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Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
fought in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a
bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
over the River Rhine, creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing nine bridges with combined U.S. and British
airborne forces Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ...
(Market) followed by land forces swiftly following over the bridges (Garden). The airborne operation was planned and undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps of the
British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...
.The Battle for the Rhine 1944 by Robin Neillands, Chapter 4 The Road to Arnhem Although the largest airborne operation of the war up to that point, Market Garden's ultimate outcome remains debated: The operation succeeded in liberating the Dutch cities of
Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
along with many towns, and limited
V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...
launching sites. However, it failed to secure a bridgehead over the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sour ...
, with the advance being halted at the river.


Geography

Highway 69 (later nicknamed "Hell's Highway") leading through the planned route was two lanes wide, partly raised above a surrounding flat terrain of
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plai ...
or
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goud ...
. The ground on either side of the highway was in places too soft to support tactical vehicle movement and there were numerous dikes and drainage ditches. Dikes tended to be topped by trees or large bushes, and roads and paths were lined with trees. In early autumn this meant that observation would be seriously restricted. There were six major water obstacles between the XXX Corps' jumping-off point and the objective of the north bank of the
Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; not to be confused with the section called Lower Rhine further upstream) is the name of the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine ben ...
: the Wilhelmina Canal at Son en Breugel wide; the Zuid-Willems Canal at
Veghel Veghel () is a town and a former municipality in the southern Netherlands. On 1 January 2017 Veghel, together with Schijndel and Sint-Oedenrode, merged into a new municipality called Meierijstad creating the largest municipality of the provi ...
; the Maas River at
Grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...
; the Maas-Waal Canal ; the Waal River at
Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
; and the Nederrijn at
Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It i ...
. Plans were made to seize bridges across all these obstacles nearly simultaneously – any failure to do so could result in serious delay or even defeat. In case bridges were demolished by the Germans, XXX Corps had plans to rebuild them. To this end, a vast quantity of bridging material was collected, along with 2,300 vehicles to carry it and 9,000 engineers to assemble it. Although the area is generally flat and open with less than of variation in altitude, Lieutenant-General
Brian Horrocks Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, (7 September 1895 – 4 January 1985) was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World W ...
, commander of XXX Corps recalled that "The country was wooded and rather marshy which made any outflanking operation impossible." There were two important hill areas, high, that represented some of the highest ground in the Netherlands; one north and west of Arnhem and one in the 82nd Airborne Division's zone, the
Groesbeek Groesbeek () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. In January 2015 the former municipality merged with Millingen aan de Rijn and Ubbergen. The larger area was known as Groesbeek until January 2016, when ...
ridge. Seizure and defence of this elevated terrain was considered to be vital to holding the highway bridges.


Allied preparation

Supreme Commander General Eisenhower's strategic goal was to encircle the heart of German industry, the
Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/ ...
, in a
pincer movement The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare. The pin ...
. The northern end of the pincer would circumvent the northern end of the
Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...
, giving easier access into Germany across the north German plains, enabling
mobile warfare Mobile warfare () is a military strategy of the People’s Republic of China employing conventional forces on fluid fronts with units maneuvering to exploit opportunities for tactical surprise, or where a local superiority of forces can be real ...
. The prime aim of Operation Market Garden was to establish the northern end of a pincer, ready to project deeper into Germany. Allied forces would project north from Belgium, through the Netherlands, across the Rhine and consolidate north of Arnhem on the Dutch/German border, ready to close the pincer. The operation made massive use of airborne forces, whose tactical objectives were to secure the bridges and to allow a rapid advance by armored ground units to consolidate north of Arnhem. The operation required the seizure of the bridges by airborne troops across the Meuse River, two arms of the Rhine (the Waal River and the Lower Rhine), together with crossings over several smaller canals and tributaries. In contrast to this large airborne force, the ground forces were light, with only one corps moving north of Eindhoven, XXX Corps. XXX Corps took along 5,000 vehicles loaded with bridging equipment and 9,000
sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...
s. The Allies captured several bridges between Eindhoven and Nijmegen at the beginning of the operation. Horrocks' XXX Corps ground force advance was delayed by the initial failure of the airborne units to secure bridges at Son en Breugel and Nijmegen. German forces demolished the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal () at Son before it could be captured by the US
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...
; a partly prefabricated
Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering unit ...
was then built over the canal by British
sappers A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing fie ...
. This delayed XXX Corps' advance by 12 hours; however, they made up the time, reaching Nijmegen on schedule. The US
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...
's failure to capture the main highway bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen before 20 September delayed the advance by 36 hours. XXX Corps had to first seize the bridge themselves, instead of speeding over a captured bridge onwards to Arnhem, where British paratroopers were still holding the north end of the bridge.The Battle for the Rhine 1944 by Robin Neillands, Chapter 5 Nijmegen At the northern point of the airborne operation, the British 1st Airborne Division initially encountered strong resistance. The delays in capturing the bridge at Nijmegen and constructing a Bailey bridge at Son gave time for German forces (the 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" and 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg", which were in the Arnhem area at the start of the jump) to organize their counterattack. A small British force managed to capture the north end of the
Arnhem road bridge John Frost Bridge (''John Frostbrug'' in Dutch) is the road bridge over the Lower Rhine at Arnhem, in the Netherlands. The bridge is named after Major-General John Dutton Frost (1912–1993), who commanded the British forces that reached and ...
, denying use of the intact bridge to German forces. After ground forces failed to relieve the paratroopers on time, they were overrun on 21 September. At the same time that XXX Corps' tanks moved over the Nijmegen bridge, 36 hours late, after seizing it from the Germans, the British paratroopers at the Arnhem bridge were capitulating, unable to hold on any longer. The remainder of the British 1st Airborne Division was trapped in a small pocket west of the Arnhem bridge, which was evacuated on 25 September after sustaining heavy casualties. The Germans counter attacked the Nijmegen salient on September 30 but failed to retake any of the allied gains. The Allies, nevertheless, had failed to cross the Rhine, and the river remained a barrier to their advance into Germany until offensives at
Remagen Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...
,
Oppenheim Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbr ...
, and Rees and Wesel in March 1945. The failure of Operation Market Garden to form a foothold over the Rhine ended Allied hopes of finishing the war in Europe by Christmas 1944.


