Page 28 - LBV 2017

INTER-COMPANY TRAINING & VISITS
Nevertheless, by 0630 the defences of Eben Emael had been neutralised and the way into Belgium blown wide open. The assault on Eben Emael had been conducted by a company
of Fallshirmjägers (German paratroopers) landing by glider on the fortresses’ roof – a modern course of action that the Belgian High Command had refused to consider or plan for. The result was one of the most spectacular coups of the war and demonstrated to the rest of the world the impact that could be made by a few men if tactically deployed.
To consider and examine the historical criteria for successful airborne operations and defence against them a group of OCdts, NCOs and Officers from CUOTC departed for Belgium and the Netherlands to study both the assault on Eben Emael and the less effective
allied airborne effort, Operation
Market Garden.
By proceeding through this
battlefield tour we were given a
valuable understanding of the
principles of airborne warfare
and their development through
examining two key operations
and the factors that were critical to a successful outcome in both cases. It became clear how the development of the principles of airborne, seen in our doctrine today, were greatly influenced by these, and other, operations during the Second
The infamous ‘cupolas’ at Eben Emael
Oosterbeek airborne war cemetery
World War. Being able to see such principles in action, and taking away ideas and emphases that are useful in any operation, gave us a much fuller
understanding of the planning process, and how to maximise the chances of success. Such a tour, also gave an opportunity to reflect on the soldiers and Dutch resistance fighters who undertook Operation Market Garden and gave their lives doing so. Visiting the cemetery at Arnhem was
a poignant moment as we considered their sacrifice.
OCdt Bowring,
Trinity College, University of Cambridge, Advanced Wing (Mafeking)
Visiting the cemetery at Arnhem was a poignant moment as we considered their sacrifice.
26 THE LIGHT BLUE VOLUNTEER