55th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands

Pilgrimage Schedule - Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery

The burials in this cemetery, located on the outskirts of Arnhem, number 1,753 and include the majority of the casualties from the British 1st Airborne Division landing in September 1944. A total of 33 Canadians are buried here, including one unknown and seven known Army soldiers, as well as 25 airmen. The majority of burials in the cemetery are those of the United Kingdom, with 1,630 graves.

Arnhem

In September 1944, British and American troops had pushed forward on a broad front and were engaged in a major struggle in the southern Netherlands. In a bold effort to cut through the country, the 2nd British Army mounted an airborne attack to secure river crossings at Grave, Nijmegen and Arnhem. If successful this operation, known as Market-Garden, would have given the Allies control between the Rhine and the Ijsselmeer (Zuiderzee), and would have severed the connection between the Netherlands and Germany. Unfortunately, while the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen fell into Allied control, Arnhem did not and it became apparent that the war would continue through the winter and into the spring of 1945. It was on September 17 that the attempt to take Arnhem began. By the 25th, it was decided the British must withdraw. During that evening and the next day the paratroopers were ferried across the Rhine by the 1st Canadian Army Engineers and their British counterparts. All through the night, the Canadians brought their small boats to the river's banks. Under constant machine-gun fire and mortar fire, they managed to ferry almost 2,500 people. The Canadian engineers worked until their crafts were no longer seaworthy or until they were too exhausted to do more. Five Canadians were killed and three more were wounded. The Battle for Arnhem cost the British Airborne 7,000 men lost, killed, wounded or missing. This failed attempt at liberating the Netherlands in one stroke was the inspiration of the film, A Bridge Too Far.

The assault that finally freed Arnhem began the afternoon of April 12, 1945, with RAF Spitfires and Typhoons repeatedly attacking the Arnhem defences. The town's natural defences, the high ground on the right bank of the Rhine, the Rhine itself, and the Ijssel, were formidable obstacles; and it was believed that the Germans held the city with some strength.

As the evening of April 12 progressed, the main artillery bombardment began; it was to make the task of the assaulting infantry easier. At 10:40 p.m., the British 56th Infantry Brigade crossed the Ijssel in "Buffaloes"; German guns fired on the forward areas but the attackers penetrated the southeastern outskirts of Arnhem with little difficulty. The Allies fought off a counter-attack on the morning of the 13th and established control over the initial bridgehead. Assistance to the British forces in Arnhem was provided by engineers of the 1st Canadian Corps, who assembled and put in place Bailey bridges and rafts for crossing the waterways. Tanks of the Ontario Regiment also crossed, and assisted by fighting off snipers and machine-guns. Men from the Princess Louise Fusiliers also provided support for the assault with machine gun and mortar fire. Arnhem was completely cleared on the 14th.