I don't know if you guys have seen this movie, but i just recently watched it and it is superb. I had not heard about that WWII operation and it really seemed like it was acurate. By the way if anyone has seen it can you explain the end to me(two of the principal characters wheeling a cart across a road? Awesome movie though.

Yeah. At least the Dutch Leopard tanks look a lot more like Panthers than Shermans with a Balkenkreuz on the side.

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„Solange man nicht mit dem Kopf unterm Arm rumläuft geht es doch noch!" Erwin Rommel

Ive seen the movie--read the book(s) even wrote to a few of the men who were in the battle. Also own several Bridge Too Far movie cells. These if bad memory serves me correctly are of the beginning Armored assault at the beginning of the operation, which had Col. Joe van Deleur (Sp?) as the commander in charge of that portion of the ground ops. I have a few cells showing a German PAK gun either ready-to-fire or already firing on the column of Shermans. Been too long since I last looked at the cells. I also have several Cross of Iron cells and are looking for more.

Heh heh heh--Andreas--are you talking about the Sherman tanks used in: "The Big Red One?" as the "German" tanks in question? I KNOW what you mean--when I saw this movie when it first came out back in 1980, I hated seeing Shermans as "Panzers", which were mainly used in the Kasserine Pass scenes and the scens at the "Christ on the Cross" where a platoon of Germans were trying to ambush the US Patrol. Also, wasnt there a short winter scene in which Shermans were again used?

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

My dear Fiancee's uncle played a part in this movie. He played a German general, don't know which one. It's been a long time since I saw it. Great cast.

Carl, the Cav.'s officer's name van Vandenleur. He and his cousin (nephew?), both the same name and both commanding an cav. unit in the push for Arnhem.

The reason why the doctor and his wife (Liv Ullman and Lawrence Olivier) wheeled their cart away is because after the battle the Germans ordered the evacuation of the whole city (and surroundings). Most of the Arnhemmers ended up in the north of Holland. The fighting had been fierce and a part of the city had been demolished (especially north of the bridge and in Oosterhout, where the British 1st Airborne had their HQ and were battered by the tanks of 2 SS div's). Besides that the city was a frontline city now. I think there has been some speak as the Germans ordered the evactuation out of some kind of revenge, but I couldn't tell you anything about that.

An very interesting movie is THEIRS IS THE GLORY, which was taped in 1946 when the 1st Airborne Div. went back to the ruined city of Arnhem and played themselves in this movie!
Knowing that many of the soldiers you see here actually fought in the battle makes this a very special movie. It was taped in 1946 on the ruins of Arnhem. I have it somewhere on tape, but the quality is not very good. If you find it somewhere, pick it up!

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"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

Thanks Stevin--I couldnt remember how to spell his name, and I think the other ones first name was Art--wasnt it?--Been too long since I read the book--which was excellent.

Thats cool--your relative was a general--German I have to assume [img]smile.gif[/img] I know that Hardy Kurger was an SS general, and Maxilmilian Schell was either a General or a Fieldmarshall--I definately NEED to read the book and see the movie again. If I can find an affordable place to make copies of photos from the movie cells i have--ill see if Otto will post them here sometime after he gets back here in June. Some of the cells would make for some cool T-Shirts.......

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

You are correct, Hardy Kruger played an SS-Gruppenfuhrer called Ludwig. I have not been able to find him in the SS Rolls. Maximillian Schell played the role of SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Willi Bittrich commanding I believe the 9th SS Waffen Division Hohenstafen.

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American by birth, TEXAN by the grace of GOD!

The officer you were thinking of is in fact J.O.E.('Joe') Vandeleur, an Irish Guards officer who was a senior officer in the Guards Armoured Division; nothing to do with cavalry - it was considered one of the elite units in XXX Corps. The other Vandeleur was his brother.

Joe's Bridge, the start of XXX Corps advance, was named after him.

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Paul Reed
Webmaster - Battlefields of WW2- http://www.ww2battlefields.info
D Day Ancestors: The British Army in Normandy - http://www.ddayancestors.com

Do you know Joes brothers first name?

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

According to Cornelius Ryan the second vandeleur was called Giles A. M. (DSO) and a cousin. There is a picture of the two in his book A Bridge Too Far.

Both were lt.col.'s with the Guards Armoured. And their coloumn stopped about 6 miles from the Arnhem bridge.

[ 01 May 2002, 04:58 PM: Message edited by: Stevin Oudshoorn ]

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"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

Thanks Stevin--I do remember the photo in Ryans book--I had not known that both were Lt.Cols. though.

