Ambush at Wolfheze (Arnhem) - 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
- Ambush at Wolfheze (Arnhem) - 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron
With Jo Hook and Edwin Popken
More Operation Market Garden and Arnhem content on WW2TV
• Operation Market Garde...
76 years on to the day and hour, join Jo Hook as she leads us along the route taken by Jeeps of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron from the LZ/DZ through Wolfheze on to Arnhem. Jo is a well known battlefield guide from the UK and will be on the ground together with Edwin Popken, also a well-known battlefield guide and historian who will provide an additional camera.
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Jo Hook on Twitter / jojohook2003
Hosting the show as usual, will be Paul Woodadge who will tell the story of Trooper William Chandler who was in one of the Jeeps ambushed in Wolfheze. Bill was captured in the incident and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. Paul has in his collection Chandler's POW camp diary, photos, medals and souvenirs.
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Dickie Minns was a friend of mine, he told me he should've been on the jeep that got shot up but was put on a different one, consequently when the bodies were recovered his kit was found on the wrong jeep and he was presumed KIA and his family informed. In truth he was in hospital very poorly unable to let anyone know who he was, when he came home he said it was as if coming back from the dead. A very nice unassuming bloke and an honour to have met him.
Why have I only just viewed this presentation??
With tears in my eyes I say a big thank you to the team for the production! I am the nephew of the late, great Trooper Arthur Barlow and treasure all his war memorabilia. We had a lot of love for each other as he had no children, after a rough time as a POW
My auntie lived as a widow for 6 mths after a killed in action report, following his last minute, life-saving swap to Peter Bucknall’s jeep. Arthur produced a limited publication of his experiences at Arnhem, after pressure from his family to put pen to paper.
Wow, thanks for sharing. I would love to read Arthur's account if at all possible
@@WW2TV please send email and postal address and I’ll do a bound colour copy for you on Uncle Arthur’s behalf!
Great episode Paul and gang. I’m hoping to follow this route when I go in September!
Great Story. Never knew much about these first hours of Market Garden.
Yet another terrific show! And please, you must do a significant Arnhem show!!! I know much of what was there during the war is now gone or drastically changed, but I would still love to have a show that takes in the key scenes of battle in town.
Wolfheze is where my Mother is from. She was age 17 in 1944 Sept 17. Mom worked at the dchool for the the blind and led many of her charges to a shelter when the bombing began.
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I love Jo's prepared presentation. Edwin's clambering around really complemented that. The terrain is important to the story. I like these small vignettes on WW2TV, packed with history, insight and an almost archeological study of the battleground.
My Gt Uncle was in the 21st Independent Parachute Regiment.. (Pathfinders)
Fantastic stuff ,You Jo, and Edwin ,and that beret really suits you Paul ..👍
Fantastic personalised view of the ambush. Excellent stream.
Superb broadcast....thank you to all involved..
I really enjoy Jo's narrative, thank you!
Super interesting presentation today many thanks for the team effort on this it was excellent
Amazing story and amazing presentation of you guys. ❤
Another great show, Jo passion for the arnhem story is clear
Good idea to pick out a special story. Really like it.
I think the confusion at Divisional HQ about the Recce Squadron's jeeps not having arrived was probably down to some officer asking members of A Troop (who were assigned to HQ for the 17th and not to the bridge run) why they didn't have their jeeps - at that point six of their jeeps were still stuck in the gliders and the other two were in a glider that had had to turn back. I imagine the officer assumed they were talking about the squadron as a whole, whilst whoever they asked was talking about just their troop.
The talk made it sound as though the squadron's assembly at the RV was quite soon after the landings. It wasn't - it was at least an hour after landing before the first jeeps set off because of all the bad landings. They were also three jeeps short - HQ/Admin Troop had one stuck in a glider up in a tree and one in a glider that had turned back; D Troop were missing one because Lt Marshall and his driver, Trooper Joe Irala, got lost between the LZ and the RV.
I've never really understood why, when they encountered Krafft's blocking line, they didn't do one or more of the following:
1) Dismount their Vickers K Guns to add to the covering fire from their Bren guns
2) Bring up the Polsten guns and 3" mortars of the Support Troop
3) Try to get around the block to the north
Shit happens fast during combat. It is easy to second guess if one soldier should have done this or that and at a specific time. They were caught off guard by a strong defensive position of German troops who heard their vehicles coming along that path.
I have Robert Hilton's book on the unit and I believe they tried (3) - but were still under fire from Krafft's flank protection platoon 'Wiegand', which had ambushed the leading Jeeps. Not sure how easy it is to do (1) or if there is a procedure to do that (with no bipod or tripod, how do you use it? Like a Hollywood hero just firing from the hip?) - they used the Brens for dismounted actions and ensured every Jeep had one after Gough failed to get authorisation for a .50 cal or twin Vickers to be mounted. I don't know if they tried (2) to no effect. The unit was trained and equipped for reconnaissance, not fighting their way through a German defence line. They halted and reported back for orders, but due to the communications problems didn't get new orders. Major Gough found himself at the bridge (with just two Jeeps) and out of communication with the Squadron while trying to locate Lathbury and Urquhart.
