Cycle trip to the Netherlands: Day 3 - Arnhem battlefield tour

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It was a fine morning in Utrecht as I set off to Arnhem. I had only limited time for my trip, and wanted to make the most of it, so decided to take the train. I rode down the cycle track beside the Vecht to the Utrecht station. The station was undergoing a major renovation, and it was almost by chance that I managed to find the way in via an insignificant entrance, where, fortunately, there was a lift to get my bike up to the concourse. The ticket office were very helpful (fluent in English of course) and I got my ticket plus a 6 euro pass for my bike, covering taking my bike on the trains for the whole day. Another lift down to the platform and I got the train to Ede Wageningen.

Bike on board the train to Ede Wageningen. Note, bikes are not allowed on trains between 6.30-9.30am and 4.30-6pm on weekdays (no restrictions at weekends)

The Battle of Arnhem (17th - 25th September 1944) was the culminating action of Operation MARKET GARDEN, a plan by the Allies to seize the river crossings which blocked their way into Germany. It was all the more audacious because it's chief architect, Montgomery, had hitherto been such a cautious commander, much to the frustration of his superiors, Churchill at Alamein and Eisenhower in Normandy. Perhaps he was deceived by the apparent ease with which the Germans had been evicted from France: they were down but certainly not out. MARKET was the airborne operation: in which US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions would seize the bridges to the south, and British 1st Airborne Division (including a Polish Parachute Brigade) would seize the final crossing, that over the Neder-rhine at Arnhem. GARDEN was the ground operation, in which British XXX Corps would advance from the Belgian Border over the newly secured crossings to Arnhem. The US elements of the plan were well resourced and generally successful, though greatly delayed, but Arnhem proved a 'bridge too far' for the under-resourced British airborne forces.  It is one of those British defeats which are commemorated for the nobility of their aims, the bravery of their execution and the folly of their higher command. After the battle, the Germans cut off supplies to the remaining area of occupied Netherlands, leading to privation and starvation for the civilians who had prematurely celebrated their brief moment of liberation that September.

Ede is a good jumping off point for a one way cycling tour of the landing grounds, following the routes along which the British airborne forces attempted to reach their objective, Arnhem road bridge some 10 miles to the east. I only had time to visit selected places, you could easily spend several days to do it full justice. The complex nature of the battle means that, without a lot of weaving back and forth, you cannot pass the key points in time order, and a good guide book is essential: I used "Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide: Operation Market Garden". Here is a map of my route.

View Arnhem, Battlefield Cycle Tour in a larger map

Airborne Memorial Ginkelse Heide (Ginkel Heath) off the N224. This was Drop Zone Y where the second lift (4th Para Brigade) landed on 18th September

A very good cycle trail runs across Ginkel Heath. There is a commemorative parachute drop on each anniversary weekend (the weekend after I was there - bad timing!)

This is the cycle path over Landing Zone S (gliders of 1st Air Landing Brigade, 17th September) near Reijers Kamp. From here you can see the telecoms tower in the distance over the fields to the east: this in the vicinity of Arnhem, and gives an idea of how far the British troops had to go to reach their objective.

Commonwealth War Graves Airborne Cemetery, Nr Oosterbeek station. Most fighting at the 'battle of Arnhem' actually took place  around Oosterbeek, where the British force was hemmed inside 'the perimeter' by the Germans. As luck would have it, 2nd SS Panzer Corps was refitting in the area, and the British Generals chose to ignore intelligence to that effect.At first General Model, in his HQ at the Hotel Tafelberg assumed the only possible purpose for the 'raid' was to capture him, and he fled. But his subordinates notably Sturmbannfuhrer Kraft were made of sterner stuff . He soon surmised the true objective and mounted an effective blocking action.

Before the war, the Hartenstein was a hotel. It was here that General Urquart, Commander 1st Airborne, set up his HQ on 18th September, and it was at the centre of the battle, progressively filling with wounded as the Germans pressed on the Perimeter. Attempts to resupply from the air were futile, and eventually the decision was taken to attempt an evacuation over the Rhine to the south on the night of 25 September. The Hartenstein is now a highly informative museum devoted to the battle.

This is the Old Lonsdale Church where 1st Airborne survivors of the fight to reach Arnhem sought refuge. On the night of 25th September they made their escape over the fields behind the Church to the river bank in heavy rain. Some 2,400 troops got away, ferried over the river by repeated trips by the small number of boats available. You will see many Pegasus flags outside buldings, including many private houses.

This is 14 Zwartenweg. In a bizarre episode, General Urquart, unable to contact his forces by radio, made a personal recce, ending with an attempt to find out what was going on with the southern advance to the bridge. After dodging Germans, he and two companions holed up in the attic of this house, at the considerable personal risk of the Dutch residents. They eventually made it back to the Perimeter. 

The memorial garden beside the bridge at Arnhem. The only British forces to reach the bridge, on the evening of 17th September, were around 500 troops of 2nd Parachute Battalion under Lt Col John Frost. They established themselves in buildings around the bridge and attempted to hold off the Germans, and even to cross to the southern side. The odds were overwhelmingly against them, but they held out till 21 September. Then, realising that they were opposed by crack Panzer formations, that the attempts by the rest of 1st Airborne to breakthrough had failed, and that XXX Corps could not reach them (they were still stuck at the Nijmegen crossing), they surrendered on 21 September.

Cycling is an excellent way to tour the battlefield (weather permitting - I had a sunny morning and a wet afternoon) completing my tour after looking round the bridge environs at around 1800. I grabbed a meal at one of several restaurants along the waterfront, before getting the train back to Utrecht (bikes are excluded from trains between 1630 and 1800). Next year (2014) will be the 70th anniversary, so doubtless there will be many and moving commemorative events.