Background

After major defeats in Normandy in the summer of 1944, remnants of German forces withdrew across France and the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
towards the German border by the end of August. In the north, in the first week of September, the British
21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established i ...
, under
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...
Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and ...
, sent its
British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...
commanded by
Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on t ...
Sir
Miles Dempsey General Sir Miles Christopher Dempsey, (15 December 1896 – 5 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. During the Second World War he commanded the Second Army in north west Europe. A highly professional ...
advancing on a line running from
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
to the northern border of Belgium, while its
First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 19 ...
, under
Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on t ...
Harry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in ...
, was pursuing its task of recapturing the ports of
Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to New ...
,
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ve ...
, and
Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...
. To the south, the U.S.
12th Army Group The Twelfth United States Army Group was the largest and most powerful United States Army formation ever to take to the field, commanding four field armies at its peak in 1945: First United States Army, Third United States Army, Ninth United Sta ...
under
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army. Bradley was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ov ...
was nearing the German border and had been ordered to line up within the
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...
gap with Lieutenant General
Courtney Hodges General Courtney Hicks Hodges (January 5, 1887 – January 16, 1966) was a decorated senior officer in the United States Army who commanded First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a notable " mustang" offi ...
' U.S. First Army, in support of Montgomery's advance on the
Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/k ...
. Meanwhile, the group's U.S. Third Army, under Lieutenant General
George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...
, moved eastward towards the
Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
. At the same time, the U.S. 6th Army Group under Lt. General Jacob L. Devers was advancing towards Germany after their landings in southern France.


Logistics problems

Before D-Day, to disrupt German logistics efforts, the Allies spent considerable effort in bombing the French rail network, although aware this would also affect their own operations in the event of a breakout. The plan of
Overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or se ...
had foreseen this, and it called for the exploitation of the ports in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
to move the supply points forward as the armies moved. By August, supply sources for the armies were still limited to the original invasion beaches, the nearby deep water port of
Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 ...
at the tip of the
Cotentin peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
, and some minor ports in Normandy. Although over-the-beach supply operations outperformed expectations, September saw deteriorating weather and rising seas, and the end of their usefulness was clearly in sight. Additional deepwater ports were therefore required; Cherbourg was useful, but it was far from the front. The Brittany ports, still occupied by stiff German resistance, were equally unsuitable as they were situated along the western coast of France and were overcome by the rapid Allied advance toward the east. On 4 September, Montgomery's troops captured the massive port of Antwerp virtually intact, but the
Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
Estuary leading to it was still under German control. Some argued that the capture of Le Havre and Antwerp made the original plan of clearing French ports further south unnecessary. Antwerp could have been opened sooner by the
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
if Montgomery had given priority to clearing the approaches, but Eisenhower and Montgomery persisted with the original plans to capture many of the French ports. The failure to open the harbours in Antwerp has been called "one of the greatest tactical mistakes of the war". The "Great Mistake" also included not cutting off the German Fifteenth Army of 80,000 men who were trapped on the coast west of Antwerp, and who were evacuated north over the Scheldt Estuary and then east along the Beveland Peninsula. These forces unexpectedly joined the battles for the bridges in the Eindhoven and Nijmegen sectors. Other important ports on the North Sea coast, such as
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
on 17 August. But these efforts were far too late to have any effect on the battles taking place after
Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take adv ...
and the following breakout into France. Instead, all supplies for the armies had to be carried forward by truck, and there were simply not enough trucks for this effort. Advancing divisions of the U.S. 12th Army Group left all their heavy artillery and half their medium artillery west of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributar ...
, freeing their trucks to move supplies for other units. The 21st Army Group stripped two of its divisions of their transport, and four British truck companies were lent to the Americans. Organization of the Red Ball Express did much to lessen the impact of the transport shortage but this ''ad hoc'' operation could not solve the problem. As the Allied pursuit across France and Belgium continued, distances increased beyond the range of a single truck, requiring fuel to be brought forward in those trucks to refuel the logistics further from the ports. Fuel consumption soared. Soon it took five gallons of fuel to deliver one gallon to the front. Fuel pipelines were constructed to shorten the supply lines, but were too time-consuming to build to be of much short-term use. By 28 August the Communications Zone could no longer guarantee fuel deliveries, and both the U.S. First and Third Armies reported less than a day's supply on hand. Furthermore, the stripping of the armies of their own transport had the effect of seriously slowing their own maneuverability. On 30 August, drastic steps were taken to suspend imports entirely; 21st Army Group would draw on its reserves in Normandy until the ports of
Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to New ...
and Boulogne-sur-Mer could be opened. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that 1,400 British three-ton trucks were found to be useless because of faulty metal alloy used for pistons in both their original and their replacement engines – they could have moved 800 tons per day, enough for two divisions. Offensive operations slowed to a standstill, allowing the German forces their first respite in weeks.


