England, like Naples, was beginning to tell on 504 men – it was better than Naples, almost like home in many respects, but training day in and day out, inspections, reviews, practice jumps, and the usual activities that accompany garrison life made each day more monotonous. The paratroopers, battered from previous campaigns in Sicily and Italy, knew better than to hope for another combat mission – but they wanted to go somewhere; anywhere for a change.
“Dry runs” came one after the other; missions were scheduled for France, Belgium, Holland, and were eventually cancelled, some at the last minute. For three days the regiment was held at an English airport waiting for the weather to clear so that they could jump in Belgium ahead of Gen. Patton’s forces. By the time the fog had lifted, however, old “Blood and Guts” had overrun the drop zone; the 504 was returned to its camp in Leicester.
Then on September 15, word came again – back to the airports, this time for a proposed jump ahead of Gen. Dempsey’s British Second Army. As usual, most men felt that this was another dry run; the briefing seemed to confirm this conviction. The mission called for the Airborne Army to descend from the skies and occupy bridges over the extensive waterways of Southern and Central Holland, thus giving British tanks a clear path to the Zuyder Zee, and providing Gen. Eisenhower with a leftflank sweep around the Siegfried Line defenses – it was to be the jump to end the war in Europe.
No one believed that this operation would be carried out; the 504, jumping as part of the 82nd Airborne Division, was to descend 57 miles behind enemy lines in the vicinity of Grave, Holland, and take the longest span bridge in Europe over the Maas River, along with two other bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal.
Plans were drawn up; E Company was to jump south of the Maas River. The remainder of the 2nd Battalion would descend north of the river, thus forming a grip on the Grave Bridge that Supreme Headquarters had ordered to be taken at all costs. The 1st Battalion was to jump farther north and take bridges Seven and Eight over the Maas-Waal Canal; the 3rd Battalion would jump between the 1st and 2nd Battalions, and for the initial part of the mission, be in reserve.
This, to men of the 504, seemed to be even more fantastic than their proposed Rome and Capua jumps back in Italy – especially when they were told that the line of flight would be over the Scheldt Estuary; a route that bomber pilots had appropriately named “flak alley”. Then when S-2 revealed that there were supposedly 4,000 SS troops and a German tank park in the area, battle-wise paratroopers laughed up their sleeves; this had to be a dry run, because tanks are the nemesis of airborne troops, and in addition to this, the enemy would have overwhelming superiority in numbers.
No word of cancellation was received, however, and the morning of the 16th dawned with a heavy fog hanging over the airport; even if “Ike” wasn’t fooling on this operation, it would be impossible to take off today. A light rain began to fall and men of the regiment were expecting at any minute to be told to return to their camp. That afternoon, however, invasion currency was issued and word was received that tomorrow, the 17th, would be “it” – regardless of the weather.
A light drizzle again greeted the eyes of anxious paratroopers when they arose on the following morning. By 0900 the skies were clearing, and the sun was making a valiant effort to break through the overcast. A combination breakfast-dinner of hot cakes and syrup, fried chicken with all the trimmings, and good hot coffee with apple pie, was given to the jumpers before plane loading began; their next meal would be in Holland.
Planes loaded with equipment bundles and nervous but determined paratroopers sped down the runways and into the air, leaving the English countryside like a green and brown checkerboard, behind them. Men peered out of the planes’ windows with varying degrees of emotion; to many this was old stuff. They were veterans, but still they wondered if this was the time that the law of averages would catch up with them. Others said a silent goodbye to England, and wondered if they would ever see the place again. Others fidgeted nervously with their equipment, and in voices two tones higher than normal pitch would ask, “Hey Joe, look an’ see if my reserve is fastened, will ya?”
The English coast passed under the seemingly endless string of C-47s that blackened the skies, and soon the first islands off the Holland coast loomed into view. Only a few flashes from enemy guns were spotted; one plane, with a thin trail of smoke streaming from its underside, began disgorging paratroopers. Anxiously men in other planes watched as the chutes blossomed; one, two, three, eight, nine – and then the plane, with a brilliant flash of fire and smoke, crashed into the flooded lowlands below. An American fighter, like an angry hawk, zoomed down through the formation of transport planes and loosed a hail of lead on the German anti-aircraft battery; the enemy fired no more.
