page_title: Operation Berlin (Arnhem)
section_title: Efforts to relieve the 1st Airborne Division
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Berlin (Arnhem) / Background / Efforts to relieve the 1st Airborne Division
caption_attribution_description: English: Operation 'market Garden' (the Battle For Arnhem)- 17 - 25 September 1944 Arnhem 17 - 25 September 1944: A group of survivors from the Arnhem Operation arriving at Nijmegen after the evacuation and having their first drink. One of them, Captain Jan Linzel (second from left) is a member of the Dutch Royal Navy attached to No 10 Commando.
context_page_description: Operation Berlin was a night-time evacuation of the remnants of the beleaguered British 1st Airborne Division, trapped in German-occupied territory north of the Lower Rhine in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in the Second World War. The aim of the operation was to withdraw safely the remnants of the division while covered by the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade and surrounded on three sides by superior German forces and in danger of being encircled and destroyed.
  The operation evacuated approximately 2,400 men of the British 1st Airborne Division, ending Market Garden, the Allied plan to cross the Rhine and end the war in Europe by the end of 1944. The surviving glider pilots laid a white tape through the woods, leading from the Perimeter, the grounds of the Hartenstein Hotel, to the north bank of the Neder-Rijn where the Royal Canadian Engineers were waiting with small boats to ferry them across the Rhine to a landing point north of Driel.
context_section_description: Major General Roy Urquhart, commander of the 1st Airborne Division, originally requested the 1st Polish Brigade to cross the river and take up their positions on the night of 21 September.  However neither unit had any boats and so the Poles withdrew into Driel for the night, setting up a hedgehog defence.  Lead elements of XXX Corps reached Driel the following day, but at the same time the Germans formed a blocking line to the west to prevent an Allied advance on the road bridge.
  During the day the 1st Division sourced six rubber boats and again assisted the Poles attempt to cross.  That night (the 22nd) the plan was put into operation, but the tow rope designed to pull the boats across snapped, and the oars were too small to row against the river's strong current. 55 men crossed but only 35 were able to reach the British positions.
  On the 23rd the 43rd (Wessex) Division arrived at Driel in strength and offered assault boats for the Poles. Unfortunately, these arrived late and the Poles, unfamiliar with the craft, were only able to put 153 men across the river - less than a quarter of the hoped for reinforcement.
  On the 24th, Horrocks himself visited the Polish positions to assess the situation.  That afternoon a conference was held at Valburg to discuss how best to relieve what was left of the 1st Airborne. Major General Ivor Thomas of the 43rd (Wessex) Division outlined a plan to put across a battalion of his division and one of the Polish battalions - to the fury of their commander Major General Stanisław Sosabowski. Despite this it seems that Horrocks realised the futility of the 1st Airborne's position and preliminary plans were drawn up for its withdrawal.
  That night's attempt to cross the river was disastrous. Insufficient boats arrived for both battalions and so only the 4th Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment made the attempt. Unfortunately, their crossing led into prepared German positions and of the 315 men who crossed before daylight, over 200 were captured. Two men who did reach the Airborne forces carried copies of the withdrawal plan for Urquhart's consideration.
  These initial attempts met with only minimal success. The next step was to evacuate the remnants of the 1st Airborne using small boats across the Neder Rijn at night. Four sapper field companies were tasked for Operation BERLIN: the Royal Engineer 260th and 553rd Field Companies and Royal Canadian Engineer 20th and 23rd Field Companies. The operation was to start at 22:00 on the 25th but the field companies had left many hours earlier and moved through German positions to the south bank of the Neder Rijn. In dismal weather and under constant German machine gun, mortar and artillery fire, the boats shuttled back and forth across the wide swift river through the night. The evacuation went on until daylight came and the operation was forced to cease.
caption: A group of surviving Allied soldiers from Arnhem arriving at Nijmegen after the evacuation
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