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Narrative of events of the 1st Battalion 508th Parachute
Infantry
for period 17 - 21 September 1944, in the vicinity of Nijmegen, Holland
Just before 1330 hours 17 September 1944, the lead plane of the 1st
Battalion, leading the 508th Parachute Infantry, came over its
designated drop zone and began the assault phase of Operation Market. As
the battalion commander checked his parachute canopy, he became aware of
ground resistance, for a long burst of machine gun fire came
disconcertingly close to his right ear. However, the platoon of German
anti-aircraft was soon smothered by the weight of the almost six-hundred
jumpers even before the next serial in the regimental air column began
dropping four minutes later.
Assembly of the battalion was rapid, and by H plus 1 hour, the entire
battalion was assembled and reorganized with the exception of two plane
loads which had dropped about one-thousand yards beyond the drop zone in
the vicinity of the town of Wyler. Each of these aircraft had been hit
by ack-ack just before arriving over the drop zone by fire from German
88's North of Nijmegen. The two plane loads, one platoon of "A" Company,
came in about an hour later with twenty-three German PWs. "A" Company,
in the meantime, had been busy: one platoon, as a combat patrol, had
proceeded on H plus thirty minutes to secure that portion of the
battalion objective which included the main road between Nijmegen and
Grosbeek, and also to inform the battalion commander of any resistance
enroute to, or on, the battalion objective. All platoons of "A" Company
had been briefed on this mission, for the Normandy operation had taught
the battalion that the
unforeseen can take place on a combat jump. The battalion had just been
directed by the Regimental Commander to proceed on to its objective,
about H plus seventy-five minutes, when this combat patrol reported it
was just short of the battalion objective and had met no resistance.
The battalion moved out in
advance guard formation with flank patrols out, and conducted a routine
cross-country movement to its objective, enlivened only by the capture
of four German labor troopers who surrendered without ado. In the
meantime the combat patrol had radioed back that the objective was
unoccupied by any German troops, and that it was organizing a road block
on the main road from Nijmegen leading South to Groesbeek. The Battalion
S2, who had accompanied the platoon, stated that Dutch civilians
asserted that no German troops were in the area, except for a few labor
troops.
The 1st Battalion continued
on to its objective (which was the extension of the high ground to the
West and North of the Wyler Meer, and astride the Nijmegen - Groesbeek
highway. No map of the area is available here), and proceeded to
organize the position and dig in, facing generally North, with the Third
Battalion on the right, and the Second Battalion on the left. "C"
Company was in battalion reserve, and ŤAn and "BW companies occupied the
MLR. As the battalion was organizing the MLR, a combat patrol consisting
of Lt Weaver's platoon of "C" Company was told to move into Nijmegen,
investigate resistance in and around the bridge, and radio back on the
strength of the bridge defenses. Lt Weaver was given an SCR 300 from
battalion headquarters for this purpose. Lt Weaver was further
instructed that if the bridge was undefended, or lightly defended, to
secure it, and immediately radio battalion. (It is believed that this
patrol was directed by Regimental Headquarters, and Lt Weaver was
selected because he had fought through the Normandy campaign very ably
and gallantly).
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