Moonraker
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The jeep that took me back to Dad's war
Willys MB jeep
From watching war movies you would conclude that the Americans were the ones to capture the machine that cracked the Enigma code, that they were the only nation to take part in the D-Day landings, and that the battle of Arnhem was lost due to the incompetence of the British — poor planning, faulty equipment and soldiers who were effete fops, useless upper-class eccentrics.
That’s how they were portrayed in the film A Bridge Too Far. Anthony Hopkins goes into battle with a hunting horn and Christopher Good carries an umbrella. Good entertainment, but they weren’t typical of the many British officers who fought and died.
I have a particular interest in this battle because my father, Major Robert Cain, was serving in the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, and was one of only five men to win the VC at Arnhem in September 1944 in an operation named Market Garden. Of the five, he was the only one to live to tell the tale. About 10,600 troops went in — one of the largest airborne operations of the war. Only 2,398 escaped.
My father never talked to me about his exploits. He died from cancer when I was 13 years old so when I watched the film I didn’t know any better. Later in life I grew curious to see where it had happened and to hear about it all.
Operation Market Garden was mounted at speed with the purpose of bringing the war in Europe to an early end. The plan was to drop airborne troops and specially equipped jeeps at strategic river crossings through occupied Holland, so that the bridges could be kept intact while land troops drove their way up from Belgium, through Holland and into Germany. The bridge at Arnhem was the last for them to capture and hold.
The Willys MB jeep was one of the unsung heroes of the conflict. It gave ground and airborne forces a mobility that they didn’t have before and was later hailed as the machine that turned the tide of the second world war. It was light, weighing about a ton, with four-wheel drive, high and low ratios and a host of gadgets that made it invaluable on the battlefield.
It could do 55mph loaded with ammunition or spare fuel, climb a 40-degree slope and turn around in a 30ft circle. It could be adapted to pump water or pull anti-tank guns or howitzers. When it broke down, a clout with a hammer would often fix it.
The problem for the airborne troops going into Arnhem was that many of the jeeps, along with guns and radios and other equipment, were damaged during crash landings. There’s a scene in the film in which Major-General Urquhart, played by Sean Connery, is offered a mug of tea by his corporal as the battle is raging. Urquart says: “My original plan has been scuppered now that the jeeps haven’t arrived. My communications are completely broken down. Do you really believe any of that can be helped by a cup of tea?” To which Corporal Hancock replies: “Couldn’t hurt, sir.”
The loss of the jeeps was made worse by the fact that my father and the other airborne troops were dropped miles from the Arnhem bridge into an area bristling with German tanks.
That made the capture of the bridge much harder than had been expected and the holding of it, without support, virtually impossible.
While the British were able to hold the bridge for a short while, my father never actually set foot on it.
The final blow was that the land troops who were supposed to reinforce their airborne comrades were bogged down in traffic jams of heavy armour on narrow Dutch roads.