Evening star., 1944-09-30
BY ROGER d. GREENE and
ROBERT c. WILSON,


Associated Press War Correspondents.
WITH THE BRITISH I'd ARMY
Sept. 30.-"We never lost hope"
With these four words, the valiant
men of Arnhem epitomized the story
Of a nightmare ordeal across the
Rhine, where they were cut of for
eight days and nights under fire OF
German tanks, artillery, mortars
and machine guns.
THE Germans wouldn't come out
and fight" said Capt. David Allsop
of Bakewell, Derbyshire, a member
of the British 1st Air-Borne Recon-
naissance Squadron, who landed
with the first gliders at LAO am.
September II, miles west of Arm
hem.
Our troops shouted, Come out,
YOU yellow - and fight
But the Germans didn't answer
They just kept singing mortars at
us until it fell like rain"
Men Lay in Trenches.
Capt. Allsop's men lay in slit
trenches, bombarded by day and
night. They were unable to bury
the dead. Bodies of their own men
and the enemy Uttered the ground
few feet away. pulled and rotting.
We glided down into a potato
field. and it was just like an exer-
else back in England except for a
few odd bits of flax" Capt. Allsop
said. But two hours later the fun
began when We made our first con.
tact with Germans on reconnais-
sance patrol at Wolfheeze station
From there on it got rougher and
rougher.
The second day we tried to get
into Arnhem. We, in jeeps, ran
into heavy machine gun fire and
had to turn back, but our infantry
got into town. On the third day
we acted as screening force on the
west flank and on the fifth day ii
really got sticky. The Germans
shelled and mortared us without
letup, and snipers were a nuisance
too. although We dealt with them
pretty well.
No Flame throwing Tanks.
Il didn't see any flame-throwins
tanks, but 1 did see plenty of self.
propelled guns. German SIS ELITE
GuarO units came up at dusk every
night and pumped away at us fol
20 minutes from a range of about
800 yards.
Our ammunition shortage began
to get very serious Friday, but we
heard help was coming up at last
But it never came. The last foul
days we were so pinned down by
cloSe-range fire from Germans hid
den in nearby woods, and by shell
and mortar bursts, that we couldn'
bury the dead, either our own OF
the Germans. The Boche by nov
was Systematically destroying house.
where our chaps we're hiding, on,
by one. I
They were beuaiful two-stor,
brick villas when we took them owe
and made them into individua
forts. Now they are Just shambles
smashed to bits by enemy shelling.
Losses Were Hard to Bear.
Packed in a tight perimeter, /
was positively hell-far worse thar
we experienced at Taranto, Italy
You lost men all around you. Yo,
felt lost. in a bewildering night
mare. You wondered what wa
happening to the relieving forces
and that was really hard to bear.
I'VE felt blue, but we never los
hope. Never"
Corpl. Allsop said he received or
ders to evacuate across the Rhin
at pm. Monday, but his ow,
trench was under such incessan
machine-gun fire thet he had II
wait until night to pass the Wort
among his men. Then, under cove
Of darkness, he crawled from trench
to trench and told his men: I'VE ar,
withdrawing. Only person weapon
and Bren guns will be taken. Moth
ing else. Silence Is essential"
The troops received the order IL
complete silence. Corpl. Allsop sait
II thought I heard 4 few mel
Rrumble under their breaths a