Holland has been invaded from the air, and the water-barriers on which the Germans relied to protect for months the northern flank of the German frontier have been crossed in a few minutes of flying-time by airborne soldiers of the Allied First Airborne Army.
This is the immediate significance of the huge daylight airborne operation which was carried out early this afternoon. The Dutch border north of Arnhem, where the Rhine turns westward into Holland, is geographically the weakest part of the German frontier for military defence. Here the way lies open through Hanover and Westphalia to the heart of Germany.
For this reason - and partly, no doubt, from a desire to cling to the Dutch coast as the nearest land to England left in German hands - the Germans have been making a desperate defence on the lines of the Leopold, Albert and Escaut Canals, which must be crossed for Holland to be entered by troops from Northern Belgium. These three big canals are only the main water obstacles to military movements from Belgium into Holland; a network of minor waterways makes the whole of this border country difficult and slow for troops to cross.
Line of the Rhine
No defence of the Rhine could be of real value unless the German-Dutch border could also be held. The only way to hold this frontier is to hold Holland against attack either by land from the south or from the coast. This the Germans have been using every man they could find to try to do. The air over Holland has been the one element against which the Germans could not guard, and it is from this element that they have now been attacked in force.
This is the first big airborne operation to be carried out by the Allies since the formation of the First Airborne Army, under the command of Lieutenant General L. Brereton, U.S. Army, with Lieutenant General F. Browning, British Army, as Deputy Commander.
No places at which landings have been made have yet been announced by the Allied Command, but it is significant of the German lack of reconnaissance resources that very soon after the landings the Germans were broadcasting reports of fighting in named areas, no doubt in the hope of drawing Allied comment for information of the size and extent of the operation.
The Germans have described landings of Eindhoven, at Nijmegen, on the Waal River, or the south-westward fork of the Rhine after it enters Holland, and at Tilburg, on the Willhelmina Canal, fifty miles south-west of Nijmegen and about the same distance south of Utrecht . Landings at these places have not yet been confirmed here, but all three places are of obvious strategical importance in the task of overcoming the Germans in inland Holland and preparing the way for Allied forces advancing from Belgium.
The airborne landings were preceded by carefully planned air operations against German-held aerodromes and German ground defences.
The air fleet of gliders and towing aircraft was escorted by many squadrons of fighters, and rocket-carrying aircraft flew low over the ground to attack instantly any anti-aircraft gun that fired. These operations seem to have reduced the German defences to a minimum. Very few German aircraft appeared and anti-aircraft fire was described as having been "light".
A Dutch Spitfire pilot, who flew with an all-Dutch Spitfire squadron that was among the escorting air fleet, described the impressive sight of "mighty columns of huge carrier aircraft and gliders" which filled the air over Holland. He spoke of huge inundated areas south of Rotterdam and on the big islands in the Rhine and Scheldt estuaries. For miles, he said, there was nothing but water and not a human being to be seen. Farther inland the flooded areas were left behind, and he saw crowds of Dutch people going home from church and gazing up in astonishment at the fleet of their liberating Allies overhead. It must have been a deeply felt wonder for these Dutch people.
According to Plan Sunday Midnight.
The operations by airborne troops in Holland are stated to be going according to plan. In the early stages of an operation of this kind, while many groups of airborne soldiers must operate independently, detailed reports cannot be expected.
The Germans may well be surprised by the weight of armament and power of fighting equipment generally that the airborne troops can bring with them. Light tanks and jeeps can be landed from the air, and airborne soldiers can take with them their own artillery, which includes field pieces which can be landed intact from gliders and 75mm. howitzers, which are dropped in parts and can be quickly assembled.
The Germans seem to be continuing their policy of contesting fiercely Allied bridgeheads over the Leopold and Escaut Canals, while German forces try to escape into Holland across the Scheldt estuary. Now that airborne forces have landed in Holland Germans who escape across the Scheldt will have difficulty in making their way to Germany. The Germans will probably use troops withdrawn across the Scheldt to strengthen the garrison in Holland - very few can now be counted upon as reinforcements for the defence of Germany.
Inside Germany where Allied troops have crossed the frontier the Germans are seeking by local counter-attacks to limit the gains already made and to prevent further penetration. These counter-attacks have not so far achieved any real success. One such attack delivered in considerable strength between Aachen and Stolberg has been thrown back. Farther south heavy fighting is reported in the Schnee-Eifel Hills, where the Americans have forced their way to within four miles north-west of Prum.