Editing Battle of Arnhem (section)

===Day 5&nbsp;– Thursday 21 September===
[[File:The vital bridge at Arnhem after the British paratroops had been driven back.jpg|thumb|alt=Litter strewn road looking towards bridge|The Arnhem Bridge after Frost's force had been overrun and the road cleared. Notice the destroyed buildings on the right.]]

Throughout the morning, the Germans mopped up British survivors and stragglers in hiding around Arnhem bridge. It took several hours to clear the bridge of debris to allow German armour to cross and reinforce Nijmegen. Crucially, the British had held the bridge for long enough for the 82nd Airborne Division and the Guards Armoured Division to capture the Nijmegen bridge.<ref>Kershaw, p. 224</ref> With the resistance at the bridge crushed, the Germans had more troops available for the Oosterbeek engagement, although this changed suddenly in the afternoon.

Delayed by weather, the parachute infantry battalions of [[Stanisław Sosabowski]]'s 1st (Polish) Parachute Brigade were finally able to take off; 114 C-47s took off but 41 aircraft turned back after Troop Carrier Command decided it would be too dangerous to land if the aircraft were up too long. The remainder pressed on; they did not have the correct transmission codes and did not understand the messages.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 403</ref> One of the few messages to get out of Arnhem warned the Poles that DZ 'K' was not secure and to land instead on the polder east of Driel, where they should secure the Heveadorp ferry on the south bank of the Rhine.<ref>Waddy, p. 169</ref> The Poles dropped under fire at 17:00 and suffered casualties, but assembled in good order. Advancing to the river bank, they discovered that the ferry was gone; the ferryman had sunk it to deny its use to the Germans.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 340</ref> The arrival of the Poles relieved the pressure on the British, as the Germans were forced to send more forces south of the Rhine.<ref name="Evans, p16">Evans, p. 16</ref> Fearing an attack on the southern end of the road bridge or the Nijmegen road, a battalion of the 34th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division ''Landstorm Nederland'', Machine Gun Battalion 47 and other ''Kampfgruppen'' headed across the river overnight.<ref name="Kershaw, p244">Kershaw, p. 244</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S73820, Arnheim, britische Gefangene.jpg|thumb|alt=Soldiers surrendering some with their hands in the air other with them on their heads|left|British prisoners at Arnhem Bridge. They are unshaven after four days of fighting&nbsp;– water was scarce during the battle.]]

At Oosterbeek, the defensive positions were consolidated and organised into two zones. Hicks commanded the western and northern sides of the perimeter and Hackett, after some rest, the east side.<ref>Middelbrook, p. 339</ref> The perimeter was not a defensive line but a collection of defensive pockets in houses and foxholes around the centre of Oosterbeek, with the divisional headquarters at the Hotel Hartenstein at its centre. The perimeter was roughly {{convert|3|mi}} round and was defended by about 3,600 men.<ref name= "Middlebrook, p339"/><ref>Evans, p. 15</ref> The Hermann Göring NCO School attacked the Border positions on the west side near the Rhine, forcing them to abandon tactically important high ground overlooking Oosterbeek.<ref>Evans, p. 14</ref> The biggest boost to the besieged British was being able to make contact with the [[64th Regiment Royal Artillery|64th Medium Regiment, RA]] of XXX Corps, which bombarded the German positions around the perimeter.<ref name="Waddy, p124"/> The radio link to the battery headquarters was also used as the main line of communication to XXX Corps.<ref name=Middlebrook377>Middlebrook, p. 377</ref> So important was the 64 Medium Regiment that afterwards Urquhart lobbied (unsuccessfully) for the regiment to be able to wear the airborne Pegasus badge on their uniforms.<ref name= Middlebrook377/>

The British had seen the Polish drop, but were unable to make contact by radio; Private Ernest Henry Archer swam the Rhine with a message. The British planned to supply rafts for a river crossing that night, as the Poles were desperately needed on the northern bank.<ref name="Waddy, p170">Waddy, p. 170</ref> The Poles waited on the southern bank, but by 03:00 no rafts were evident and they withdrew to Driel to take up defensive positions.<ref name="Waddy, p170"/>