They were trapped in the attic for another 24 hours when a German
self-propelled gun parked right in front of the house.
19–21 September – The Siege Tightens
The rst opportunity for Urquhart’s escape came in the early hours
of Tuesday, September 19, when men from the 2nd South Staffords
advanced into the area during the ill-fated 1st Battalion breakthrough.
The inux of British paratroopers near the St. Elisabeth Hospital
forced the German self-propelled gun to leave, clearing the way for
Urquhart. Upon reaching his division’s headquarters, he discovered
a situation rapidly falling apart and bordering on unsalvageable. The
day, now known as “Black Tuesday,” concluded with a sense of utter
hopelessness.
By Wednesday the 20th, the 1st Airborne Division was too depleted
to mount a rescue attempt for Frost’s men at the bridge. Eight of
their nine infantry battalions were either badly damaged or scattered,
leaving only the 1st Battalion, The Border Regiment as a cohesive
ghting force. Faced with this grim reality, Urquhart made the difcult
decision to abandon the 2nd Parachute Battalion to their fate.
Urquhart hoped to hold out by forming a defensive perimeter around
Oosterbeek and securing the Driel ferry crossing, waiting for XXX
Corps to reach them and establish a new bridgehead across the Rhine.
The day’s supply drop was no more successful than the previous one.
Despite a message reaching Britain to arrange a new drop zone near the
Hotel Hartenstein, some aircraft still ew to the original drop zone (LZ
‘Z’), where their supplies were captured by the Germans. Meanwhile,
at Oosterbeek, the Germans used British marker panels and ares to
trick the aircraft, making it nearly impossible for the pilots to distinguish
the correct drop zones. Of the 164 aircraft involved, ten were shot
down, and only a meagre 13 percent of the supplies reached the British.
Urquhart nally managed to contact Frost at the bridge, delivering the
grim news that reinforcements were unlikely to get through. Frost was
wounded shortly after, and command passed to Major Gough. All British
resistance at the bridge ceased by 5:00 a.m. on Thursday morning.