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Sunday 24 September 1944, D-Day + 7 |
British 1st Airborne Division
A temporary cease-fire was arranged so that the British could carry
their more than 400 wounded away. The situation hardly changed this day. The
British troops were still settled around the 'perimeter' and bravely offered
resistance to the stronger Germans. But they knew that all their attempts were
useless. Most of the men only had light weapons at their disposal, no match
against German armour and artillery. Their hopes for help slowly diminished.

U.S.
101st Airborne Division
Although the Germans abandoned Erp, they still tried to cut the corridor.
Oberstleutnant Von der Heydte’s 6th Fallschirmjägerregiment
(paratroops) launched an assault on Veghel from the west. A confrontation between
the German and American forces took place in Eerde village, just south of Veghel.
The battle was fierce, but eventually American paratroopers prevailed. Further
to the south, the corridor was attacked near Koevering, a hamlet between St.
Oedenrode and Veghel. Here, around 1700, Kampfgruppe 'Jungwirth' cut
the corridor for the second time. Several British trucks were set on fire by
German shelling. Contact between the 501st and 502nd Regiment was broken. Reinforcements
were sent immediately to Koevering, but the Germans had taken positions along
the road and kept it under their control.
