German Forces

The Fallen - 10th SS Panzer Division, Arnhem.

Unknown author/?Bundesarchiv.

Dead pioneer of 10th SS Panzer Division, "Frundsberg" on the road bridge, Arnhem, Operation Market Garden, 1944. The 10th SS Panzer, which had been raised in contemplation of a probable Allied invasion of France, suffered very severe casualties in the Normandy campaign. In its aftermath, the Division, in the company of 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" (11 SS Panzer Corps), was withdrawn to rest, recuperate and reconstruct in the supposedly inactive area of Arnhem, Netherlands. When the key, northern element of Market Garden was launched by British and Polish paratroopers, paras landed on the north bank of the river Nedderijn were generally unsuccessful in reaching their objectives, owing in the main to the unexpected intervention of soldiers of 9th and 10th SS Panzer. An exception was a scratch squad commanded by Lt. Colonel John ("Jack") Frost, MC, which succeeded in reaching the north end of the Arnhem road bridge and occupying strong positions in buildings overlooking the bridge. The élite Reconnaissance Battalion of "Hohenstaufen" attempted to eliminate the British enclave by attacking across the bridge from the south, but this attack descended into a bloody shambles in which the Battalion suffered heavy losses, including the killing of the battalion commander (who had just received the Knight's Cross). This left a position in which soldiers of "Frundsberg", under Brigadefuhrer Heinz Harmel, was left with substantial responsibility to secure the German position south of Arnhem to the penultimate critical bridge at Nijmegen. An obvious solution to the obvious problem was to demolish both Arnhem and Nijmegen bridges - but this was impeded by the orders of sector commander, Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model, which forbade the blowing of the bridges. On the basis of postwar interviews, Brigadefuhrer Harmel was strongly in favour of blowing the bridges. This pioneer may have been engaged in an attempt to blow the Arnhem bridge when he was cut down by Frost's men. In the end, the demolition of the Arnhem bridge proved unnecessary. A combination of delays inflicted on the ground-based ("Market") element of the operation and the successful clearing-out of Frost's enclave by "Frundsberg" troops led to the evacuation of the main British force north of the river, marking the failure of the operation. Best regards, JR.