By dark 139 men had assembled. They were mainly from the 1st Airborne Division, but there were also a US 82nd Airborne Division trooper, a number of aircrew, some Dutch civilians, and some Russians wishing to join the Allies. The men were organised into platoons and at 9pm began moving south towards the river. Tatham-Warter recorded that the Germans were almost certainly aware of their presence, but perhaps unsure of their numbers and wary of American patrols, they kept some distance. There was one contact with a patrol and a brief exchange of fire, but no one was hurt.