Varssel, Holland: A bridge too far

August 3, 2015

I don't know who this is but anyone in a raincoat who sits on a park bench and reads is a good guy

AFTER WEEKS of rain through France and round Britain, the conversation in Holland is about heat. Yesterday was warm but today has pushed into the mid-30s. All around are bare arms and short skirts.

It was sweltering when I reached Wageningen. The joke was that years ago the town was told it could have a university or a train station. A university looked likely to bring in nice people but who knew who might pitch up on a train? So they chose a university and they still don't have a station.

The war in Holland ended here, in Wageningen

Its bigger story, though, is that it's where the Germans surrendered and ended the war in the Netherlands. It was May 5, 1945, in the Hotel de Wereld. It's still there, a small plaque outside, in Bevrijdingsstraat - Liberation Street.

What I really wanted, though, was to go on to Oosterbeek. When people say Arnhem, what they mean is Oosterbeek. They do if they mean Allied headquarters in the disastrous battle for the Bridge Too Far. You can stand there and look down on where the gliders landed for their attack south of the city. It's called John Frost bridge now, after the soldier whose group held it for four days.

The generals always get the best digs: command headquarters for Operation Market Garden, now a museum

Operation Market Garden was a disaster. The troops expected light opposition but found themselves up against Panzers. Polish intelligence had warned them but the British were too far on with their plans. They also believed the Germans were demoralised by a succession of defeats. And things were worse than even the Poles had said. After three days, the British and Poles retreated after devastating street fighting and the casualties to match.

Sorry for the mess we made, and thanks for not complaining

The Germans expelled the whole city of Arnhem and told people to fend for themselves. Troops sent to Arnhem meant fewer were available to open the port at Antwerp, to the south. Food was short. Starvation spread and as many as 18 000 died in what the Dutch call the hongerwinter.

By the time the people of Arnhem returned, long afterwards, the city was in ruins. Outside the British headquarters, which is now the Market Garden museum, is a plaque from British troops apologising for the mess they made. Inside the building, the battle is disturbingly recreated.

The street fighting is depicted dramatically in the museum

The English soldiers made a great impression on me. It's because of them that I became an English teacher and wrote 24 books on learning English. But those anxious moments in the cellar also left their traces. I still jump at the slightest sound. I've never been able to talk or write about what we went through in the war. I only got over it a couple of years ago when I brought my three children to Oosterbeek. It was a great relief.

I met a cycle-tourist from Bristol there. We talked about different views of the war, including those of his German friends.

"Their view is that Britain escaped a war crimes trial only because it won. They accept Germany's guilt but they think there should be a more neutral, unpassionate view of what happened on both sides," he said The centre of Arnhem could well be at war at the moment. It felt as though not a street wasn't being dug up. The centre wasn't, though, and I had lunch outdoors before pressing on to a tiny campground in a tiny village.

Much washing of sweat-caked clothes tonight. .

Now you've been told! It's in dialect, something about a father's birthday

Today's ride: 104 km (65 miles)
Total: 3,155 km (1,959 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0