WWII: Airborne assault on bridge too far

Brian Marshall concludes the war story of his father-in-law John Dakin with his role in the Arnhem landings.

Troops board a Horsa glider used during Operation Market Garden (the landings at Arnhem

Major General Browning who famously said, on landing in Holland during Operation Market Garden, that Arnhem was "a bridge too far"

An aerial view of Arnhem's "bridge too far"

Paratroopers dropping over Holland during Operation Market Garden in September 1944

Prisoners-of-war in Stalag 11A where John Dakin, of Willington, was initially taken after being captured at Arnhem during the Second World War

John and Ann Dakin, of Willington, with their children, David and Pat (Brian Marshall’s wife), after the Second World War

John Dakin, of Willington, was soldier in the Airbourne Division who was taken prisoner at Arnhem in the Second World War

IN November 1943, the 1st Airborne was recalled to England and John’s personal records show that he arrived back in Liverpool on December 10. In January 1944, the 2nd battalion were stationed at Woodall Spa, in Lincolnshire, and there they prepared for the invasion of Europe, expected to commence that year.

The brigade was seriously depleted after Sicily and they had to be brought up to strength quickly. Some men had volunteered as paratroops rather than risk another Sicily debacle and, as an incentive, received double the extra shilling a day that glider troops were given.

Eventually, young recruits had to be introduced and also some transferred from other regiments. John decided to stay where he was as an airborne infantryman.

In the coming months, training for the 2nd Staffs intensified in anticipation of their involvement in the invasion. They were training particularly with the British-made Horsa glider of which much was expected.

The glider, made of wood with a light covering, was sturdy and manoeuvrable.

It was manned with two glider pilots and was towed by an aircraft by means of a hemp rope.

When towed, it could reach a speed of 127mph, and when released, a gliding speed of 100mph.

The Horsa glider could transport up to 25 troops and, with less troops, could carry a small jeep and anti-tank gun. After landing, it was possible to jettison the rear end by means of removing eight pins and this enabled quick disembarking of men and equipment.

The brigade was not, as expected, involved in the D-Day landings at Normandy. In August, the now Field Marshal Montgomery, earmarked the brigade to take part in his speculative plan of landing airborne troops 80 miles behind enemy lines in Holland to capture three bridges on the River Rhine.

The operation to capture the bridge at Arnhem was codenamed Market Garden and was, of course, highly secret.

On September 3 the South Staffs were airlifted with their gilders from Woodhall Spa down to RAF Manston, Kent.

There they remained billeted until the powers that be decided the date, when weather conditions and other factors were advantageous, for the operation to take place.

The date was on and off several times until Sunday, September 17, was decided upon.

The men were briefed on the Saturday and John was included in the first of three planned landings which were to take place on consecutive days.

John’s records clearly state that he was enplaned on the Sunday for North-West Europe.

The South Staffordshire’s were airlifted from Manston at around noon and arrived at their landing zone in the early afternoon. By all accounts, after release from their tugs, the landings took place without much of a hitch.

The men had no parachutes and would have relied entirely on the skill of their two pilots. The usual procedure was to link arms prior to landing, with feet off the ground and hope for the best which, of course, depended on the terrain.

Another danger they could have faced were salvos of ack-ack shells, had the enemy been alert.

After landing, the men quickly disembarked with their equipment and secured the outer perimeter of the fields to make way for subsequent landings.

During the first day, 350 gliders were used. In one of them was Major General Browning who was heard to utter the now famous words: “The troops are being asked to do a lot, the bridge is likely to be too far distant from the landing zone.”

And so it proved to be; a distance of eight miles to Arnhem bridge.

Later in the day, the South Staffordshire’s were instructed to proceed to their objective and make their way to Arnhem on foot, along with other units.

They had been briefed that the German defences were light and not much of a problem. What was not known at the time was that two divisions of Waffen SS troops were resting and regrouping in woods around Arnhem, after withdrawing from action in Normandy.

These were battle-hardened troops, and even at this late stage of the war were the most professional army in the field. They were also equipped with much better armoury than the Allies and were immediately called forward with their tanks to defend Arnhem bridge.

What followed were days of bitter and bloody fighting as the Allies inched forward towards Arnhem. The South Staffordshire’s fought with honour, as battles became more fierce with groups taking part in street to street and house to house fighting.

Casualties were very heavy on both sides as the area became a hell of shells, mortars and automatic gunfire.

Supplies of food were dropped for the now hungry British troops but, unfortunately, most fell into German hands.

The men now had to rely on handouts from Dutch inhabitants who were hoping for liberation.

The town’s water supply had also been cut off by the Germans leaving the Allies having to scavenge water from toilet cisterns.

Most of the 1st Airborne Division were now being squeezed into an area around the village of Oosterbeek and their position was becoming desperate; more and more men were being wounded or taken prisoner.

After eight days of fighting, a decision was made to withdraw the remnants of the Airborne Division and evacuate them over the River Rhine to safety.

Of the 10,200 men of the British lst Airborne Division who had landed at Arnhem nine days previously, 1,400 were killed, about 6,500 were taken prisoner, wounded or missing, and more than 2,000 were evacuated to British lines.

The SS, unlike on other occasions during the war, observed the Geneva Convention for those captured during the battle.

The records of the 2nd battalion the South Staffordshire Regiment show that during Operation Market Garden they lost 85 men, 558 were recorded as missing and 124 were evacuated to safety out of a total of 767 men that had originally landed in Holland.

The battle for Arnhem can only be classed as a failure. There are many reasons given for this, one of them being a landing too far from its objective.

Although its aim was to shorten the war and get to the German heartlands sooner, it is thought by many that it was a risk too great to land so many troops behind enemy lines without proper planning.

The advancing Allied Army pushing on through Belgium were not given enough time to relieve the men at Arnhem and the still significant strength of the German army was underestimated.

Referring back to John’s Army records, they show that he was reported missing on September 19 (three days into the fighting). The next entry, on September 26, shows that he was a prisoner of war in Stalag 11B which was situated at Fallingbostel in Germany.

We think this may have been a holding camp because, on November 6, he had been transferred to Stalag 11A at Neubrandenburg, close to the Polish border.

We do not know what privations he may have endured in the winter months while there, but an account by an American soldier who was there, tells of severe cold weather and not much food.

John’s son, David, has a prized possession relating to his father’s time spent in the prison camp. David was only one year old at the time, and his father would have been hoping for the end of the war so that he could return home to his wife and son.

John had befriended a fellow prisoner who was Russian, who decided to make and give him a present for his son. The result was a small ornate box with a lid.

The Russian had wandered around the camp collecting bits of wood, grasses and straw. The box was a work of art. Inscribed on the lid are the words, “David John, Stalag 11A 1945”.

John Dakin was liberated by the Russian Army and, from what he told me, all his German guards were shot by the Russians in retribution for the atrocities committed on their population.

He was returned home on May 17, 1945.

Although still a regular soldier, regulations allowed him to apply for discharge from the Army and this he elected to do. He was released in March 1946. He and his family made their home in London and a daughter, Pat (my wife), was born in 1947.

Unfortunately, three years later John’s young wife, Ann, tragically died. He then returned with his children to his roots in Willington, eventually remarrying and settling in Derby where he remained until his death in 1991.

His later working life was spent with Derby City Council where he worked as an attendant and, after retirement, he worked part-time at the Assembly Rooms.

Knowing his modest character, I have a feeling my father-in-law would not have thanked me for attempting to chronicle his story but, as the 60th anniversary year of the end of the Second World War draws to a close, I think it is a story worth telling.

It should remind us what our fathers and grandfathers experienced in the war, so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.

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