In the archive of the RAOC held at the RLC Museum there is a remarkable account of an RAOC soldier's experience of being dropped into Arnhem. I quoted from it in War on Wheels and I reproduce it here.
'Amongst those who would take off from RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire for Arnhem were men of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps , some of whom formed the Ordnance Field Park Recce Party whose job it was to seek out large garages and commandeer suitable vehicles to help transport the troops from the drop points. It was a group of seven men, including Private Ted Mordecai who wrote an account of the five days he spent face to face with the enemy.
The beginning was so positive. The Dutch civilians, all wearing Marigolds, welcomed the British soldiers landing near Arnhem as saviours. A small village pub offered beer which they had been told to refuse. Local people gave them cups of ersatz coffee.
With the news that the battalion ahead of them was encountering tough opposition, they were ordered to press forward at all speed. Further orders came that their intended role had been shelved and they were to take an active part in securing the bridge across the river.
Ted's words paint the picture:
"As we moved up the road parallel to the river we could see the span bridge outlined against flashes of gunfire against the sky. At the same time the Germans on the other side of the river were concentrating all their fire in our direction and at the bridge...the sound of shot and shell was deafening, but we inched our way forward up to the bridge…"
They successfully occupied a house within reach of the bridge. It was 2000 hours on 17 September:
"Shortly after daybreak we heard the sound of engines revving up and, looking towards the other side of the bridge to the South, we saw a line of open topped 'Opel' armoured cars coming across the bridge in line astern....one of our six pounder antitank guns caught the first car in the middle...it slewed round and blocked the bridge....everyone within range opened fire at the cars with Brens, Stens, rifles and grenades."
Once quiet descended, Captain Manley suggested that everyone should try to get some sleep. Mordecai received a rude awakening from a loud explosion:
"We couldn't believe our eyes at what we saw. Either a mortar bomb or 88mm shell had hit the back of the house and there was a gaping hole where the back wall and the roof should have been."
They took cover in the cellar of the house and remained hidden until the sporadic firing stopped:
"We were ordered back upstairs and resumed our position at the windows....we heard a klaxon horn and whistles sounding at odd intervals...in the afternoon we saw some Spitfires patrolling over the town and, hearing the sound of heavier engines, we guessed that the lift timed for Monday was taking place....
"Towards evening, just as the sun was dipping down, we heard our old battle cry of "Whahoo M****" ring out and going out onto the veranda just in front of the bedroom windows we waved our green recognition silks which we wore as scarves and returned the battle cry, thinking reinforcements had arrived. Our elation was short lived as they turned out only to be a small platoon with a six pounder."
A town house close by had been hit and 'was blazing like an inferno and lit up the surrounding area.’
"Tuesday dawned with a hint of fine weather and about 0800 hours we decided that it was time for a 'brew-up'.... no water was forthcoming...suddenly we heard a whistling sound...an explosion followed almost immediately...we lay on the floor whilst splinters of steel came whanging through the window and hitting the outside wall.
"Captain Manley told us that 30 Corps under General Horrocks had been held up by enemy opposition...and it would be some time before they reached us.
"We could hear tracks clanking away on the road. We all hugged the ground not daring to lift our faces in case some German spotted us. The clanking sound came nearer and, lifting my head slightly, I could see the dark shape of the tank through the hedge about ten feet away. The tank slowly moved off...we made a mad dash across the road to the demolished houses near the bridge. On our way across we were silhouetted against the flames from the houses we had vacated earlier and a German machine gunner must have spotted us as he opened fire on us and tracer bullets came through the darkness in our direction."
Other guns opened fire
"This fire was so concentrated it kept us pinned down for what seemed ages...during a lull I said to Harry, "we aren't going to be relieved and I think we should swim across the river and make our way to our own lines." Harry replied, "I think we should stay together and hope for the best.""
"It was now quite obvious we were on our own and cut off, as the deadline for being relieved had passed some hours earlier...we were completely hemmed in and gradually being compressed into an ever decreasing circle."
Ted Mordecai and his small unit went from house to house seeking safety from the Germans who were now preparing for a final onslaught; at the same time, they took every opportunity themselves to attack and cause the maximum damage. Ted got separated from his mates and found himself at Brigade HQ. The senior officer gave him a bottle of wine and encouraged him to rest.
He continued his account:
"I heard someone shouting, "does anybody here know anything about Bren guns." The shouting went on and so I went into a front room covering the street and told an officer that [being RAOC] I knew something about Brens. There was a gunner manning the Bren gun in the window with a corporal acting as his No 2. The gunner said he couldn't fire the Bren as it wouldn't work. I moved into his position and tried the standard procedure of removing the magazine, cocking the gun and squeezing the trigger. I told the corporal that the gun was OK and put the magazine back in and squeezed the trigger. It didn't work as the bolt would not push the cartridge into the barrel. So, removing the magazine, I ejected two of the cartridges, put the magazine back in the gun and tried again. This time it fired. Whoever had loaded the magazine had crammed too many cartridges in it, consequently they were too tight to move. Although the magazine would hold 32 cartridges, it was policy never to put in more than 28. The officer asked me if I would take over the gun...I therefore became the Bren gunner of the last bastion."
Ted manned the gun until the ammunition ran out and he then reverted to his Sten like the others. The mad dashes from one house to the next continued as the Germans followed demolishing houses with the fire of 88mm guns.
"There was a lull in proceedings and it was during this period that Jerry called upon us to surrender and a truce was called whilst a discussion took place between the Germans and our officers who were left. The truce last about an hour during which time Jerry agreed to let us hand over our wounded. After the wounded had been evacuated the Germans again called upon us to surrender as we were completely cut off, surrounded and nearly out of ammunition. Jerry was told in Army fashion to "Shove off" but much cruder and when someone threw a grenade at them hostilities commenced once again."
The shelling continued.
"I felt a blow like being hit with a stick on the right side of my face and across my right eye as the blast whipped under my helmet. It lifted me off my feet and knocked me flat out and when I came round I couldn't see a thing. Eventually I could make out things in the darkness with my left eye, but all I could see out of my right eye was a blinding glare. I felt my face but couldn't feel any blood and, as the shelling was still taking place, decided to try to find some cover. I crawled over the ground and eventually found a slit trench up against the wall and flopped in on top of another chap lying in the bottom. The shelling kept on all night and there was no reply from any of our chaps at all. They were either lying low or there weren't any left.
"Dawn eventually came and everything was very quiet...the chap under me stirred and said he was going to surrender...I stood up in the trench and the first thing that met my sight [through my left eye] was an 88mm shell with a bent nose lying half over the edge of the trench...being careful not to disturb it I climbed out...I waited a while, but couldn't hear any shooting and so decided to give myself up.
"When night fell, a small group of us, being walking wounded, were herded into the back of a small truck and transported to hospital.
"Later I volunteered to help out one of our MO's...it opened my eyes to the aftermath of battle as I was assisting in an amputees ward which had both German and British patients...Another thing that brought home the horrors of war was seeing a pile of discarded odd boots where they had been thrown after legs had been amputated.
"As Jerry had said, "For you Tommy, the war is over.”"
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