Strategy

Following the Allied breakout from Normandy, and the closure of the Falaise Pocket, the
Supreme Allied Commander Supreme Allied Commander is the title held by the most senior commander within certain multinational military alliances. It originated as a term used by the Allies during World War I, and is currently used only within NATO for Supreme Allied Com ...
of the Allied armies on the Western Front,
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, favored pursuit of the seemingly shattered German armies northwards and eastwards across the Seine, and ultimately to the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sour ...
on a broad front. While agreeing that Montgomery's drive towards the Ruhr should have priority, he still thought it was important to "get Patton moving again". To that end, in the first week of September 1944, Eisenhower authorized the U.S. First Army to cross the Rhine near
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
,
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr ...
, and
Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its n ...
while the U.S. Third Army crossed near
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
,
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with M ...
, and
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants ...
. Eisenhower relied on speed, which in turn depended on logistics, which he conceded were "stretched to the limit". This strategy was contested by his subordinates, particularly Montgomery, who argued that with the supply situation deteriorating, he would not be able to reach the Ruhr, but "a relocation of our present resources of every description ''would'' be adequate to get ''one'' thrust to Berlin".
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF t ...
(SHAEF) did provide Montgomery with additional resources, principally additional
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; t ...
s and
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles c ...
, and priority for air supply. Montgomery initially suggested ''Operation Comet'', a limited airborne ''
coup de main A ''coup de main'' (; plural: ''coups de main'', French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. Definition The United States Department of Defense defines it as ...
'' operation that was to be launched on 2 September 1944. Comet envisioned using the British 1st Airborne Division, along with the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, to secure several bridges over the Rhine River to aid the Allied advance into the
North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Bal ...
. The divisional headquarters for the British 1st Airborne Division, with the 1st Airlanding Brigade and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were to land at Nijmegen, the British 1st Parachute Brigade was to land at Arnhem, and the British 4th Parachute Brigade was to land at Grave, Netherlands. However several days of poor weather and Montgomery's concerns over increasing levels of German resistance caused him to postpone the operation and then cancel it on 10 September. Comet was replaced by a more ambitious plan to bypass the Siegfried Line by hooking around its northern end, allowing the Allies to cross the Rhine with large forces and trap the German Fifteenth Army by advancing from Arnhem to the shores of the
IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...
: Operation Market Garden. On 10 September Dempsey, the British Second Army commander, told Montgomery that he had doubts about this plan and that he instead favored an advance north-eastwards between the Reichswald forest and the Ruhr to
Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighov ...
. Montgomery replied that he had just received a signal from London that something needed to be done to neutralize the V-2 launch sites around
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital ...
(which were bombarding London) and that the plan must therefore proceed. Angered by Eisenhower's reluctance, Montgomery flew to Brussels that afternoon to meet him. Montgomery demanded that Eisenhower's
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
leave the meeting while insisting that his own should remain. He then tore a file of Eisenhower's messages to shreds in front of him, argued for a concentrated northern thrust, and demanded priority in supplies. So fierce and unrestrained was Montgomery's language that Eisenhower reached out, patted Montgomery's knee, and said, "Steady, Monty! You can't talk to me like that. I'm your boss." Eisenhower stated his belief that advance on a broad front would soon provoke German forces to collapse. He allegedly told Montgomery why a "single thrust" toward Berlin was not going to be accepted.
What you're proposing is this – if I give you all the supplies you want, you could go straight to Berlin – right straight (500 miles) to Berlin? Monty, you're nuts. You can't do it. What the hell ... If you try a long column like that in a single thrust you'd have to throw off division after division to protect your flanks from attack.Cornelius Ryan, ''A Bridge Too Far'', Popular Library, 1974, pp. 85–88
Tedder however recorded at the time that "the advance to Berlin was not discussed as a serious issue, nor do I think it was so intended". Nevertheless, Eisenhower consented to Operation Market Garden, giving it "limited priority" in terms of supplies – and only as part of an advance on a broad front. Eisenhower promised that aircraft and trucks would deliver 1,000 tons of supplies per day. In vain, Montgomery complained about this to the Vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff (VCIGS) in London, Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Nye. For Market Garden, the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions would be maintained from British stocks for all common items such as food and fuel. Noncommon items like ammunition, ordnance, and signal and engineer stores were delivered by the Red Ball Express or by rail to No. 6 Army Roadhead at Grammont. Three newly arrived U.S. infantry divisions (the 26th, 95th, and 104th) were stripped of their transportation, which was used to form provisional truck companies. These were assigned to the Red Ball Express, releasing eight companies to Red Lion, a special route to support Market-Garden. Red Lion convoys exceeded their target, delivering 650 tons per day instead of 500. Half of the tonnage hauled was supplies for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Eisenhower's decision to launch Market Garden was influenced by his desire to keep the retreating Germans under pressure. However, he was also under pressure from the United States to use the First Allied Airborne Army as soon as possible. After Normandy, the airborne forces (minus the British 6th Airborne Division, which remained in Normandy until early September) had been withdrawn to reform in England, re-forming into the First Allied Airborne Army of two British and three U.S. airborne divisions and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. In the following months, plans for eighteen airborne operations had been drafted but then cancelled at short notice, mostly when the rapidly moving Allied ground forces overran the intended drop zones. The plan of action consisted of two operations: * Market: airborne forces of Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton's First Allied Airborne Army to seize bridges and other terrain, under tactical command of I Airborne Corps under Lieutenant-General
Frederick Browning Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague "Boy" Browning, (20 December 1896 – 14 March 1965) was a senior officer of the British Army who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He was also an Olympic bobslei ...
, and * Garden: ground forces of the Second Army to move north spearheaded by XXX Corps under Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks.


