The British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish Parachute Brigade encountered more than two SS Panzer Divisions when it landed outside Arnhem in September 1944. This had been portrayed in the movie 'A Bridge to Far' but reality was that these Allied elite parachute units confronted a lot more than just these two German units. The Germans employed soldiers and equipment from the Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe, Kreigsmarine, Reichsarbeitdienst and the Heer. Some of the German units were in situ of the landings where others were brought in from as far as Germany, Denmark and current day Poland.

German Armoured reinforcements arriving in Arnhem.

© Barch : 497/3550/12 (PK Jacobsen)

The ability of the Germans to quickly react to changes at the front and commit all available reinforcements to battle was a skill mastered by them very early and that ability was often underestimated by the Allies during the war. These battle groups (sometimes known as Kampfgruppen) were made up from either refitting combat units, training and replacement battalions or sometimes soldiers from hospitals or on local leave. Commonly these battle groups were under command of an experienced leader with years of combat experience and had a cadre of staff with similar experience. However this was not always the case and some German Kampfgruppen, especially later in the war, that lacked this experience would ultimately pay the price during battle with very high casualties.

The were three distinct areas where German soldiers were committed during the Battle of Arnhem. The first was at the Arnhem Bridge where the majority of the British 2PARA, HQ 1 Bde and C Coy, 3PARA held a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Rhine river. The second was in Oosterbeek where the Germans were committed to stop the Allied Airborne forces advancing into Arnhem and ultimately form and reduce the pocket of the British 1st Airborne Division with its headquarters in the Hartenstein Hotel. The third area was south of the river Rhine known as the Betuwe. The Germans were employed here to engage the Polish Parachute Brigade and stop the Allied XXX Corps advancing from the south.

Self Propelled Assault Gun in the streets of Oosterbeek

What assisted the Germans fighting units during the battle was the presence of different higher headquarters which in turn sped up the logistics supply chain for ammunition and supplies. A lot of the units did not need to go through the normal channels but rather were interfacing directly with these higher headquarters. These headquarters have been listed at the top of the left hand column and go into detail, where possible, on their contribution to the Battle of Arnhem.

Support units have been included in the right hand column which played an extremely important part during the battle. German Artillery and Anti-aircraft unit played havoc during the battle hindering supply drops and softening the Oosterbeek pocket prior to attacks. Also in detail are some of the Medical and RAD units that were involved. The medical units played such a significant part saving hundreds of lives, both on the German and Allied side, for months after the Battle.

Lastly at the top of the right hand column is an article on the Kriegsberichters (German War Correspondents). So much is known from the battle due to the number of photos and articles written by these dedicated soldiers who were with the combat soldiers on the front line. There is a list of all known German War correspondents that were involved in the Battle of Arnhem.

If there are any further German Units that should be listed here then please let me know via email - Thank you.

Waffen-SS soldiers prepare for the next attack against British Positions

© Barch : 497/3531/23 (PK Jacobsen)

War Correspondents

Hundreds of photos were taken by German War Correspondents during the Battle of Arnhem. For more information about them click here:

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Artillery Support

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Artillerie Regt 191

SS Werfer Abt. 102

Anti-Aircraft Units

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Flak Brigade 'Svoboda'

SS Flak Abt. 9

4./Flak Abt. 668

Medical Units

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Kriegslazarett 1/686 (Arnhem)

Kriegslazarett 4/686 (Apeldoorn)

Kriegslazarettabt. 613 (Utrecht)

Reichsarbeitdienst (RAD)

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RAD Abteilung 4/310

2. Zug of RAD Abteilung 2/371

4./RAD Flak Abt 216