68th anniversary of the crossing of the Waal River.
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For almost five years I had the honor of serving in the 307th Engineer Battalion (ABN), of the 82nd Airborne Division. Today marks the anniversary of one of the most remarkable feats of small unit battle, and C company of the 307th was instrumental in its accomplishment.
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River Crossing
307th Report of Action
The following is edited from the “Report of Action, 307 airborne (A/B) Bn, to Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division, 25 September 1944,” written in the field by Capt. Robert K. Williams. This passage is a description of the famous crossing of the Waal River near Nijmegen on 20 September 1944, carried out by the 504th PIR and Co. C of the 307th A/B Engr Battalion. Capt. Wesley Harris, whose actions are described below, jumped from the aircraft, The Argonia, Chalk No. 1, on the D-Day mission during Operation MARKET. -
On Sept. 20 at 0600 Capt. Harris received orders from the CO, 504th parachute infantry regiment (PIR), to prepare to make a river crossing at 1400 today. Col. [Reuben] Tucker told Capt. Harris he could pick up 26 assault boats near bridge No. 7 near the railroad at Nijmegen. The British were furnishing these boats, plus an officer and men for instructors in the use of the boats. Col. Tucker indicated the approximate crossing site about 600 yds. west of Nijmegen railroad bridge over the Waal River.
Capt. Harris went back to Co. C, assembled and briefed the officers at 0700 of the operation. Lt. Sabia was sent after the boats on a captured German motorcycle. The British furnished trucks to haul the boats. Lt. Bigler was assigned to select boat crews and instruct each crew. The Co. was made ready to move on instructions from Capt. Harris.
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Capt. Harris, Lts. Patrick J. Mulloy, Ullrich, McLeod, & Holabird, and 4 enlisted men were sent out to make a reconnaissance, following Co I, 504th Inf., which was assaulting toward the river. They arrived at river banks at about 1200; sporadic fighting.
Snipers and stragglers were taken. Co. I, 504th Inf., picked up 50 to 60 prisoners. The site was picked on the recon, and Lt. Mulloy was sent back to guide the Co. to a factory, the Nijmegen power plant. Lt. Sabia arrived with the boats at 1315 and the Co. arrived at the factory at 1330. The recon party stayed and located a forward assembly area, plus dispersion areas for boats, noting the current of the river, and the loading area for the second lift.
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By 1330, Capt. Harris reported to Col. Tucker at his forward CP and found that he had set back the crossing one hour to 1500. He then conferred with Maj. Julian A. Cook, assault battalion commander, and made final arrangements for the assault. It was decided that smoke was to be placed at crossing site at H-minus-5 minutes,* and troops would start for water over banks at H-minus-3 minutes. At H-minus-20 minutes the Co. was in position, the boats had been unloaded from the vehicles, and were placed in dispersal areas. Boats hit the water at H-minus-3 minutes.
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Knee-deep in mud with the heavy boats made moving to water slower than anticipated. By the time the last boat had hit the water, the smoke had cleared. Twenty-six boats with three engineers on each boat were used. Lt. John A. Holabird [Chalk No. 2] and 11 men went in one boat to clear mines on far shore, and to find anti-tank guns. This used up all personnel. All officers except Lt. Bigler who was in charge of the near-shore operations went across.
Machine guns (20mm), mortars and 88mm gun opened up on the first wave, while half-way across. Losses were heavy. Sixteen boats were left on the far shore, and 10 returned for the second lift. [Of the 260 men in the first crossing, approximately half were killed or wounded].
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The enemy laid heavy fire on the far shore after the first wave attempting to forestall additional waves. The 20mm fire came from the south end of bridge, some machine-gun fire from the bridge; 88mm fire came from north end of bridge, mortar and machine-gun fire came from the woods in the front. Six of the engineers who came back on the 10 boats were wounded and unable to make another trip. Lt. Bigler collected all available men, due to the shortage of engineers, for the second crossing.
The fire had decreased by the time the second wave crossed. After the third or fourth crossing, no fire was left except snipers. By the time the assault battalion got across, some men of the 307th had rowed across river five times. On the second trip the wounded men started coming back across. Co. C lost 34 men on the assault—8 killed and 26 wounded. On September 22, the Company moved back to the Battalion area.
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In summary, “This crossing was made in broad daylight using British canvas assault boats. Each wave cost numerous casualties in both infantry and engineers, due to point blank enemy fire of small arms and automatic weapons. The crossing was highly successful; the Nijmegen highway and railroad bridges were secured intact” (307th).
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The book and movie, A Bridge too Far, recount the entire history of Operation Market Garden.
As I said earlier, it was my distinct honor, to carry on the legacy of this these outstanding paratroopers.
"All the Way!"
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Wat a truly great post about truly great men (including you)👍👍must of felt a great sense of honour to serve in the regiment. Anybody who hasn't seen or read about it,do. It's an amazing piece of history
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dc one wrote:
👍Wat a truly great post about truly great men (including you)👍👍must of felt a great sense of honour to serve in the regiment. Anybody who hasn't seen or read about it,do. It's an amazing piece of history
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ℜagɳar Loðbrók wrote:
Good movie tooThe book and movie, A Bridge too Far, recount the entire history of Operation Market Garden.
As I said earlier, it was my distinct honor, to carry on the legacy of this these outstanding paratroopers.
"All the Way!"
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Wow...👏👏👏
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An excellent rememberance. Nice work soldier.👍
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