Market

Market would employ four of the six divisions of the First Allied Airborne Army. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division, under Major General
Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, n ...
, would drop in two locations just north of XXX Corps to take the bridges north of
Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...
, under Brigadier General
James M. Gavin James Maurice Gavin (March 22, 1907 – February 23, 1990), sometimes called "Jumpin' Jim" and "the jumping general", was a senior United States Army officer, with the rank of lieutenant general, who was the third Commanding General (CG) of the ...
, would drop northeast of them to take the bridges at
Grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grav ...
and Nijmegen and the British 1st Airborne Division, under Major-General
Roy Urquhart Major General Robert Elliot "Roy" Urquhart, (28 November 1901 – 13 December 1988) was a British Army officer who saw service during the Second World War and Malayan Emergency. He became prominent for his role as General Officer Commanding ...
, with the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, under Brigadier General
Stanisław Sosabowski Stanisław Franciszek Sosabowski CBE (; 8 May 1892 – 25 September 1967) was a Polish general in World War II. He fought in the Polish Campaign of 1939 and at the Battle of Arnhem (Netherlands) in 1944 as commander of the Polish 1st Indepen ...
, attached would drop at the extreme north end of the route, capturing the road bridge at Arnhem and the rail bridge at
Oosterbeek Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem. The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank ...
. The
52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowland ...
would be flown to the captured Deelen Airfield on D+5. The First Allied Airborne Army had been created on 16 August as the result of British requests for a coordinated headquarters for airborne operations, a concept approved by General Eisenhower on 20 June. The British had strongly hinted that a British officer – Browning in particular – be appointed its commander. Browning for his part decided to bring his entire staff with him on the operation to establish his field HQ using the much-needed 32
Airspeed Horsa The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa was a British troop-carrying glider used during the Second World War. It was developed and manufactured by Airspeed Limited, alongside various subcontractors; the type was named after Horsa, the legendary 5th-century ...
gliders for administrative personnel, and six
Waco CG-4 Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...
A gliders for U.S. Signals' personnel. Since the bulk of both troops and aircraft were American, Brereton, a
U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
officer, was named by Eisenhower on 16 July and appointed by SHAEF on 2 August. Brereton had no experience in airborne operations but had extensive command experience at the air force level in several theaters, most recently as commander of
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint ...
, which gave him a working knowledge of the operations of
IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. As a component command of the Ninth ...
. Market would be the largest airborne operation in history, delivering over 34,600 men of the 101st, 82nd and 1st Airborne Divisions and the Polish Brigade. 14,589 troops were landed by
glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of gliding ...
and 20,011 by parachute. Gliders also brought in 1,736 vehicles and 263 artillery pieces. 3,342 tons of ammunition and other supplies were brought by glider and parachute drop. To deliver its 36 battalions of airborne infantry and their support troops to the continent, the First Allied Airborne Army had under its operational control the 14 groups of IX Troop Carrier Command, and after 11 September the 16 squadrons of 38 Group RAF (an organization of converted bombers providing support to resistance groups) and a transport formation, 46 Group. The combined force had 1,438 C-47/Dakota transports (1,274
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and 164
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) ...
) and 321 converted RAF bombers. The Allied glider force had been rebuilt after Normandy until by 16 September it numbered 2,160 CG-4A Waco gliders, 916 Airspeed Horsas (812 RAF and 104 U.S. Army) and 64 General Aircraft Hamilcars (large cargo gliders). The U.S. had only 2,060 glider pilots available, so that none of its gliders would have a co-pilot but would instead carry an extra passenger. Because the C-47s served as paratrooper transports and glider tugs and because IX Troop Carrier Command would provide all the transports for both British parachute brigades, this massive force could deliver only 60 percent of the ground forces in one lift. This limit was the reason for the decision to split the troop-lift schedule into successive days. Ninety percent of the USAAF transports on the first day would drop parachute troops, with the same proportion towing gliders on the second day (the RAF transports were almost entirely used for glider operations). Brereton rejected having two airlifts on the first day, although this had been accomplished during Operation Dragoon, albeit with slightly more daylight (45 minutes) and against negligible opposition. 17 September was on a dark moon and in the days following it the
new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...
set before dark. Allied airborne doctrine prohibited big operations in the absence of all light, so the operation would have to be carried out in daylight. The risk of ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' interception was judged small, given the crushing air superiority of Allied fighters but there were concerns about the increasing number of
flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
units in the Netherlands, especially around Arnhem. Brereton's experience with tactical air operations judged that flak suppression would be sufficient to permit the troop carriers to operate without prohibitive loss. The invasion of Southern France had demonstrated that large scale daylight airborne operations were feasible. Daylight operations, in contrast to those in
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
and
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, would have much greater navigational accuracy and time-compression of succeeding waves of aircraft, tripling the number of troops that could be delivered per hour. The time required to assemble airborne units on the drop zone after landing would be reduced by two-thirds. IX Troop Carrier Command's transport aircraft had to tow gliders and drop paratroopers, duties that could not be performed simultaneously. Although every division commander requested two drops on the first day, Brereton's staff scheduled only one lift based on the need to prepare for the first drop by bombarding German flak positions for half a day and a weather forecast on the afternoon of 16 September (which soon proved erroneous) that the area would have clear conditions for four days, so allowing drops during them. After one week preparations were declared complete. The planning and training for the airborne drops at Sicily and Normandy had taken months. One
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
historian noted that 'Market' was the only large airborne operation of the war in which the USAAF "had no training program, no rehearsals, almost no exercises, and a...low level of tactical training." Gavin was skeptical of the plan. In his diary he wrote, "It looks very rough. If I get through this one I will be very lucky." He was also highly critical of Browning, writing that he "...unquestionably lacks the standing, influence and judgment that comes from a proper troop experience... his staff was superficial... Why the British units fumble along... becomes more and more apparent. Their tops lack the know-how, never do they get down into the dirt and learn the hard way."


Garden

Garden consisted primarily of XXX Corps and was initially spearheaded by the
Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier ...
, with the 43rd Wessex and 50th Northumbrian Infantry Divisions in reserve. They were expected to arrive at the south end of the 101st Airborne Division's area on the first day, the 82nd's by the second day and the 1st's by the fourth day at the latest. The airborne divisions would then join XXX Corps in the breakout from the Arnhem bridgehead. Four days was a long time for an airborne force to fight unsupported. Even so, before Operation Market Garden started it seemed to the Allied high command that the German resistance had broken. Most of the German Fifteenth Army in the area appeared to be fleeing from the Canadians and they were known to have no '' Panzergruppen''. It was thought that XXX Corps would face limited resistance on their route up Highway 69 and little
armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or ...
. Meanwhile, the German defenders would be spread out over trying to contain the pockets of airborne forces, from the Second Army in the south to Arnhem in the north.