Six miles being temptingly close--had to be VERY frustrating for them as well as General Gavin.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Gen. Gavin was the first veteran I 'corresponded' with when I was 15. Got two short, but nice letters from him. He was always my hero.

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"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

Lucky you--I never got a chance to write him before he passed away. I think he passed awar in around 1985-86? I remember hearing about it on TV one night. General Gavin was one heck of a General.

Also, if you remember the scenes in which a 101st airborne Captain is talking to his Sergeant in a tent in England. The Captain is drinking some Whiskey from a flask, and is brooding on whether or not he is going to live or die. He makes his sergeant promise that he will live--to which his sergeant said: "Your not going to die--you will live".

THe drop was made:

The sergeant who promised his Captain that he would make sure he was going to live--is searching the dead paras after the initial air drop. Locates his Captain (who was shot in the head) carries him to his jeep, and proceeds to drive away for medical help.

He stops his jeep to get look at a map, hears noises and discovers that a German motorized unit is only a few yards from where he stopped his jeep. He makes a decision to zip through the German motorized column--surprises the Germans, gets shot at, but makes it through the column and to safety. Eventually he finds a field hospital and goes in search of a surgeon to help his seriously wounded Captain.

The Sergeant is told by a doctor--to just lkeave the body somewhere--so he takes his Captain into the Surgeons tent and places the Captains body on an operating table--to the annoyment of the surgeon. The surgeon starts to chew out the sergeant fro not leaving the body outside and turns around to find the sergeant standing there pointing his service Colt .45 at the surgeons nose.

The Surgeon says something like: "What are you doing Sergeant? dont you know that threatening an officer is a capitol offense?" The Sergeant said: "If my Captain dies, I'll blow your F*****g head off" and he loads a round into the .45.

The surgeon is shocked s******s, and turns around to look at the Captain. He discovers that the Captain might have a chance at survival if they get to operating on him right away. He proceeds to call in some medical staff, and they operate on the Captain. It took about 8 hours of surgery--and the Captain lived. All the while, the Sergeant is hanging around inside and or outside the surgeons tent.

The surgeon leaves the tent and sees the sergeant resting beside a tree, and says: "Your Captain will live, I hope it was worth it" "You know I cant let this incident go unpunished--do you Sergeant?"
"No Sir" said the sarge and he hands the Captain his pistol.
The Captain sees an MP Lieutenant and tells him to arrest this man. He then gives express orders for him to be placed under arrest--held for 10 seconds--then released. The MP Lieutenant is surprised at the order, but does as he is told. Arrests the Sergeant--counts to 10 quickly--releases the Sergent and leaves.
The surgeon turns to the sergeant and hands him his Colt .45 back, and said: "You scared the s*** out of me you dirty B*****d. Tell me something will you sergeant, would you have shot me?" to which all the Sergeant did was to grin and wink at the surgeon. The surgeon then dismissed the sergeant, saluted and left him there.

This is also a true story of what the Sergeant did. The sergeant after the war--opened a hotel/bar in his hometown in South Carolina, which thrived. Trouble is, this man got into a few sticky situations with the law a few times after the war. As far as I know--he is still living--as well as his Captain.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Yes I do remember that scene very much. Great acting by both Henry Fonda and James Caan, playing Staff Sergeant Eddie Dohun.

It is just amazing what Cornelius Ryan was able to come up with. Of course he had the advantage of time, meaning he started all his research not that long after the war, but still to come up with all these stories, is amazing. Both The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far are classics. I wonder why they never made The Last Battle into a movie. That was an amazing read too.

Thanks for the info on Dohun after the war. Always fascinated to hear what these people were up to after the WW2. You don't have HIS address by any change, do you?

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"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

One correction for you my friend--the Doctor was played by another actor--I think Arthur lake, or someone like that. Although--I love Henry Fondas movies--he would be a bit too old for his role as a MASH Dr.--even though that wouldnt have bothered me a bit to see him in this movie. [img]smile.gif[/img]

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

I also agree with you on: "The Last battle" except that it should be made into a TV mini-series, so that so much more could be put into the works starting with Gotthard Heinricis appointment there on that front and the battles on the Seelowe Heights.

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

VIOLA!!! Lafayette we have landed and, WOW, I could have a V-8, I just remembered the actors name--he was Arthur Hill--NOT Arthur Lake. Arthur lake was Dagwood in all the Blondie movies

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

VIOLA!!! Lafayette we have landed and, WOW, I could have a V-8, I just remembered the actors name--he was Arthur Hill--NOT Arthur Lake. Arthur lake was Dagwood in all the Blondie movies

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.