Page 13
The first mining in April apparently caught the
enemy unprepared, as minesweeping equipment
was totally inadequate. Traffic came to a halt
over the greater part of the river, and, although
the enemy succeeded in developing its counter
measures within a few weeks, subsequent
mining in May and June again increased the
problem. It appears that the enemy experienced
little difficulty in his actual sweeping operations,
as the mines in use were not of a complicated or
particularly modern type, but the intensification
of mining after mid-July made it impossible
for the available sweepers to meet the strain
imposed upon them.
There can be no doubt as to the outstanding
success of 205 Group ‘Gardening’ operations.
Overall, between April and August 1944, the
volume of traffic on the Danube was reduced by
some 60 to 70 per cent. The enemy was forced
to deploy, along a considerable length of the
river, great quantities of anti-aircraft equipment,
including balloons and guns as well as trained
crews to man them. Skilled minesweeping crews,
both naval and air, were diverted to the Danube
at a time when their services could ill-be spared
elsewhere. Finally–and most important of all,
considerable aid was given to the Russian Forces
in their westward drive, when the transport of
German reinforcements to the Eastern Front
suffered long delays.
The 1000 h.p. motor barge D.D.S.G. Ressel, which was lost on 30 April 1944 at km 1552,0.
M.F.T.R. passenger steamer Erszebet Kiralyne.
(a slightly modified and enriched excerpt of a text
from book: “Gardening by Moonlight” from Peter
Kaššák and David Gunby, available at lulu.com)
ARTICLES
INFO Eduard
13
April 2024