German preparation

The rout of the ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the '' Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previ ...
'' during July and August led the Allies to believe that the German army was a spent force unable to reconstitute its shattered units. During those two months the ''Wehrmacht'' had suffered a string of defeats with heavy losses. Between 6 June and 14 August it had suffered 23,019 killed in action, 198,616 missing or taken prisoner and 67,240 wounded. Many of the formations the ''Wehrmacht'' had at the beginning of the Normandy campaign had been annihilated or reduced to skeleton formations by the end of August. As the German armies retreated towards the German frontier, they were often harried by air attacks and bombing raids by aircraft of the Allied air forces, inflicting casualties and destroying vehicles. Attempts to halt the Allied advance often seemed fruitless as hurried counter-attacks and blocking positions were brushed aside and at times there seemed to be too few German units to hold anywhere. By early September the situation was beginning to change. 65,000 troops of the German Fifteenth Army were extricated from the area with 225 guns and 750 trucks by a flotilla of commandeered freighters, barges and small boats. From there they moved to the Netherlands.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
began to take a personal interest in the apparent disintegration of
Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of A ...
, which comprised the German armies in northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. On 4 September he recalled ''
Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...
''
Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German field marshal in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Rundstedt entere ...
, who had been in retirement since Hitler had dismissed him as ''Wehrmacht'' Commander-in-Chief West on 2 July, and reinstated him in his former command, replacing ''Generalfeldmarschall''
Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German field marshal during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defen ...
, who had taken command just 18 days previously and would henceforth command only Army Group B. Rundstedt immediately began to plan a defence against what Wehrmacht intelligence judged to be 60 Allied divisions at full strength, although Eisenhower in fact possessed only 49 divisions. Model set out to stop the Allied advance. The German 719th Infantry Division, part of LXXXVIII Corps, was dispatched south to the
Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel� ...
and Model requested reinforcements from Germany, stating that he would require 25 infantry divisions and six armoured divisions to hold; he envisioned a line stretching from Antwerp via
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of th ...
to
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...
and from there to follow the line of the Albert Canal to the Meuse and the Siegfried Line. Meanwhile,
Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...
Kurt Student Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the ''Fallsc ...
, commander of the '' Fallschirmjaeger'', the German airborne forces, received orders from
Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German ''Generaloberst'' who served as the chief of the Operations Staff of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout World ...
, Chief of the Operations Staff of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'', to immediately move from Berlin and proceed to the Netherlands, where he would collect all available units and build a front near the Albert Canal, which was to be held at all costs. This front was to be held by the new First Parachute Army, a euphemistic name for a paper formation. Its units were scattered throughout Germany and the Netherlands and consisted either of units in the process of being formed or remnants cadred by survivors of previous units. Though the situation seemed dire, the German front was beginning to form into what Robert Kershaw terms "a crust". Leadership, initiative, and a good staff system were beginning to create a defense out of chaos. On 4 September, the 719th infantry division began to dig in along the Albert Canal and was soon joined by forces under the command of Lieutenant General
Kurt Chill Kurt Chill (1 May 1895 – 5 July 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded the LV. Armeekorps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross of the Iron ...
. Although Chill only officially commanded the 85th Infantry Division, which had suffered heavy casualties during the retreat from Normandy, he had assumed command of the remnants of the 84th and 89th Infantry Divisions en route. Initially ordered to take his command to the
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhineland ...
for rest and reinforcements, Chill disregarded the order and moved his forces to the Albert Canal, linking up with the 719th; he also had "reception centers" set up at the bridges crossing the Albert Canal, where small groups of retreating troops were picked up and turned into ad hoc units. By 7 September the 176th Infantry Division, a ''Kranken'' division composed of elderly men and men with various medical complaints, had arrived from the Siegfried Line and elements of the First Parachute Army began to appear. At this stage the Army consisted of approximately seven ''Fallschirmjaeger'' regiments composed of some 20,000 airborne troops along with a collection of anti-aircraft batteries and a mix of 25
self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...
s and
tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often ...
s. ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' and SS units were also allocated to Student's command, and Hitler had promised Model that 200
Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to ...
s would be sent straight from the production lines; he also ordered all Tiger tanks, ''
Jagdpanther The ''Jagdpanther'' (German: "hunting Panther"), Sd.Kfz. 173, was a tank destroyer (''Jagdpanzer'', a self-propelled anti-tank gun) built by Germany during World War II. The ''Jagdpanther'' combined the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, similar to th ...
'' self-propelled guns, and 88 mm guns that were available in Germany to be transferred to the West. On 5 September, Model's forces were bolstered by the arrival of the II SS Panzer Corps, which consisted of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions under the command of
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Wilhelm Bittrich Wilhelm Bittrich (26 February 1894 – 19 April 1979) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations ('' Ban ...
. The Corps had been reduced to approximately 6,000–7,000 men, 20–30% of its original strength in the course of continuous action since late June including in the Falaise pocket; losses in officers and NCOs had been especially high. Model ordered the two divisions to rest and refit in "safe" areas behind the new German line; these areas coincidentally were to be Eindhoven and Arnhem. The 10th SS Panzer Division was to be restored to full strength in order to provide an armored reserve and thus the 9th SS Panzer Division was ordered to transfer all of its heavy equipment to its sister division; it was intended that the 9th would then be transported to Germany for replenishment. At the time of Operation Market Garden, the 10th SS Panzer Division had an approximate strength of 3,000 men; an armored infantry regiment, divisional reconnaissance battalion, two artillery battalions, and an engineer battalion, all partially motorized. Other formations were appearing to strengthen the German defenses. Between 16 and 17 September, two infantry divisions from Fifteenth Army assembled in Brabant, under strength but well-equipped and able to act as a reserve. Near Eindhoven and Arnhem a number of scratch formations were being assembled. Several SS units, including an NCO training battalion and a ''panzergrenadier'' reserve battalion, were being prepared to enter combat and Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine personnel were being grouped into ''Fliegerhorst'' and ''Schiffstammabteilung'' formations. There were also a number of training battalions that were being equipped, several depot battalions from the Panzer Division ''Hermann Göring'' and various artillery, anti-aircraft, and field police units scattered throughout the north of the Netherlands.


Intelligence


German

Rundstedt and Model suspected that a large Allied offensive was imminent, having received many intelligence reports that described a 'constant stream' of reinforcements to the right wing of the British Second Army. The senior intelligence officer of Army Group B believed the Second Army would launch an offensive in the direction of Nijmegen, Arnhem and Wesel with a primary objective of reaching the industrial area along the Ruhr river. He was convinced that airborne troops would be used in this offensive but was unsure where they would be deployed, suspecting areas along the Siegfried Line north of Aachen or possibly even near the Saar. Second Army would assemble its units at the Maas-Scheldt and Albert Canals. The right wing of the Army would be the assault force, composed primarily of armoured units, which would force a crossing of the Maas and attempt to break through to the Ruhr industrial area near Roermond. The left wing would cover the Army's northern flank by moving up to the Waal near Nijmegen and isolating the German 15th Army situated on the Dutch coast.


Allied

A number of reports about German troop movements reached Allied high command, including details of the identity and location of German armored formations. The UK Government Code and Cypher School at
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the Second World War. The man ...
which monitored and decrypted German radio traffic produced intelligence reports codenamed
Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ...
. These were sent to senior Allied commanders, but they only reached army headquarters level and were not passed down any lower. Ultra reports revealed the movement of the 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer Divisions to Nijmegen and Arnhem, creating enough concern for Eisenhower to send his chief of staff, Lieutenant General
Walter Bedell Smith General Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) during the Tunisia Campaig ...
, to raise the issue with Montgomery on 10 September. However, Montgomery dismissed Smith's concerns and refused to alter the plans for the landing of 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem. Further information about the location of the German Panzer Divisions at Arnhem was revealed by aerial photographs of Arnhem taken by a photo-reconnaissance Spitfire XI from RAF's No. 16 Squadron, as well as information from members of the Dutch resistance. Fearing that 1st Airborne Division might be in grave danger if it landed at Arnhem the chief intelligence officer of the division, Major Brian Urquhart, arranged a meeting with Browning and informed him of the armour present at Arnhem. Browning dismissed his claims and ordered the division's senior medical officer to send Urquhart on sick leave on account of "nervous strain and exhaustion".


