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Maj. "Freddy" Gough, commander, 1st Airborne Recce Squadron, Wolfheze Station, Oosterbeek Perimeter, 1944.


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More of my 1/6th scale Operation Market Garden figures: The task of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance's, or "1rst Recce", was to seize the Arnhem Bridge by a lightening-fast "Coup de Main" jeep attack, via the northern most of three roads, on the "Duitsekampweg" Road, that led into the city of Arnhem. But the delay in removing the jeeps from their gliders allowed the germans to set up a blocking force - Kampf-Gruppe Kraft - in elevated woods, just behind a small clearing where the paved road turned into a dirt path. On their right flank was a high railway embankment that confined the leading elements to the north, and blinded them to the bloody ambush ahead. Two jeeps of C Troop were wiped out , including Lieutenant Bucknell as seen in a previous post, scuttling the squadron's mission, in just a few minutes time.

 

Major Freddie Gough, commander of the 1rst Airborne Recce Squadron, was not there, but had instead received orders at the landing zone to join General Roy Urquhart immediately. Unable to find his commanding officer, Freddy and his batman and eight others drove all over Oosterbeek trying to find the general, unintentionally leaving the recce squadron leaderless for the rest of the battle.  Eventually, Gough ran into Major John Frost of 2 Para, advancing on the southernmost route, and he decided to tag along with them to the bridge. Ironically, only these two jeeps of the recce's 35, made it to the bridge. Freddie Gough thus became the second ranking officer at the bridge. The remaining jeeps of 1st Recce fought as dismounted infantry for the rest of the battle, and were scattered nearly everywhere in the Oosterbeek perimeter.

Major Gough was at the bridge therefore when Hauptsturmfuhrer Grabner's elite armored 9th SS Aufklarung Abteilung tried to cross from the southern side, but were wiped out, as made famous in the film "A Bridge Too Far". Gough reportedly removed the Vickers K-Gun from his jeep, and used it manually to help shoot up the German column from the tall buildings overlooking the northern bridge ramp.
 

48516459471_d1c5483dcd_h.jpg0-2 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

48516625137_5320d860a1_h.jpg0-1 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

46959351395_a207fcd524_b.jpg0-17 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47086245844_117cf136c0_h.jpg0-12 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47823384102_295d8513a1_b.jpg0-22 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47823380512_7f584e533c_h.jpg0-21 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

48507136652_0a226fe31a_h.jpg0-14 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47875235681_db1085b701_h.jpg0-2 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

40908792973_0461a09b10_h.jpg0-1 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

32931377037_ce16a345bb_h.jpg0-6 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

32931382407_28c5591573_h.jpg0-9 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

33997991128_9f07c3ce40_h.jpg0-4 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

48569790766_6c06561b2e_b.jpg0-8 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

40908797883_7dfe04feb2_h.jpg0-3 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

More Red Devils fighting on the bridge!

 

47104018094_909a66c983_h.jpg0-6 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47104013934_4fb801f81e_h.jpg0-5 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

40926930353_597d54cb82_h.jpg0-8 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

40926925193_3375ccdd14_b.jpg0-4 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

40926917723_e5c9d11d38_h.jpg0-3 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47868358541_348bb15ffc_h.jpg0-9 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

48529301542_bfea8d50ba_k.jpg0-3 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

48529129531_2322bce176_h.jpg0-1 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

46977195325_edb81d7dce_h.jpg0-1 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

47816115912_094776dc14_h.jpg0-11 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

The real deal:

 

40909219683_700370ba57_b.jpg0-2 by Stephen Duffy, on Flickr

 

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Market-Garden was one most sadist events in Europe from an Allies standpoint.  After reading quite a bit and learning what was ignored in planning, I was very surprised that Monty kept his command.  

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

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