It would not have been possible to show the information contained on this page without the work of the following: Mr R.P “Bob” Hilton; Diana Andrews; Allan Brown; Andrew Blacklock: all of the staff at The Parachute Regiment & Airborne Forces Museum Aldershot; Jon Baker the curator of Airborne Assault Museum Duxford. Also relatives of men of the 11th Parachute Battalion; Gerrit Pijpers OBE; John Howes; Graham Francis; David Truesdale and Bob Gerritsen.
Monday September 18th 1944 Arnhem
When the battalion landed outside Arnhem on 18 September 1944 they were detached from the 4th Parachute
Brigade
and sent to reinforce the 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions and the 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire
Regiment, trying to fight through to the 2nd Parachute Battalion which had captured the northern end of the
Arnhem road bridge.
The two Parachute Battalions and the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment were
located
in the west of Arnhem, about 1,000 meters short of the bridge.
Tuesday September 19th 1944
On Tuesday September 19, 1944, the attempt to relieve the men at the bridge stalled under very heavy German
fire. Orders were being issued to the 11th Battalion for the assault. Around 10:45 hrs a Liaison Officer arrived
from Divisional Headquarters. The Major had a marked map and orders for Lieutenant Colonel Lea to take up a position
to another location and stop the attack towards the bridge. The 2nd Battalion The South Staffordshire Regiment
had been decimated with only their 'C' Company
surviving as a unit. The 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions were in an even worse state.
The 11th Parachute Battalion was gradually worn down, withdrawing towards the Lombok area, west of Arnhem,
and
casualties mounted. A move to gain the high ground to the north was discovered by the Germans and the battalion was caught
in
the open and decimated, with only around 150 men left. One of the casualties was the commanding officer
Lieutenant Colonel George Lea.
The battalion was withdrawn to Oosterbeek where the 1st Airborne Division
was
forming a defensive perimeter, digging in on the south eastern side with their right flank on the river.
The second in command of the 11th Battalion, Major Richard “Dickie’ Lonsdale now took command of the
remnants of
the 1st, 3rd and 11th Parachute Battalions and the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, forming them
into
an ad hoc force which became known as Lonsdale Force.
The defenders were involved in a number of desperate actions, and hand-to-hand fighting keeping the Germans
out
of the division's perimeter.
Thursday September 21st 1944
By September 21, 1944 pressure from the German attacks had squeezed the perimeter to less than 910 meters across.
Friday September 22nd 1944
On 22 September the bulk of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade was dropped south of the river Rhine. This drew off some of the Germans from around the divisional perimeter to confront the new threat. The defenders now had to cope with over 100 German artillery guns firing onto their positions.
Sunday September 24th 1944
On September 24, 1944, the decision was made to withdraw what was left of the division south of the Rhine.
Monday September 25th 1944
On the morning of 25 September units of the 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" attacked the remaining men of the 11th Parachute Battalion and other various units in force, attempting to cut the 1st Airborne Division off from the river. The initial attack was stopped by bayonets and hand grenades.
Overnight September 25th/26th 1944
The remnants of the battalion were evacuated on the night of 25/26 September. It was pitch dark and pouring with rain, a white tape had been laid to follow to the river Rijn. The allied troops on the south side of the river put down smoke shells on the north bank in an effort to hide movement by the British and Polish troops from the enemy. They were also laying two columns of red traces shells as a marker to follow on the north side when the men of the 1st Airborne Division got across.
After The Battle
The casualties sustained by the 11th Parachute Battalion were never replaced and the battalion
was
disbanded after the battle of Arnhem.
The men of the 11th Parachute Battalion were mainly divided between
the
2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions of the 1st Parachute Brigade.
"Arnhem Their Final Battle, The 11th Parachute Battalion 1943-1944”
by Lt Col Gerrit Pijpers OBE RNLAF & David Truesdale, 2012