Day 4 Operation Market Garden

Day 4: Wednesday, 20 September

Arnhem bridge

Lt. Colonel John Frost's force at the bridge continued to hold out and established communication via the public telephone system with 1st Division at around noon, to learn that the division had no hope of relieving them and that XXX Corps was stopped to the south in front of Nijmegen bridge. By the afternoon the British positions around the north end of Arnhem bridge had weakened considerably. Casualties, mostly wounded, were high from constant shelling. An acute lack of ammunition, especially anti-tank munitions, enabled enemy armour to demolish British positions from point-blank range. Food, water, and medical supplies were scarce, and so many buildings were on fire and in such serious danger of collapse that a two-hour truce was arranged to evacuate the wounded (including Lieutenant-Colonel Frost) into German care and captivity. Frederick Gough took over as commander when Frost left.

The Germans overcame remaining pockets of resistance throughout the day, gaining control of the northern bridge approaches and permitting reinforcements to cross the span and reinforce units further south near Nijmegen. The remaining British troops continued to fight on fiercely, some with just fighting knives, but by early Thursday morning almost all had been taken prisoner. The last radio message broadcast from the bridge - "Out of ammo, God save the King" - was heard only by German radio intercept operators.

While it was estimated that the entire 1st Airborne Division, 10,000 strong, would only need to hold the Arnhem bridge for two days, in fact just 740 had held it for twice as long against far heavier opposition than anticipated. While 81 British soldiers died defending Arnhem bridge, German losses cannot be stated with any accuracy, though they were certainly extremely heavy; 11 units known to have participated in the fighting reported 50% casualties after the battle. In memory of the fighting there, the bridge has been renamed the "John Frost Bridge". General James M. Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, called Frost's stand "the outstanding independent parachute battalion action of the war."

Oosterbeek
Further west, the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division were gathering at Oosterbeek for their last stand; those already in place were not seriously challenged by the enemy throughout the day. To the east of the village, the 1st, 3rd and 11th Parachute Battalions and 2nd South Staffordshires were organised into a defensive position, and in desperate fighting later in the day they bloodily repulsed an enemy attack which threatened to cut the division off from the Rhine and so seal the fate of their fragile bridgehead.

In the woods to the west of Oosterbeek, the 4th Parachute Brigade was fighting its way towards the divisional perimeter but was under severe attack from German troops, supported by artillery, mortars and tanks, some mounting flame-throwers. Their casualties were heavy; the 10th Battalion reached Oosterbeek in the early afternoon but with only 60 men.

Further in the rear, the 156th Parachute Battalion was being more hard pressed and was forced to fight off numerous enemy attacks before mounting counter-attacks of their own; indeed it is a credit to the battalion that they were so successful in these respects that the Germans did not know they were fighting men who were in full retreat.

The battalion, down to 150 men, mounted a desperate bayonet charge to capture a hollow in the ground in the woods, in which they remained pinned by enemy attacks for the next eight hours. Towards the end of the day the 75 men who could, fixed bayonets and made a highly successful break through the German lines, and so retreated into the Allied pocket at Oosterbeek.
Nijmegen
Boats ordered by the 82nd Airborne the day before failed to arrive until afternoon, and a hasty daylight assault crossing was ordered.

At about 15:00 the 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, made the crossing in 26 canvas assault boats into well-defended positions. The American unit had no training on the British-made boats. A shortage of paddles required some troopers to paddle the craft with rifle butts. About half the boats survived the crossing under heavy fire; survivors then assaulted across 200 meters (200 yards) of open ground on the far bank and seized the north end of the bridge. German forces withdrew from both ends of the bridge, which was then rushed by Guards tanks and the 2nd Battalion, 505th PIR, securing the bridge after four days of struggle. The costly attack was nicknamed "Little Omaha" in reference to Omaha Beach.

To the east, German attacks on the heights made significant progress, capturing the only remaining bridge suitable for tanks. A counterattack at Mook by elements of the 505th PIR and 4th Battalion, the Coldstream Guards, forced the Germans back to their line of departure by 20:00. However, the 508th PIR lost ground at Im Thal and Legewald when attacked by German infantry and tanks. By now it was evident that the Germans' plan was to cut the highway, which would split up the Airborne units and cut off the advance elements of XXX Corps.

To the south the running battles between the 101st and various German units continued. Eventually several Panther tanks managed to cut the roads, but pulled back when low on ammunition.

When Lieutenant-General Dempsey of the 2nd Army met General Gavin, commander of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, he is reported to have said (in reference to the Nijmegen attack), "I am proud to meet the commander of the greatest Division in the world today."