Battle


Day 1: Sunday, 17 September 1944


Early successes

Operation Market Garden opened with Allied success all round. In the first landing, almost all troops arrived on top of their drop zones without incident. In the 82nd Airborne Division, 89% of troops landed on or within of their drop zones and 84% of gliders landed on or within of their landing zones. This contrasted with previous operations where night drops had resulted in units being scattered by up to . Losses to enemy aircraft and flak were light; German flak was described in reports as "heavy but inaccurate". By the end of the first day all water crossings were 100% in allied hands, or German troops prevented from using the crossings, except for the large Nijmegen bridge. In the south, the 101st met little resistance and captured four of five bridges assigned to them. After a brief delay caused by four 88 mm guns and a machine gun post, the bridge at Son was blown up by the Germans on approach. Later that day several small attacks by the German 59th Infantry Division were beaten off. Small units of the 101st moved south of Son, towards Eindhoven. Later that day they made contact with German forces. Elements of the 44th Royal Tank Regiment who were advancing in the VIII Corps sector assisted the 101st. To their north, the 82nd arrived with a small group dropped near Grave securing the bridge. They also succeeded in capturing one of the vitally important bridges over the Maas-Waal canal, the lock-bridge at Heumen. The 82nd concentrated their efforts to seize the Groesbeek Heights instead of capturing their prime objective, the Nijmegen bridge. The capture of the Groesbeek Heights was to set up a blocking position on the high ground to prevent a German attack out of the nearby Reichswald and to deny the heights to German artillery observers. Browning, the commander of the 1st Airborne Army agreed with the assertions of Gavin, the commander of the 82nd, that Groesbeek Heights were the priority. Gavin wanted to occupy the Grave and the Maas (Meuse)-Waal canal bridges before Nijmegen bridge. He would attempt to seize the Nijmegen bridge only when these were secure, thus releasing troops for Nijmegen. Before the operation on 15 September Gavin verbally ordered Lt-Col Linquist of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment to send a battalion to the Nijmegen bridge after landing. He had decided that there were enough troops for the other objectives. Linquist later said he understood he should send a battalion after his regiment had completed their earlier assigned targets. Linquist's battalion approached the bridge that evening delaying the seizure of the bridge. The battalion was stopped by a SS unit that had driven south from Arnhem. A part of the SS unit returned to Arnhem but found the northern end of the Arnhem bridge occupied by the British 1st Airborne. In an attempt to cross the bridge most of the SS unit was killed, including the commander. The 508th was tasked with taking the long Nijmegen highway bridge if possible but because of miscommunication they did not start until late in the day. General Gavin's orders to Colonel Lindquist of the 508th were to "move without delay" onto the Nijmegen road bridge. Lindquist's 508th started jumping at 13:28 with 1,922 men. The jump was perfect with the regiment 90% assembled by 15:00. The commander of 3rd Battalion wrote later that..."we could not have landed better under any circumstances". The 508th was still sitting around when Gavin asked them at 18:00 if they had got to the bridge yet. They faced the same disadvantage as the British at Arnhem in dropping many miles from their objective. If they had attacked earlier they would have faced only a dozen German bridge guards. By the time the 508th attacked, troops of the 10th SS Reconnaissance Battalion were arriving. The attack failed, leaving the Nijmegen bridge in German hands. Capturing this bridge was vital. Unlike some of the bridges to the south which were over smaller rivers and canals that could be bridged by
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units, the Nijmegen and Arnhem bridges crossed two arms of the Rhine that could not be bridged easily. If either of the Nijmegen or Arnhem bridges were not captured and held, the advance of XXX Corps would be blocked and Operation Market Garden would fail.


British landings

The 1st Airborne Division landed at 13:30 without serious incident but problems associated with the poor plan began soon after. Only half of the division arrived with the first
lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...
and only half of these (1st Parachute Brigade) could advance on the bridge. The remaining troops had to defend the drop zones overnight for the arrival of the second lift on the following day. Thus the division's primary objective had to be tackled by less than half a brigade. While the paratroopers marched eastwards to Arnhem, the Reconnaissance Squadron was to race to the bridge in their jeeps and hold it until the rest of the brigade arrived. The unit set off to the bridge late and having traveled only a short distance the vanguard was halted by a strong German defensive position; the squadron could make no further progress. This had grave consequences. Five hours after the initial landing, feeling that the British were tied down in Arnhem, the Reconnaissance Battalion of the 9th SS Panzer Division was able to cross the Arnhem bridge and drive to Nijmegen and the bridge over the Waal branch of the Rhine. No British airborne unit was at the bridge. Arnhem veteran Tom Hicks of 1st Parachute Squadron of the Royal Engineers described the problems the paratroops faced: "They (the Germans) had guns that out-ranged ours. We had no artillery with us so they could just lay off and pick you off kind of thing. If we wanted to get a gun out of action we had to send a patrol out, do it man to man kind of thing." Two of the three
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are e ...
s of the 1st Parachute Brigade were slowed down by small German units of a training battalion which had quickly established a thin blocking line covering the obvious routes into Arnhem. Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost's 2nd Parachute Battalion, advancing eastwards along the southernmost road into Arnhem near the Rhine, found its route largely undefended. They arrived at the bridge in the evening and set up defensive positions at the north end. They were joined by Brigade HQ, led by Major
Tony Hibbert Anthony James Hibbert (born 20 February 1981) is an English footballer, currently playing for French amateur side ES Louzy. Originally a midfielder, Hibbert converted to play at right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Everton, ...
, which was the brigade's only other unit to reach the bridge.Roll Call: Major Tony Hibbert, MBE MC
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Two attempts to capture the arched steel bridge and its southern approach failed. Of the other battalions, the 3rd Parachute Battalion had covered only half the distance to the bridge when they halted for the night, the rear of their column being under attack and needing time to catch up. The 1st Parachute Battalion was similarly fragmented, yet pushed on around the flank of the German line throughout the night. Frequent skirmishes resulted in their making little more progress. The 3rd Battalion under Captain James Cleminson, KBE, MC, ambushed a German staff car and killed the commander of Arnhem's garrison, Major-General Friedrich Kussin, as well as his aide and his driver.


