|
On Sunday September 17th 1944 he had
heard about the Airborne landings
North West of the city for which he
was responsible. He and his staff
drove in their staff car, a
camouflage painted Citroen, probably
confiscated in France, to the Head
Quarters of SS-Haupsturmfuhrer
(Major) Josef 'Sepp' Krafft,
commanding the SS-Panzer
Grenadier Depot und Reserve
Battaljon 16, an
armored-infantry battalion. He
arrived at Krafft's HQ in the Hotel
Wolfheze at 17.15 hours. Krafft gave Kussin the latest intelligence and
the Stadtkommandant asked of Krafft’s
Battalion to show all endurance
possible for the upcoming battle.
Kussin left via the same way he
came, much to the reluctance of Krafft’s staff.
Coming onto the junction of
Wolfhezer Weg and Utrechtse Weg he
and his staff ran into advancing British paratroopers.
This is the account of the officer
in charge of the leading British
platoon, Lieutenant James Arthur
Stacey Cleminson
of No.5 Platoon, "B" Company, 3rd
Parachute Battalion:
"The platoon had been selected to
lead the 3rd Battalion's march to
Arnhem, and for the first two hours
they made good progress, scouting
ahead of the main force. As they
approached Battalion Krafft's
blocking line east of Wolfheze, a
German Citroen staff car suddenly
appeared at a junction in between
the platoon's positions, prompting
these units to open fire with rifles
and sten guns, killing all inside.
So enthusiastic had been the firing
that both vehicle and passengers
were riddled with bullets and it
took Cleminson's intervention to get
his men to cease fire. This prize
put the platoon on a high. Cleminson
did not discover until after the war
that his men had killed General
Friedrich Kussin, the German
commander of the Arnhem area. He had
been visiting Krafft when he
unwisely decided to return to the
town and his own headquarters."
The account of another eye-witness,Staff-Sergeant
John Oliver McGeough, a glider pilot
with "C" Squadron, No.2 Wing:
"The following morning
[Monday, September 18th 1944, Battle
Detective.com]we continued
towards Oosterbeek and at the
junction of Wolfheze Weg and
Utrechtseweg saw the first German
dead. A staff car (a camouflaged
Citroen) had come down the road from
Wolfheze and had been shot up by men
of the 2nd Parachute Btn at about
1600 hrs on Sunday afternoon. Major
General Kussin, German field
commander at Arnhem and three others
in the car were on a reconnaissance
mission and were unlucky to be
spotted by the parachutists. Shortly
after leaving the scene of the
ambush we reached the Hartenstein
Hotel at Oosterbeek and there I was
to remain for the rest of the
battle."
|
