1ST GERMAN PARACHUTE ARMY

All available resources were collected for the hastily formed 1st Parachute Army (1.Fallschirm-Armee). The German defenders, elderly veterans, youthful recruits still in training, wounded soldiers recovering at convalescent homes, clerks, cooks, deep-sea divers, whomever could manage a weapon, were marshaled to block the Allied advance to the bridghead at Arnhem.

The odds for these ill-equipped and ill-trained defenders were improved with the arrival of battle hardened armor units. At the bridgehead, the 506th Battalion of the the 33rd Panzer Regiment of the9th SS Armor Division, which had been withdrawn to Germany for re-fitting, was now moving into Arnhem with a total of 45 new Tiger II ausf B tanks. These tanks were particularly suited for a defensive role because of their large size and relative immobility. Their heavy armor and armament had proved itself on many occasions during the defensive battles, and would prove most effective in Arnhem against the lightly armed British paratroopers.

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Song is the, "The Horst Wessel Lied"