Communication breakdown

Some loss of communication between the bridge and divisional headquarters in one of the drop zones was expected, because separated them and the main radio was the Type 22 set, with an effective range of . The British radios did not function at any range; some had difficulty receiving signals from just a few hundred metres and others received nothing at all. It was found after landing that the radios had been set to different frequencies, two of which coincided with German and British public broadcasting stations. Other theories have been advanced to explain the greatly reduced range of the 1st Airborne Division radio sets. Thus communication between 1st Airborne units was poor while German defences were being coordinated and reinforced. John Greenacre's study points out that radio communications failures were experienced by the division before, were warned about prior to the operation and provided for by bringing extra field telephone wire. The more powerful WS19HP set was used by the 1st Brigade on D+1. The only means of calling for air support was through two special American units dropped with the 1st Airborne Division. These units were equipped with "Veeps": jeeps having
Very High Frequency Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
SCR-193 crystal sets. It was found impossible to communicate with aircraft on the higher of two frequencies for this and the sets could not be tuned to the lower frequency. Despite efforts to re-tune them, one set was soon destroyed by mortar fire and the other abandoned the next day, cutting the only possible link with RAF fighter-bombers. The pilots were under orders not to attack on their own initiative, since from the air there was no easy way to distinguish friend from foe; together with poor weather, this led to a lack of air support. After the war it was found that the Royal Corps of Signals was either unaware or failed to tell divisional signals of the communication problems identified in November 1943 due to sun spots by the Scientific Advisor's Office to the 21st Army Group. Urquhart ordered the aerials to be used, which were useless due to the physics of
radio propagation Radio propagation is the behavior of radio waves as they travel, or are propagated, from one point to another in vacuum, or into various parts of the atmosphere. As a form of electromagnetic radiation, like light waves, radio waves are affec ...
. The wrong frequencies were part of the same problem due to signals personnel not knowing the science of radio communications.


XXX Corps advance

On the morning of 17 September Horrocks was given confirmation that the operation was to take place that day. At 12:30 hours Horrocks received a signal that the first wave of the airborne forces had left their bases within the United Kingdom and set the time for the ground attack to start at 14:35 hours. At 14:15 hours 300 guns of the Corps artillery opened fire, firing a rolling barrage in front of XXX Corps start line that was wide and in depth. The barrage was supported by seven squadrons of RAF
Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...
s firing rockets at all known German positions along the road to
Valkenswaard Valkenswaard () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant. The municipality had a population of in and spans an area of of which is water. The name Valkenswaar ...
. The advance was led by tanks and infantry of the
Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has partic ...
and started on time when Lieutenant Keith Heathcote, commanding the lead tank, ordered his driver to advance. The lead units of the Irish Guards Group had broken out of XXX Corps bridgehead on the Maas-Schelde canal and crossed into the Netherlands by 15:00 hours. After crossing the border the Irish Guards were ambushed by infantry and anti-tank guns dug in on both sides of the main road. Portions of the artillery barrage were refined and fresh waves of Hawker Typhoons were called in. The Guardsmen moved forward to clear the German positions, manned by elements from two German parachute battalions and two battalions of the 9th SS Panzer Division, and soon routed the German forces flanking the road. Interrogation of captured German soldiers led to some of them willingly, others after being threatened, pointing out the remaining German positions. The fighting soon died down and the advance resumed. By last light the town of Valkenswaard had been reached and occupied by the Irish Guards Group. Horrocks had expected that the Irish Guards would have been able to advance the to Eindhoven within two-three hours; however, they had only covered . The operation was already starting to fall behind schedule. In Valkenswaard engineers were moved up to construct a Class 40 Bailey bridge over a stream, which was completed within 12 hours.


German reactions

On the German side, it was soon clear what was happening. Model was staying at the Tafelberg Hotel in Oosterbeek, a village to the west of Arnhem, when the British began to land in the countryside to the west of Oosterbeek. He rapidly deduced the likely focus of the attack and after evacuating his headquarters, organized a defense. Bittrich sent a reconnaissance company of the 9th SS Panzer Division to Nijmegen to reinforce the bridge defenses. By midnight, Model had gained a clear picture of the situation and had organized the defense of Arnhem. The confusion usually caused by airborne operations was absent at Arnhem and the advantage of surprise was lost. During the operation, the Germans (allegedly) recovered a copy of the Market Garden plan from the body of an American officer, who should not have carried it into combat.


Day 2: Monday, 18 September

Allied weather forecasters correctly predicted that England would be covered in fog on the morning of 18 September. The Second Lift was postponed for three hours and thick low clouds began to develop over the southern part of the battle zone, spreading during the day over the area, hampering supply and air support (Seven of the next eight days had poor weather and all air operations were cancelled on 22 and 24 September).


1st Airborne zone

The 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions pushed towards the Arnhem bridge during the early hours and had made good progress but they were frequently halted in skirmishes as soon as it became light. With their long and unwieldy columns having to halt to beat off attacks whilst the troops in front carried on unaware, the Germans delayed segments of the two battalions, fragmented them and mopped up the remnants. Early in the day the 9th SS Reconnaissance Battalion (sent south the day before) concluded it was not needed in Nijmegen and returned to Arnhem. Though aware of the British troops at the bridge, it attempted to cross by force and was beaten back with heavy losses, including its commanding officer, SS-Hauptsturmführer Viktor Gräbner. By the end of the day the 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions had entered Arnhem and were within of the bridge with approximately 200 men, one-sixth their original strength. Most of the officers and non-commissioned officers had been killed, wounded or captured. The Second Lift was delayed by fog and jumped onto a landing zone under heavy attack but landed at full strength (the 4th Parachute Brigade consisting of the 10th, 11th and 156th Battalions of the Parachute Regiment, commanded by Brigadier-General John Winthrop Hackett) and C and D Companies of the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment.


82nd Airborne zone

Grave proved to be well defended and German forces continued to press on the 82nd deployed on the Groesbeek heights to the east of Nijmegen. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment defended against German attacks in Horst, Grafwegen and Riethorst. Early in the day, German counterattacks seized one of the Allied landing zones where the Second Lift was scheduled to arrive at 13:00. The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked at 13:10 and cleared the landing zone by 14:00, capturing 16 German Flak pieces and 149 prisoners. Delayed by weather in Britain, the Second Lift did not arrive until 15:30. This lift brought in elements of the 319th and 320th Glider Field Artillery battalions, the 456th Parachute Field Artillery battalion and medical support elements. Twenty minutes later, 135 B-24 bombers dropped supplies from low level.


