22–24 September – Holding the Line
Delayed by the weather, Stanisław Sosabowski’s 1st (Polish) Parachute
Brigade nally took off on Friday 22nd. Of the 114 C-47s, 41 turned
back, but the rest pressed on despite communication issues. A message
from Arnhem, warning the Poles that their planned drop zone (DZ ‘K’)
was not secure, instructed them to land instead on the polder east of
Driel and secure the Heveadorp ferry on the south bank of the Rhine.
The Poles dropped under re at 17:00, suffering some casualties but
assembling in good order. Upon reaching the river, they found the
ferry had been sunk by its operator to prevent its use by the Germans.
The arrival of the Poles relieved some of the pressure on the British, as
the Germans were forced to divert troops south of the Rhine. Unable
to contact the Poles by radio, a runner swam across the river to ask
them to wait for rafts to cross and reinforce the men in the Oosterbeek
perimeter, where heavy ghting continued and casualties were quickly
mounting at aid posts.
Meanwhile, General Bittrich ordered a major offensive to destroy the
British bridgehead. At 09:00, attacks began from all sides, but the
Germans made only small gains. However, simultaneous attacks in
the afternoon proved more effective, forcing the King’s Own Scottish
Borderers to briey fall back before they counter-attacked and retook
their positions. Recognizing the futility of holding a tactically unimportant
position, Urquhart ordered his northern units to fall back and establish
a shorter defensive line.
The same day, two of Urquhart’s staff ofcers swam the Rhine again
to arrange for six rubber boats to be sent from the north bank to allow
the Poles to cross. However, the cable meant to guide the boats broke,
and the current was too strong. Only 55 Poles managed to cross before
morning, and only 35 of those made it into the perimeter.
Saturday 23rd sae Urquhart and his men endure further pressure as
German attacks shifted south, aiming to push the British away from the
river and crush any hope of reinforcement or escape. Though these
assaults failed to break the perimeter, they relentlessly wore down