Deliver Us From Darkness is a gripping account of the paratroopers of
the 3rd Battalion 506th Regiment during Operation Market Garden, drawing
on years of research and more than 70 extended interviews with veterans
and civilians caught up in the fighting. From the terror of jumping
behind enemy lines, to the desperate struggle to stay alive in the
terrible conditions, and finally the bitter fighting as the Third Reich
fought desperately to turn back the tide of the Allied advance,
meticulous research is combined with a gripping narrative to reveal the
events that stretched the Battalion almost to its breaking point.
At short notice on September 17, 1944 the 101st Airborne Division
parachuted into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. The plan was
to secure the main highway that passed through the city of Eindhoven -
facilitating the advance of General Sir Miles Dempsey's Second British
Army towards Arnhem. The objective of the 506 Parachute Infantry
Regiment (PIR) was to capture four crucial bridges over the river Dommel
in southern Eindhoven. Indeed, with the capture of Eindhoven the 101st
Airborne thought that its mission in Holland was over. However, this was
only the beginning of a bloody 72-day campaign that would see no quarter
given by either side. Thousands of heavily armed enemy troops trapped
behind Allied lines were reorganized into temporary fighting groups and
sent on the offensive. Supported by Tiger tanks and self propelled
artillery the German Army began an audacious series of counterattacks
along the road to Nijmegen that became known as Hell's Highway. Over the
next two weeks the 506PIR were constantly called upon to defend the
transport hubs north of Eindhoven at Sint Oedenrode, Veghel, and Uden
suffering horrendous casualties.
By October the 506th were sent further north to take over from the
British 214th Infantry Brigade near Arnhem. Surrounded by water The
Island was the name given by the Allies to the Betuwe, the area of land
northwest of Nijmegen between the Neder Rijn (Lower Rhine) and the river
Waal. The 3rd Battalion played a pivotal role when a major German attack
was thwarted near the town of Opheusden despite heavy losses which shook
the Battalion to the core. But this was simply the beginning of a bitter
struggle that would continue for another two months. Heavy rain,
flooding, and constant shelling turned the area into a no-mans land
reminiscent of the Somme in the First World War. The men lived like
animals in such squalid conditions that trench foot became a normal part
of life. By the end of November, after sustaining appalling losses in
the face of the determined resistance the Germany Army finally abandoned
all hope of ever retaking The island. Finally on November 27, the 101st
were withdrawn from the line and sent to France to recuperate. The
mission in Holland would be one that the men would never forget. Many
felt that their lives had been misused and wasted, Normandy had been bad
enough, but this time the members of 3/506 had been through hell...
