321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion during the initial fase of Market Garden

The 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion was committed to action in the Invasion of Holland by Glider, Parachute and Seaborne follow up. Forward Observers and Liaison parties, consisting of four officers and fourteen enlisted men landed by parachute with the 50th Parachute Infantry Regiment on 17 September 1944. On 19 September twenty four officers and three hundred and eighty six enlisted men left from two departure airfields in England in seventy-one Gliders for the landing near Zon, Holland.

After a succesful take off and flying in a close formation the flight encountered a dense fog bank extending from the middle of the Channel to beyond the landing zone in Holland. Visibility was reduced so that at times it was impossible to see more than a foot of the two rope, and the formation was broken up. Tug ships changed their courses without the glider pilots knowing it and some were flipped over and forced to cut loose. Fity-seven of the seventy-one gliders eventually reached the landing zone after being subjected to heavy small arms and anti-aircraft fire the entire time they were over enemy territory. Three howitser loads were lost in the Channel and eleven were forced or shot down in Belgium and Holland. Three of the tug ships were shot down in flames. The enemy had the western edge of the landing field covered by mortar and small arms fire, making it necessary, in some cases, to unload under cover of darkness. Losses for the day were seventy-one enlisted men and two officers missing in the fourteen gliders, one man killed in landing crash and eighteen men and two officers injured. The loss represented approximately eighteen percent of the total battalion strength.

In spite of all the difficulties encoutered the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion was assembled by 16.40 (September 19th) and at 18.45 all installations were in and battalion ready to fire, in support of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment in the attack on Best.

On 22 September the battalion moved to position southwest of Veghel to support the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment in repelling vigorous enemy counter attacks aimed at cutting the supply route in that area. The batteries went forward with two man skeleton crews and in face of enemy small arms fire organized the positions. Shortly after getting positions organized they were called on to take up anti-tank positions at the bridge southwest of veghel under direct observation and small arms fire, remaining there for several hours until ordered to displace to new positions along the St. Oedenrode-Veghel road. The battalion fired continuously in support of the Infantry in repelling numerous enemy counter attacks.

On 24-25 September 1944 when the battalion was in position on the norteast side of Veghel, it was cut off from most Units of the 101st Airborne Division when the Germans succeeded in cutting the road for a period of two days... The battalion continued to support the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in clearing the road and maintain their own protection by use of all available manpower in the battalion as machine gunners, bazooka teams and riflemen...