Deze cache is onderdeel van de serie Sporen van de Bevrijding. Deze cache is geplaatst voor het evenement Sporen van de bevrijding: Airborne 2025 om een indruk te geven van waar we allemaal voor staan en om te laten zien waarom we de vrijheid kunnen vieren. En vooral om niet te vergeten en om de mensen te herdenken die hun leven hebben gegeven voor deze vrijheid.
XXXcorps
Over het rondje: De Polen van Driel bestaat uit 23 geocaches en richt zich op het verhaal van de Polen die bij Driel werden gedropt.
Het rondje kan op de fiets en lopend worden gedaan. De auto is NIET geschikt!!
Een deel van de caches ligt op plekken waar je met de auto niet kunt/mag komen.
Wees voorzichtig tijdens het zoeken en met de caches zelf, er zit heel veel werk in dit rondje en het zou zonde zijn als het een “vroegtijdige dood zou sterven.”
Er is een variatie aan verschillende geocache types en verstop manieren en D/T waardes.
Je zult eerst de puzzels moeten oplossen voordat je op pad kunt, die vindt je steeds bij de eerste van een serie. Voor de Polen van Driel: GCB9VZF
Je hebt op dit rondje in ieder geval een hengel nodig .
Er zijn drie rondjes die je op de fiets op elkaar kunt laten aansluiten/verbinden tot één grote fietsronde.
“De Polen van Driel” en “Een brug te ver” en "The Island"
Yellow Devils
43rd (Wessex) Division was ordered to pass through the Guards the following morning and make an all-out effort to reach the Nederrijn by a side road. The Germans were found to be dug in at Oosterhout and the countryside was so boggy that it was impossible to move vehicles off the road, making outflanking moves too slow. Despite the shortage of artillery ammunition coming up the precarious line of communication, the whole of the divisional artillery and heavy mortars were used, but it was evening before the division got through. 5th DCLI, supported by a squadron of 4th/7th DG, was ordered to make a dash over the last 10 miles (16 km) to get in touch with the Polish Parachute Brigade at Driel on the south bank of the Nederrijn. The journey took only 30 minutes, but the road behind the column was cut by German tanks that had to be hunted down and destroyed before support could be brought up. Attempts to launch DUKWs with supplies for 1st Airborne were unsuccessful.
The whole of 23 September was taken up with getting support through to 5th DCLI and the Poles and in clearing the main road, though 43rd Recce Rgt was able to exploit westwards. During the night 5th Dorsets and the divisional engineers ferried a few hundred Poles across the Nederrijn in assault boats to reinforce 1st Airborne Division's shrinking perimeter. 4th Dorsets and the engineers made another assault crossing on the night of 24/25 September, suffering heavy casualties and getting few supplies across. By now 1st Airborne had been effectively destroyed, and the only course now was to evacuate the survivors. Their radios had been inoperable, and the only communication link had been through 64th (London) Medium Regiment, RA, attached to 43rd (Wessex) Division. Through this link the code word for the evacuation was passed, and during the night of 25/26 September a feint attack was made by 5th Wiltshires while around 2300 survivors of 1st Airborne and the Poles were ferried back to the south bank; few of 4th Dorsets made it back.
The division was blamed by many airborne soldiers for its dilatory advance to the river, though the Corps commander, Lt-Gen Horrocks, defended the division, pointing out that it could not deploy any armoured vehicles (either 8th Armoured Bde or 43rd Recce Rgt's armoured cars and half-tracks) off the single road, nicknamed 'Hell's Highway', which was cut behind them on several occasions, and praising the division's hard fighting. Nevertheless, Maj-Gen Thomas replaced the commanding officer of 43rd Recce immediately after the battle.
In the aftermath of Market Garden, 43rd (Wessex) Division was stationed on 'the Island' (between the Rivers Waal and Nederrijn). 43rd Recce Rgt, with 12th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps from 8th Armoured Bde under command, protected the division's open western flank. The concealed squadrons sent back reports, but were forbidden to engage the enemy in order to hide the extent of the position. However, on the night of 26/27 September a furious firefight broke out when the Germans crossed the river in strength and attempted to emplace anti-tank guns in 43rd Recce's hidden positions.
The Germans launched a serious counter-attack from the east on 1 October, attacking 129th Bde strung out guarding the road from Nijmegen to the Nederrijn. 4th Somerset LI and 5th Wiltshires fought them off at Elst for 48 hours, the divisional artillery breaking up some of the attacks, and RAF medium bombers following up. Further north, 5th Dorsets beat off 116th Panzer Division and 7th Hampshires had to dislodge enemy troops who fortified themselves in some brick kilns, with the help of RAF Typhoons. On 5 October 43rd (Wessex) handed most of its positions over to the US 101st Airborne Division, leaving the anti-tank and mortar platoons and 5th DCLI, the divisional reserve, to help out. The attacks ended after one last attempt on 6 October. 43rd Wessex continued to hold the western part of the Island. The divisional historian records that "While the Division faced the monotony inseparable from static defence, the Reconnaissance Regiment fought a different type of war". This involved guarding the western end of the Island, cooperating with the Dutch Resistance and facilitating the escape across the river of British paratroops who had evaded capture.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43rd_(Wessex)_Infantry_Division
Puzzel
We willen graag iedereen bedanken die heeft geholpen met deze serie en de events. Daarnaast willen we ook graag de partijen bedanken die toestemming hebben gegeven voor het plaatsen van deze caches.