Although Ringler’s paratroopers could not group up at once because the drop²⁸ had scattered them too wide, their presence in the drop zone began to throttle the Belgian defence. Oberfeldwebel Toschka (leader Squad 8), Stabsfeldwebel Lorenz, (Squad 5) and Feldwebel Pohlmann (leader Squad 6) fortified and expanded the bridgehead from hour to hour.

After less than three hours, at 0900 hrs, the Germans saw a major Belgian counter-attack building. It was the Stukas and fighters, ceaselessly circling the Canal, which were decisive in stalling it. After receiving instructions from Koch at Vroenhoven, Altmann radioed a message to Aldinger’s unit in which he requested that the Stukas concentrate on frustrating any attempt by the Belgians to regroup. Ten minutes later he also asked that Aldinger’s batteries shell the trenches on the Kip van Hees landspill 500 metres south-west of the bridge. Aldinger did this, but after an hour the MG fire from this position resumed. The defenders here were Schaumans’s men from 10th Belgian Company. He recalled this incident thus:

“In the pause which followed our counter-attack at 0900 hrs, Schamp of Lt van Geit’s 11.Company, came to my position to establish the situation. ‘Tell van Geit that we are standing fast but in desperate need of ammunition,’ I said.

‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘But first of all I have to find out the situation of the troops nearest the bridge.’

‘Take your gun and seek cover or you won’t live to find out,’ I recommended.

He looked at me in surprise but followed my advice. Nevertheless I never saw him again. In the execution of his orders he was hit and fell.

We heard from our own artillery shelling the enemy-occupied sector near the cemetery that German snipers – on a couple of roofs and in infantry and street trenches – were making themselves felt increasingly. Many paratroopers had a rifle with telescopic sight. It suddenly occurred to me that I could be identified by the patches on my collar and greatcoat. I removed and pocketed them. We could not just stand idly by as they picked us off one after the other, therefore I shouted to Pijcke, ‘We have to spot the snipers’.

‘I’ve seen one,’ he assured me.

Left of the last house on the way to Hees I could actually see the shoulders of a paratrooper. Everybody was awaiting my order, and at my signal they fired. He was hit, for we saw him collapse and not recover. But there were more of them behind the water tower, moving ducked down in two columns and led by an officer or NCO. They were carrying a MG and ammunition case. Their intention was clear: to break our resistance. I ordered my men to withdraw our MG surreptitiously by fifteen metres. Before following them I left my helmet behind to make the Germans believe we were in the same trench. The deception worked, for shortly afterwards my steel helmet was peppered. This was the first time we eluded captivity.