50th Northumbrian Division



	Infantry move up past a disabled 88cm Flak Cannon. Click to Enlarge.

The 50th (Northumbrian) Division's shoulder flash is of two overlapping 'T''s represents the Tyne and Tees Rivers and whilst looking at it at from the side an 'H' can be seen representing the River Humber. In 1939 50th Division was a first line Territorial Army, Motorised Division, part of Southern Command. In June 1940, it was reorganized as an Infantry Division and joined the BEF over in Belgium. The Division was heavily committed during the withdrawal to Dunkirk, and also took part in the British counter-attack at Arras. Luckily most of the Division was fortunate enough to get out at Dunkirk, but had to leave all its equipment behind. On returning home it 150 and 151 was joined by 69 Brigade and become part of 8 Corps, British Home Forces.

In April 1941 the Division was dispatched to the Middle East first via Cyprus, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and then into Libya as part of 13 Corps. On 15th June 1942, Rommel's Africa Corps broke through the Allies defensive line and the 8th Army ordered to abandon there positions. The 1st South African and 50th Infantry Divisions were ordered to pull out. The 50th Divisions already having lost 150 brigade had to withdrawal heading west through the Italian position which it did with great success. The Division pulled back to the El Alamein defence line and although now down to two Brigades, on the 23rd October 1942, the Division took part in the battle of El Alamein. The Division went on to help in the pursuit of Rommel’s Forces across North Africa. After the North African Campaign, 50th Div was involved in Operation “Husky” the invasion of Sicily. The landings were a great success but the division did not have time to settle as Montgomery had been called back to the Britain to command the Allied Assault Force, and he choose to take back with him some of his best divisions, of which the 50th was one.



	Members of the 50th Division during Operation Market-Garden Click to Enlarge.

On arriving back in the UK, 231 Bde joined the division and training for the invasion was started in earnest. On 6 June 1944, the 50th was part of the first wave ashore, landing on Gold Beach in Normandy. first objective of Bayeux. The Division part of the British right flank and its first objective was Bayeux. After the Normandy breakout the division joined 30 Corps and was part of the operation to close the Falasie Gap, before following the retreating Germans up to the Begum-Dutch Border in early September. In an attempt to break into Germany quickly Eisenhower proposed the use of the 1st Airborne Army in a large drop in front of the US 1st Army to help break through the Siegfried line. Gen Bradley was not enamoured of this idea, so Eisenhower ordered 1st Airborne Army to operate in support of Montgomery's Northern Group of Armies. With this added force Montgomery came up with an extremely risky, although bold plan called Operation 'Market Garden'.

The plan was on the 17 September for the allied airborne forces to drop and seize the vital towns and crossing points at Eindhoven, Veghel, Grave, Nijmegen and Arnhem. 30 Corps would advance, centred on one road called route “Club” from the Meuse-Escaut Canal to Arnhem meeting up with the Airborne Forces on route. 50th Division's tasks were to follow the Guards Armoured and the 43rd Division’s as Corps reserve and secure a crossing over the River Ijssel, twelve miles north-east of Arnhem.

On 17 September 1944 at 13.30hrs the 50th Division watched as one of the largest air armadas of the war pass overhead. The division's field artillery 74th, 90th and 124th Fd Regts RA and the Morters of Cheshire Regiment took part in the opening barrage. At 14:35hrs the Sherman’s of the Irish Guards crossed the start line and despite heavy fighting reached Valkenswaard five miles south of Eindhoven by dusk. The infantry of 231 Brigade were now called up to clear woods on the left of the Guards' advance. The following day 231 Bde took over Valkenswaard, as the Guards advanced north through the bridgeheads at Zon, Vehgel and Grave and on to Nijmegen. There it took two days of severe fighting before the town and its great bridge was cleared.
On the 22nd 69 Brigade was in trouble when two battalions of infantry and a regiment of tanks cut the main Corps centre-line near Uden, eight miles south of the bridge at Grave. The brigade was cut in half with East Yorkshires in the north while the Green Howards where in the south. 124th Field Regiment, R.A., who had been moving up with the 69th Brigade, found itself in a similar predicament. The main body was cut off from its CO, 2IC, C.P.Os. and Survey party. Captain Dowdeswell the battery captain of 288th Battery, after investigating the position, put the regiment into action in support of the 101st Airborne Division, who were holding the crossings in the area. Batteries were attached to the 86th Field Regiment. The two groups of mixed artillery were collected together, and the commanding officer of the 86th Field Regiment acted as an extra C.R.A. to the American divisional commander.



	50th Division riding on the back of a Sherman Tank.

Things were now so planed so when, the next day, the Germans attempted to strengthen their grip on the road by attacking Veghel, farther south, they were met with very warm reception. The American infantry, British tanks and artillery, working in an improvised but close co-operation, drove off the enemy with heavy losses it was a fine example of allied co-operation in the field. Rations were short because of the road congestion. 69 Brigade were forced to eat captured German rations witch were terrible the jam tasted like rubber, the margarine was rancid and the medical officers confirmed that the meat was all bad.



	Armoured Car of the 50th Division Click to Enlarge.

On the 23rd 151 and 231 Brigades were ordered to move north and east of Eindhoven to guard the right flank while 69 Bde with 124th Fd Regt RA continued onward towards Nijmegen. On arrival there they came under command of the Guards Armoured Division with the task of capturing Bremmel, a village north of the river. This the 5th East Yorks achieved on the 25th, but the Germans were not happy at losing this village, and kept them under heavy artillery fire for days. On the 26th the 6th Green Howards were ordered to occupy Halderen, but the infantry ran in to severe opposition, and failed to capture there objective. The 69 brigade now attacked in the direction of Halderen continued throughout the 27th of September. During the day the East Yorks gained some ground as they were supported by a quick barrage planned by Captain Ramsden from 288th Battery, he registered with his battery but the mission was fired by the 55th Field Regiment of the Guards Div as 124th Field Regiment were supporting the Green Howards. The airborne troops farther north at Arnhem had by now been withdrawn. The attempt to reach them by land had clearly failed, and attempts to supply them by air had been only partially successful. Thus the final objective of Operation "Market Garden" Arnhem and the crossing of the Rhine defences had not been achieved.



	50th Division somewhere in Holland. Click to Enlarge.

The whole of 50th Division was now tasked with guarding the bridge and bridgehead north of Nijmegen called the Island. The first serious German counter attack came on 30 September when seventy tanks and the equivalent of an infantry division was unleashed on the division. 69 Brigade and 5th Guards Brigade were holding the line, while another attack was put in against 43rd Division across the Neder Rijn. The intensity of the attack on the 69 Bde and the intensity of there defence can be judged by the fact that 124th Field Regiment RA fired a total of 12,500 25-pound shells during the action and 'B' Company of 2nd Cheshires fired 95,000 rounds of medium-machine-gun fire. For nearly two months static warfare was the norm on the Island. The forward troops rotated regularly. The great bridge at Nijmegen was under constant shellfire and journeys over it were made at full speed. The casualties in the battles on the island in early October had been severe: almost 900 including 12 officers and 111 ORs killed in action, 30 officers and 611 ORs wounded and another 114 missing. Early in November Field Marshal Montgomery made a speech to the division's officers in a cinema in Bourg Leopold. Most of 50th Division would return to England as a training division for reinforcements. Since D-Day 50th Division had suffered total casualties of 488 officers and 6,932 ORs, but had also assimilated 358 officers and 8,019 ORs. Many of these reinforcements were soon posted to other formations.