  And as I'm taking the credit for other people's work: 'Amicalement' 

[Arrigo]

Cheers chaps.  And as I'm taking the credit for other people's work: 'Amicalement' 

that sent a chill through my spine...  anyway great game. I was supposed to go to Bovington that year... then I didn't... me silly!  I am just puzzled by the 17pdr, I have read conflicting reports on their presence in Arnhem.

Arrigo

[Jemima Fawr]

I thought it was traditional... 

Re the 17pdrs: Four Royal Artillery 17pdr Troops were flown into Arnhem.  If I recall correctly, each of the two Airlanding AT Batteries RA had 2x 17pdr Troops and 3x 6pdr Troops.  This was double the issue of 17pdrs compared to 6th Airborne Division in Normandy.

The 17pdrs remained within the proximity of the Oosterbeek perimeter (this game is set on the northern edge of that perimeter - the southern edge of the glider LZ became the Oosterbeek War Cemetery and is a short way north of the Hartenstein.

[Arrigo]

thanks for the details, made sense considering the airlanding brigade was deployed. I knew that they were supposed ot be ther,e but then in battle accounts you usually see more mention of the 6pdr (probably because there were more). Now I need to broke opne my box of PSC paratroopers and para heavy weapons...

Incidentally... Hackett was the head of my school later in his career... I never met him but people I know  (okay the very few left of the old department) did. He was a good principal.

for the other thing... I am one of those people who ran away from TMP... mr. Amicalement was one of the reasons (and others of course like it was a waste of time to find good news of good discussion in the massive noise there... ahahahaha    ).

[Jemima Fawr]

Hi Arrigo,

Oh yes, you and I have been on the same forums, on and off, since the dawn of the internet!

Re the 6pdrs: I think the reason they got the 'press' at Arnhem is because there were a lot more of them and they were primarily at the sharp-end of the battle, with a troop of four guns being assigned to each Para Battalion.  In addition to the RA 6pdrs, there were also the two 6pdr AT Platoons in each of the three Airlanding Battalions (KOSBs, Borders and S Staffs) and the Polish AT Battery, which landed during the events described in our scenario.

As it happens, the grandfather of my old Warrant Officer was a Sgt in charge of one of the 17pdrs.  He also used a borrowed Universal Carrier to drag a 'lost' 17pdr out of a wrecked Hamilcar and get it into action.  Even though unwounded, he was one of the volunteers who stayed behind to maintain the semblance of a defence while the division withdrew across the Rhine.  He was last seen trying to bribe men with cigarettes and chocolate to help him man the gun.  Sadly he's now in Oosterbeek War Cemetery and his gun is outside the Hartenstein, with a 75mm-sized hole going through gunshield and gunner's position (he was presumably killed by a Stug from Stug-Brigade 280).