Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

Command Ops: Battles From The Bulge takes the highly acclaimed Airborne Assault engine back to the West Front for the crucial engagements during the Ardennes Offensive. Test your command skills in the fiery crucible of Airborne Assault’s “pausable continuous time” uber-realistic game engine. It's up to you to develop the strategy, issue the orders, set the pace, and try to win the laurels of victory in the cold, shadowy Ardennes.
Command Ops: Highway to the Reich brings us to the setting of one of the most epic and controversial battles of World War II: Operation Market-Garden, covering every major engagement along Hell’s Highway, from the surprise capture of Joe’s Bridge by the Irish Guards a week before the offensive to the final battles on “The Island” south of Arnhem.

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KenchiSulla
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Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

Post by KenchiSulla »

Last monday I visited Oosterbeek, visited the Airborne Museum in hotel Hartenstein (recently renovated and adjusted. It is now fully accessible for people with a handicap and the by now very old veterans of the battle who still visit!) , did the perimiter walk (lower Oosterbeek) and visited the Cemetery about a mile east of the station (northern end of the perimiter).

First picture, the monument north of Hartenstein:


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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

Post by KenchiSulla »

The inscription near this monument:



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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

Post by KenchiSulla »

People still fly the Pegasus flag in the september month! Not an isolated case, about 50% of the houses in Oosterbeek have one..

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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A text (presented by the veterans to the people of Oosterbeek in 1994) that moved me..

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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The old church from where the Lonsdale force (remnants of 1st Para brigade) made sure there was still contact with the Rhine river - souteastern part of the Perimiter.

Next to this church Kate ter Horst took care of many allied wounded and dying..

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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What I believe to be the church tower of Driel, viewed from the southern end of the perim. just before the "uiterwaarde (polder)" starts..

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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The rebuild RR bridge, viewed from the eastern part of the perim.

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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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In the distance you can see a red traffic light. That light marks the "Utrechtseweg / stationsweg" crossing. It was the eastern end of the Perim. On both sides of the Utrechtseweg there were two aid stations (hotel Schoonoord and hotel ...)

Position I took the picture from is near the Hartenstein hotel. It shows how narrow the pocket really was...

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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Shows my position relative to Hartenstein when taking the previous picture..

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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Next pictures don't need any explanation. Not all casualties are buried here. About 130 1st division members were never found...

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
¯ Primo Levi, writer, holocaust survivor
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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Two

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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Three

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"It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere.”
¯ Primo Levi, writer, holocaust survivor
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

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That is all I have. You can imagine it must have been hell from 21st of september till the 25th (night of the escape across the rhine). The germans did not assault but just lobbed shells into the pocket. Snipers infiltrated and there is
one account I do not want to keep from you (translated from dutch from a copy of "Arnhem by Martin Middlebrook".

Pvt Joe Roberts

"I was hiding in my trench waiting for the shelling to stop when I got the fright of my life. Above me was a German sniper. He looked down at me but his arm was hanging and he was bleeding terribly. I took my rifle and aimed but he looked at me in such a way that I couldn't pull the trigger.

He pointed at his shoulder as if he was looking for aid. I pointed in to the direction of the aid station with my rifle en he continued to walk in that direction. He was hit by one of his own shells while hiding in a tree..."

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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

Post by Phoenix100 »

Thanks Cannonfodder. Great pictures. I must visit again, the entire battlefield. It's not far up the road from here, but never get the time. Thanks again for posting.
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RE: Visit to Oosterbeek / 17th September 2012

Post by Arjuna »

Thanks for the picture. Brought back memories of my 2008 visit to the area. I gug up this snap of the memorial at the sight of the 82nd Div crossing of the Waal R. What really impressed me was the fact that we arrived there in October and these were obviously fresh flowers put there that day.

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