Dutch people standing beside little red and green-roofed houses waved handkerchiefs at the low flying planes; German motor convoys could be seen to stop and the vehicles’ occupants, obviously allergic to Allied aircraft, scurry for cover in ditches and nearby fields.
At 1231, pathfinder men of the 504 landed on the DZ and thus became the first Allied troops to land in Holland; 34 minutes later the regiment, with C Company, 307 Parachute Engineers, “hit the silk” and the greatest airborne invasion in history was officially on.
By the time the last plane of the last serial had droned over the horizon, elements of the 504 had assembled and were already on their way to their individual objectives. E Company, which was dropped according to plan on the south side of the Maas River, moved up toward the Grave Bridge and the remainder of the 2nd Battalion moved toward the same bridge from the north side. Though there were enemy units of company strength in the vicinity of the bridge, the tactical surprise achieved by the 504 was so complete as to deny to the enemy the full advantage of their extensive network of defenses. However, a sharp firefight lasting several hours ensued before the bridge was secured.
The 1st and 3rd Battalions moved into their previously assigned sectors and several hours later the 1st Battalion reported that bridge number Seven was taken intact, after encountering conditions similar to those at the Grave Bridge, but that bridge number Eight had been destroyed by the Germans. The 3rd Battalion, originally intended to remain in reserve, was split up and deployed in support of the 2nd Battalion along the Maas River and also along the north-west perimeter of the regiment’s zone of responsibility.
By 1800, the 504 had accomplished its assigned missions; in just under four hours the regiment had jumped, assembled, engaged the enemy and taken its objectives – 57 miles behind enemy lines; an all-time record for assembly and efficiency as far as airborne operations were concerned.
For the next two days the regiment held tight, improving its defensive circumference with little or no change in the general tactical situation. Combat and reconnaissance patrols were aggressively pushed forward with the enemy being contacted in increasing strength at all points.
The morning of September 19 brought new activity to the 504. The Irish Guards, spearheading the 30th Corps of the British Second Army, were contacted early in the morning at bridge number Eleven (the Grave Bridge) and, all that day they rumbled through in tanks and trucks. Towards noon the roar of hundreds of aircraft engines reverberated over the countryside and presently 150 gleaming silver B-24 bombers thundered in at tree-top height to sprinkle the area with a thousand equipment bearing parachutes of various blazing colors. Later on, in the afternoon of the same day the 1st and 3rd Battalions moved into an assembly area in the vicinity of Nijmegen, while the 2nd Battalion remained in the Grave sector in control of bridges Seven, Eight, and Eleven.
On the following day all three battalions, less E and F Companies of the 2nd Battalion, were In position on the south bank of the Waal River about 400 yards downstream from the Nijmegen railroad bridge waiting for orders to make an assault crossing of the river in the face of fanatical German defenders. The Nijmegen highway and railroad bridges formed the last remaining link with British airborne forces who had jumped at Arnhem, and were the factors upon which an advance to the North depended.
British tanks pulled up behind the river bank to give direct artillery support to the paratroopers who, under intense artillery and small arms fire from the far shore, felt that this would be their last attack; even high British officials had termed it ” impossible “, but it had to be done.
The first wave of the 3rd Battalion, selected to make the initial assault, raced through a hail of lead across the open beach and loaded into 16-man canvas assault boats. Paratroopers from C Company, 307 Engineers, manned the craft and in an operation that correspondents termed “worse than Tarawa”, began the bloody 400-yard assault crossing of the lower Rhine (the Waal).
Direct fire from German 88’s, flak wagons, 20mm cannon, machine guns, and enemy riflemen splattered on all sides; fountains of water caused by exploding shells filled the air; men slumped in the boats; some were blown into the river, but those remaining, with rifles, helmets, and even with their hands, paddled furiously for the opposite shore. Many boats were sunk, while the occupants of those which safely reached the other side were so exhausted by the effort expended in the maneuvering of the craft in the river’s swift current that some were nauseous to the point of vomiting.
