15 Division in Op Plunder - published accounts?

These images were taken on the same day by the same photographer:
THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45

IWM BU 2440

WITH THE BRITISH FORCES OVER THE RHINE
IWM BU 2442


WITH THE BRITISH FORCES OVER THE RHINE
IWM BU 2441

 

Hello Chris,
on the map link I sent look at 200531 - there's a farm called "Gervershof". Just to the right of it is the bridge over the Issel.

Best
Alex

 

Thanks, I will take a look! When it is not the middle of the night.

I am confused by 8 KOSB. I didn't think there was a 8th battalion or that they were involved?

 

Sorry - did I write 8th Bn? It was - of course - the 6th Bn KOSB. That was the only KOSB battailon involved in the Rhine crossing of 15th Div. My apologies!

 

Hi Alex, I see that, but it can't be the location of their HQ based on my previous map plotting. The location given for the farm was
199509.

 

I was pointing you to the farm in order to help you to locate the bridge - this had nothing to do with the HQ loacation...

 

Your grid reference points to a farm called Vöckingshof, just below the track of the unfinished Autobahn..

 

Alex, do you know who mounted the counter-attack?

 

Do you mean in the early hours of the 26th? Units of 15th Panzergrenadier-Division staged a counter attack, plus units of the recently formed and rather improvised "Kampfgruppe Karst" - of this battle group a "15. (schwere) Kompanie" (heavy MG, mortars, infantry howitzers) was mentioned in an eyewitness account by a member of that outfit. Also a "3. Zug" (3rd platoon) of "Heeresflakbattaillon 200" (an AA unit) saw action there (apparently they were attached to 15 PzGren Div). This 3rd platoon had two 3,7 cm AA guns mounted on vehicles and two quadruple-mount 2 cm AA guns left...

A "Kampfgruppe Norkus" is also mentioned - behind the Issel they were ready for the attack but they fled after being subjected to a terrible British barrage

 

Sorry, that is the date I meant. Thank you, Alex!

 

Hi alberk, I know this was two years ago, but do you remember the source of these details?

I would be happy to cite your book if it mentions these points. It would be handy to have an image of the relevant page from your book... I could possibly process it through OCR and Google Translate to get the gist of what you wrote. Or ask my father if he can read it! (His mother was German.)

 

Hi Chris C,
this is the image I used in my book - showing 44 RTR tanks moving across the LZ. I will send you the German text from my book in a PM...

 

Ahhh where is that photo from? IWM?

I got a pic of 3/4 CLY but of course they were the relieving unit.

 

Yes it is IWM.

Number BU 2400

 

Chris,

You mentioned the 3/4 CLY. Here's a small study on some Major Sale photos as he moved through the Airborne sector. Of course I'm primarily interested in the Airborne side of the story and know very little on the units that followed on afterwards. If the locations are questionable let me know.

Major Sale - Op Varsity Photos.pdf - Icedrive

Regards ...

 

Cee, thank you for that. I have seen a couple of the photos before which were kindly provided to me by the 3/4 CLY museum's curator. Not having studied the airborne operations at all your work on identifying the locations is intriguing! I have a question for you but I feel like maybe I should post it in my other thread. I'll tag you!