Operation Market Garden 2005

Where do we start with our trip to Holland and Germany? Well first, Lance was back after his break to do his Law Degree. But Stuart could not make it, maybe the fear of Formule 1’s or sleeping in fields was it, but he could not come. First of all we flew via Air Berlin. Which was a reasonably good airline and quite cheap. The problem was that we originally booked to fly to Dusseldorf. So due to the fact we intended to stay the first night in Germany, we booked a hotel in Dusseldorf. Fine. Done. Dusted. Sorted. But then a few weeks before we were due to fly Air Berlin said that they were no longer flying to Dusseldorf, but we were off to Köln (Cologne). Hence we had to faff about with hotels and find a hotel in Köln, cancel the Dusseldorf one.

Steve was not happy with this and wrote a snotty letter to Air Berlin. It did the trick they knocked a third off the air-fair. Result. Earlier in the year, Kevin had decided to take the trip to Germany via Paris. So he got the coach down, usually around this time on year Kevin bangs on about getting his moped down, but the Eurolines coach beckoned. This was his first big mistake of the trip. The trip on the coach was long and a nightmare. The trip to Paris was cancelled due to lack of funds. So a bleary eyed Kevin arrived at Köln before Steve, Lance and Gerry.

Thinking he would get some kip at the lodgings (before we arrived he was rudely awakened by Lance mithering him on the phone) The lodgings that first night were the splendid Hotel Sportzentrum, on the Wilhelm-Ruppert-Strasse in Köln. These lodgings we really quite good and we would recommend them as a short stay place. Hours later a reunion of the NMBS happened at Köln airport and we went back to the lodgings.

We soon showered and changed and found a nice German bar - This pub saw us right for our first night out. We were all starving and despite the kitchen being closed, the landlady rustled up some goulash and bread. It's on Cacilienstrasse and thoroughly recommended. Indeed we possible, sorry, Lance entertained the locals by accusing Steve of being gay, due to the fact Steve was on Coke that night due to being on antibiotics.

Hotel Sportzentrum

Really nice

1st Night Pub

Goulash

The next Morning we headed off to Holland and Berg en Darl, a quaint little village near Nijmegan (we nicknamed the gaff "The Ponderosa" on the account it looked like a cowboy homestead) was small but nice - well nice when we finally got Kevin something for his feet, his second mistake forgetting foot powder. Kevin's feet would not be out of place either in a Ypres gas shell or in a gorgonzola factory. They really are ripe at times.

The Ponderosa was okay, but if you looked at the website http://www.holdeurn.com/main.htm it looked massive, but really it was two small bedrooms and a small living room/kitchen. It was okay. It did the job, would have been a squeeze if Stuart had come. Oddly enough in one of the other chalets was used by a Dutch Porn shoot. Who said our trips were not without adventure?

The Ponderosa was on a farm, so the bonus was we bought a tray of two dozen eggs for a few Euros. The main factor was paper thin walls. Poor Kevin and Steven had to endure nights of duel snoring from the other room.

Inside the Ponderosa

The Ponderosa

Small, but nice

Then the Tour of the sites of “Operation Market Garden” started. By September 1944 the war against the Nazi's looked won. France had been liberated after the D-Day landing in June 1944 and Belgium was being liberated to a line at Antwerp by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The Allies had important ports such as Antwerp, but the Nazi's still held important ports like Dunkirk. Since D-Day supply lines from Normandy were being stretched. The main leaders on the realised that a new attack was needed on the regrouping Nazi's and Montgomery had an idea. Operation Market Garden. Market - meaning the airborne forces of General Brereton's 1st airborne to seize the bridge and other key terrain under the command of General Browning and Garden - Ground Forces from the British 2nd army XXX Corps under the command of Lt Gen Brian Horrocks to move North.

The idea was simple to drop airborne troops by parachute around the Key Bridges are Arnhem, Son, Best, Nijmegan, Eindhoven, Grave and the rail bridge at Oosterbeek. These bridges formed the basis for the NMBS trip. The capture of these bridges would make the war end by December 1944, the failure of Market Garden kept the war going to May 1945 in Europe. What happened in Holland is basically the biggest balls up since the Somme.

But unlike the Somme and the waste and stupidity of war, the Allies faced bad luck, planning, information and weather. Otherwise Market Garden would have been an amazing victory. We went just after the anniversary and similar to The Ardennes the place is full of great museums, and of course the Bridges. A particular shout has to go to the National war and resistance museum at Overloon. A great museum, one that Kevin rates as his best and would be on Steve’s top 3. Similar is the Wings of Liberation museum and the Airborne Museum at Hartenstein. Both are worth a trip and a visit.

Included in the trip was a brief stop at Reichswald Forest, part of Operation Varsity and the Rhine clearances. Although not technically anything to do with Market Garden, a worthy trip. For the NMBS it was a trip we had to make, for Kevin’s Grandma’s first husband Tommy Stubbs (for more information see Kev’s site via links page) is buried at the Reichswald Forest CWGC site.

Some of the Bridge

Including John Frost Bridge

Like Michael Caine we followed the battle from Leopoldsburg in Belgium to Arnhem.

The only deviation was the idea of Gerry’s – the dreaded Varus……. See the next page if you must.

Venray CWGC

Just off Hell's Heighway

Naughty Boys

Barbed Wire? We shit it !

The final day and night was spent back in Koln, as Kevin's long coach journey back and Steve, gerry and lance were to fly back from there. The last day and night was to be one of the most booze fuelled and memorable in NMBS history. We started off in a pub in the afternoon along the banks of the river Rhine along the Frankenwerft, just along from the Hotel Hayk where we stayed.

We then ventured to a pub which was twinned with a pub in Liverpool called Doctor Duncan's. The night was the highlight and to protect the innocence of some, names have been changed regarding this shameful bit. We started at a small friendly (ish) pub where the landlady was pushing 80. All was well until "Tevin" let out an enormously loud fart. Obviously we giggled. When "Tevin" cracked out another one, we were in tears and fits of laughter. The landlady was not amused. When another farty sound rattled the pub, we were barred.

As we trotted to another pub we were stopped by female students handing out condoms. God knows why, but amusing jokes were really lost in translation ! We ended up at a massive pub that had a German Oomph band playing. As the ale went down, "Lerry" got drunk and looked at the barmaid wistfully. "Tevin" fell off a bench. "Zance" reminded German's of the war and found a German Jimmy Greaves and "Deve" got involved in a fight with an off duty British Army officer.