Of the 26 boats that made up the initial wave, only 11 were in condition to return across the river for succeeding waves. As the engineers returned for the second wave, men of the 3rd Battalion charged up the opposite shore in the face of homicidal grazing fire. Bayoneting the enemy in their foxholes, knocking out machine gun nests with grenades, the men moved in from the river and, miraculously, established a firm bridgehead.
Shortly afterwards the 1st Battalion moved across and the two units swung around to the right in a large arc to flank the vital Nijmegen bridges on the road to Arnhem. The 1st Battalion assaulted and captured medieval Fort Lent, while the 3rd Battalion moved on around the Fort to cut off the northern approaches to the bridges.
Three hours later the 3rd Battalion was fighting on a perimeter 1000 yards north of the river. The 1st Battalion had captured Fort Lent and progressed beyond. Prisoners were streaming back to the rear by the hundreds; hundreds of other Germans lay dead and dying. On the railroad bridge alone, 267 enemy dead were found; many others fell into the raging river below. British tanks were now moving across the road bridge on their way to Arnhem in relief of the hard-pressed British 1st Airborne Division. A British general, watching the crossing from the near side of the river epitomized the attack when he shook his head and said, “Unbelievable”.
Though the casualties suffered by the 504 in this battle were heavier than in any previous operation, with the exception of the Sicilian jump, they were small in comparison to those of the enemy.
The days following the Waal crossing were characterized by a general reshuffling of forces. The 2nd Battalion relieved one battalion of the 508, while the 1st and 3rd Battalions, after several days on the north side of the river, returned to relieve the remainder of the 508.
From that time until October 12, the 504 held a defensive line southeast of Nijmegen running from the river near Erlkom, along the southwest shore of the Wyler-Meer to the Den Huevel Woods. This period was fraught by constant and sharp attacks by the enemy supported by tanks and heavy artillery. None of these attacks, however, gained any ground and activities for the most part consisted of strong and frequent patrolling occasioned by raids on enemy positions. On October 12, the regimental line was shortened by three miles and extended from the northern tip of Wyler-Meer south to Vossendaal.
Initially it was planned to have one battalion hold the line while the other two remained in reserve. However, after several days the regiment reverted to the customary procedure of maintaining a defensive line with two battalions up and one behind – one battalion being rotated into reserve every seven days.
With the stabilization of the front, each day saw additional improvements both in the enemy’s defensive situation and in those of the regiment. Enemy forces were reinforced, while their defensive fortifications were supplemented by extensive minefields and barbed wire entanglements. The 504 line underwent a similar transition.
Patrols designed to penetrate the enemy’s OPLR met increasing resistance and casualties resulting from the detonating of enemy mines increased daily. It became an exceedingly difficult matter to obtain prisoners, satisfactory results being obtained only by raids made in platoon or more strength and directly supported by artillery fire.
Almost without exception, offensive and reconnaissance actions were confined to the hours of darkness. This was particularly true of the enemy since the 504, controlling the high ground, had the advantage of observation. German artillery fire was heavy, ranging from 50mm mortar shells to gigantic 210mm rocket projectiles, which fell too frequently within the regimental area. However, though heavy casualties were suffered as a result of enemy artillery fire, it is a fair assumption (based on prisoners’ reports and other Information) that German casualties were disproportionately higher.
Statistically, the 504 established an approximate advantage of ten to one over the enemy in regard to casualties suffered during the period 17 September, through 13 November 1944 – the date on which the regiment was relieved by the 8th Canadian Brigade. On the Holland mission, the 504 spent 57 consecutive days in the line without relief and amassed a casualty total of 98 men killed, 88 missing in action, and 443 wounded. On the other hand, the regiment captured 919 of the enemy, killed approximately 1100, and wounded an inestimable, but undoubtedly much larger number.
The regimental motto, “Strike-Hold”, had never been more forcefully demonstrated on the battlefield. The 504, tired but unconquerable, had gallantly maintained its record of never having failed to accomplish a mission, and of never having relinquished any ground it had once occupied. Prime Minister Winston Churchill said this about the Holland airborne operation: “Not in vain maybe the pride of those who have survived, the epitaph of those who died.” It was with glad hearts that men of the 504 boarded trucks, passed through Belgium, and arrived at their new camp in France.