Great show sir.
Great upload as usual. Working through the playlist. Brilliant information and like the way done with a bit of story plus actually on the ground
7:30 Trooper Ronald Brumwell was my Great Cousin. Fascinating video folks.
Howdy folks. Interesting tale of one of the first fights at Arnhem. Great video that gives a unique perspective and expert narration. Good job and it was not cheesy.
Superb presentation on a fascinating subject. I love these quite specific studies
Just caught up with this - well done, all!
Thanks John, Edwin and Jo were awesome
Thus was great more from Arnhem please
At this moment i am reading the book: "De Slag om Arnhem", (The Battle for Arnhem) from British historian Antony Beevoor, and i have to say: it's an excellent book!!
It is the considered opinion of many historians that his book is one of the worst on the subject. Here are my suggestions ua-cam.com/users/livehlSfQv-2STo?si=Al_MvPn-HOxx2pjR
@@WW2TV You are talking out of your ass!!
No need to be insulting. What's your expertise on the matter, may I ask? How many other books on Arnhem have you read to compare it to?
it really shows you how fast the German troops reacted to the landings.
Krafft's training battalion were already there in Oosterbeek instead of in their barracks in Arnhem, where they were supposed to be bombed by the RAF, because he was the only officer at a dinner hosted by Model to take seriously a warning from 3.Jagd-Division commander based at Deelen airfield that the fields west of Model's HQ around Wolfheze were ideal landing zones for airborne troops. Model dismissed the warning, because he felt safe behind so many river barriers and that the area was too deep behind the lines for the Allies to risk an airborne operation. Nevertheless, Krafft thought it best to move his two training companies out of their barracks and had them camped in the woods around Oosterbeek Hoog station and his own HQ moved into the Villa Waldfriede as additional protection for Model. So, they had just enough time to move into blocking positions at Wolfheze and delay the first British movements.
Thank you so much for such a professional narrative by Ms. Jo Hook and Edwin Popkin!! It was interesting to know that the 1st Airborne Recce was the first to have made contact with Kampfguppe Kraft. What a gem to have such people to watch the efforts of such dedicated enthusiasts. I hope that they should write a book about Market Garden someday.
Our pleasure! I just wish I had been on the ground with them. One of my favourite battlefields to visit
I've read the accounts and I've seen all the maps, but this terrain walk made things so much cleaner.
Paul this account of the 1st Airborne recce Sqdn ,was this Freddy Goff's Jeep Sqdn that was mentioned in the film Bridge to far ??
Yes indeed
My partner's grandfather dropped with the 1st airborne. He was captured on day 1, 17 September 1944. Unfortunately we don't know very much about what happened. He never spoke of the details to anyone. I managed to get his POW record from the German authorities. His family have the military record but that says very little.
What unit was he with? Because there are brilliant unit histories out there that may have info
@@WW2TV He was with the Army Physical Training Corps. We have no idea why he went with them as a physical training instructor but he was there with the first paras. The one detail he gave was while he was watching the Falklands war back in the day was that he dropped with the same battalion that was mentioned, he first paras. His capture record is on the National Archives site. It would be nice to know about his involvement and why the APTC may have been there or a history about the first paras involvement. His son thought he may have been there in a protection role for the senior officers but who knows. He was captured on the 18th not the 17th, so day 2.
@@Latbirget- not sure I read your post correctly, but do you think he was in the 1st Parachute Battalion? Each battalion has three APTC instructors attached from the APTC Corps, according to the February 1944 war establishment. They are not classified as "non-jumpers" - i.e. part of the 'sea tail' logistics column that is supposed to link up overland, or remain in the depot back in the UK, so he absolutely would have jumped with the battalion into Arnhem.
If he was in 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, it is a very special unit - when Churchill ordered the formation of an airborne corps of troops, the army did the usual thing of looking around to see what it already had in the box that could be readily converted and saw that the second battalion of the SAS (officially called No.11 Commando, Special Air Service Brigade) were undergoing parachute training at the time, so they converted them to 1st Battalion of the new Parachute Regiment, much to the troopers' disappointment! Recently, the 1st Battalion have been designated a 'Ranger' Battalion, like the American model, in order to support the SAS on large operations, so they have almost come full circle back to their wartime roots.
If you can confirm which battalion he was in ("1st Battalion", "1st Para", "1 Para" Battalion - although the uniform badges used Roman numerals "I", "II", "III" etc.), I can guide you on their role and their fate in the operation. There may be books on the specific unit - I have one on 2nd Battalion that was at the bridge.
Hi Dave thank you very much for this information. It is very helpful, in particular knowing that 3 APTC officers were attached to each battalian. Yes he was attached to the 1st Parachute Battalian as part of his APTC role. We understand he was given a revolver during the operation and was attached to command officer. He was the champion boxer for the regiment first paras. It was these skills that the army were interested in and may explain why he was on bodyguard duty attached to command. Any information you can point us to would be very much appreciated. As an aside, his brother served in Oxford and Buckinghamshire light infantry and was killed in action in Burma in 6 May 1944. If you have any information on that it would be also be appreciated. @@davemac1197