near Arnhem, in Sep. '44, north of the river? These were troops of a glider unit, I believe and fought with distinction, during the battles to keep the DZs and LZs open. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Dave

Hi David

What are you looking for exactly? 1 st Polish Para Brigade landed near Driel, S of the river Rijn; their gliders w/ a/t guns & Jeeps landed N of the river on Tuesday Sept 19th, but they got caught between British troops (10 & 156 Bn who were retreating, 7th Bn KOSB defending this LZ) and advancing Germans, causing the loss of most of their heavy equipment.
They fought gallantly for the remainder of the battle though.

I'm not aware of any English books entirely devoted to their actions, there's at least one good book in Dutch?

Cheers

Erik Jan Eskes

...a Polish glider unit landing at an LZ, north of the river, among the British troops and was wondering about their unit identification, equipment, mission, etc. Osprey's "The Paras, British Airborne Forces, 1940-1984" was the book which mentioned this. The author doesn't mention the identity of the unit, only that they landed near Wolfheze on LZ "L". Have you heard of this action? I think they were part of the original planned Polish airborne operation; but the parachute troops had been grounded, due to fog in England. Thanks for your reply. Best regards, Dave

P.S. I just reread your posting and this sounds like the unit. Is there any more information?

Hey David,

Think you're describing the very same action. More info here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Independent_Parachute_Brigade_(Poland); perhaps also in Martin Middlebrook's book Arnhem 1944

And since this is the figures section: Polish troops used the same equipment & uniforms (AFAIK)as the British - except for their berets, which were grey.

Cheers

Erik Jan

BTW, I saw your posting on the Commonwealth DG and liked your treatment of the 2d Bn Para. Good work. Thanks for your help, Dave