WORLD WAR II.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Royal Artillery 1st Airborne Division. Report on Operation 'Market', 17 Sep to 26 Sep 1944. Classified SECRET, with a contemporary red pencil notation on the cover page recording this as the copy of Headquarters, Royal Artillery. This report, written in terse style, appears to predate the longer 47-page official report issued by Major-General Roy Urquhart, commander of the 1st Airborne Division during Market Garden, in January 1945. We have traced no other copies.The contents are divided into three sections, dealing with planning and execution, observations for future reference, and comments on air support. Compared to the Urquhart report, significant space is devoted to organizational and practical failures in communication, including delays in using a basic Slidex crpytography system, insufficient sharing of call signs and codes, and frequencies not being checked (leading to different set operators employing frequencies too close). The diagrams record the Royal Artillery communications structure and the wireless network used during the first lift.A laid-down label on the cover page states that the document has not been approved by the Major General Royal Artillery, 21st Army Group, at the time Major-General Meade Edward Dennis (1893–1963) - further evidence that the text is an early evaluation of the 1st Airborne Division's part in the operation.

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