101st Airborne zone

Faced with the loss of the bridge at Son, the 101st unsuccessfully attempted to capture a similar bridge a few kilometres away at
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but found the approach blocked. Other units continued moving to the south and eventually reached the northern end of Eindhoven. At 06:00 hours the Irish Guards Group resumed the advance while facing determined resistance from German infantry and tanks. Around noon the 101st Airborne were met by the lead reconnaissance units from XXX Corps. At 16:00 radio contact alerted the main force that the Son bridge had been destroyed and requested that a Bailey bridge be brought forward. By nightfall, the Guards Armored Division had established itself in the Eindhoven area. However, transport columns were jammed in the packed streets of the town, and they were subjected to German aerial bombardment during the night. XXX Corps engineers, supported by German prisoners of war, constructed a class 40 Bailey bridge within 10 hours across the Wilhelmina Canal. During the day the British VIII and XII Corps, supporting the main attack, had forged bridgeheads across Meuse-Escaut Canal while facing stiff German resistance; the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was transferred from XXX Corps to VIII Corps so to relieve XXX Corps from having to secure the ground gained thus far. Throughout the day German attacks were launched against XXX Corps and against the newly gained bridgeheads over the Meuse–Escaut Canal, all without success.


Day 3: Tuesday, 19 September


Arnhem

At 3:00 a.m., the commanders of the 2nd Battalion and the 1st and 11th Parachute Battalions met to plan their attack. At 4:30 a.m., before dawn, the 1st Parachute Brigade began its attack towards Arnhem Bridge, with the 1st Battalion leading supported by remnants of the 3rd Battalion, with the 2nd South Staffordshires on the 1st Battalion's left flank and the 11th Battalion following. As soon as it became light the 1st Battalion was spotted and halted by fire from the main German defensive line. Trapped in open ground and under heavy fire from three sides, the 1st Battalion disintegrated and what remained of the 3rd Battalion fell back. The 2nd South Staffordshires were similarly cut off and, save for about 150 men, overcome by midday. The 11th Battalion, (which had stayed out of much of the fighting) was then overwhelmed in exposed positions while attempting to capture high ground to the north. With no hope of breaking through, the 500 remaining men of these four battalions withdrew westwards in the direction of the main force, away in Oosterbeek. The 2nd Battalion and attached units (approximately 600 men) were still in control of the northern approach ramp to the Arnhem bridge. They had been ceaselessly bombarded by enemy tanks and artillery from two battle groups led by SS-Sturmbannführer Brinkmann and one commanded by Major Hans-Peter Knaust. The Germans recognized that they would not be moved by infantry attacks such as those that had been bloodily repulsed on the previous day so instead they heavily shelled the short British perimeter with mortars, artillery and tanks; systematically demolishing each house to enable their infantry to exploit gaps and dislodge the defenders. Although in battle against enormous odds, the British clung to their positions and much of the perimeter was held.


Oosterbeek

To the north of Oosterbeek, the 4th Parachute Brigade led an attempt by the 1st Airborne Division to break through the German lines, but communication difficulties between British paratroopers and General Frederick Browning and the Americans, and enemy resistance, caused the attack to fail with heavy losses. The 1st Airborne Division, scattered far and wide and hard pressed by the enemy on all sides, had lost its offensive capability. Unable to help Lt.-Col. Frost, who commanded the only battalion that had made it to the Arnhem bridge, the remaining soldiers attempted to withdraw into a defensive pocket at Oosterbeek and hold a bridgehead on the north bank of the Rhine after overwhelming German resistance. At 16:00 hours the British 4th Parachute Brigade's withdrawal was supported by the arrival of 35 gliders containing a portion of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade and its anti-tank battery, who were deployed in a Landing Zone still controlled by the enemy, which killed all but a small contingent of the reinforcements. While the drop of the remainder of the Polish paratroopers was postponed due to dense fog, its commander General Sosabowski was parachuted into Driel.


Nijmegen

At 08:20, the
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was f ...
made contact with the Grenadier Guards of XXX Corps advancing north at Grave. This enabled the regiment to move on to other missions and place the 3rd Battalion in division reserve. XXX Corps were eight miles (13 km) from Arnhem with six hours in hand, "The earlier delays had been made up" Control of all troops now fell to XXX Corps whose prime objective was to seize the Nijmegen bridge having two companies from the
Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier ...
assisted by the US 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The attack got within of the bridge before being halted; skirmishing continued throughout the night. A plan was made to attack the south end of the bridge again with support from the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, who would cross the River Waal in boats downstream of the bridge and then attack the north end. The boats were requested for late afternoon, however they did not arrive as requested. The 1st and 5th Battalions,
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, were attached to the division. A supply attempt by 35 C-47s (out of 60 sent) was unsuccessful; the supplies were dropped from a high altitude and could not be recovered. Bad weather over English bases prevented the scheduled big glider mission carrying the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment from taking off, ending any hope for the scheduled reinforcements for the 82nd Airborne.


Wijchen

At 09:50 the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was going forward to
Wijchen Wijchen () is a municipality and a town in the province of Gelderland, in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Population centres Number of residents per population centre per 12 December 2009: Source: Statistics Netherlands The population ce ...
, to attack the Edithbridge from its south end. The bridge was secured. After this fierce engagement they pushed on to the traffic bridge south of Wijchen. Another fierce engagement followed and this bridge was secured.


Eindhoven–Veghel

To their south, units of the 101st sent to take Best the day before, were forced to yield to German counter-attacks during the morning. British tanks arriving during the day helped push back the Germans by late afternoon. Later a small force of Panther tanks arrived at Son and started firing on the Bailey bridge. These too were beaten back by anti-tank guns that had recently landed and the bridge was secured. On the night of 19/20 September, 78 German
bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraf ...
took off to attack Eindhoven. The Allies had no anti-aircraft guns in the city, allowing the Germans to drop "a clear golden cluster of parachute flares" and bomb Eindhoven without loss. The city centre was shattered and the water pressure failed; over 200 houses were "gutted" and 9,000 buildings were damaged, with over 1,000 civilian casualties, including 227 dead. An ammunition convoy and trucks carrying
gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...
were also hit. General
Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). A ...
, in Eindhoven during the attack, wrote: "Great fires were burning everywhere, ammo trucks were exploding, gasoline trucks were on fire, and debris from wrecked houses clogged the streets." Elements of the 101st, based in and around the city, witnessed the attack and escaped loss. The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment rushed into the burning city and rescued civilians during the night. According to Rick Atkinson, this was "the only large, long-range
air strike An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offici ...
by German bombers during the fall of 1944".


Day 4: Wednesday, 20 September


Arnhem bridge

Frost's force at the bridge continued to hold and established communication via the public telephone system with 1st Division around noon learning that the division had no hope of relieving them and that XXX Corps was stopped to the south in front of Nijmegen bridge. By the afternoon the British positions around the north end of Arnhem bridge had weakened considerably. Casualties, mostly wounded, were high from constant shelling. An acute lack of ammunition, especially anti-tank munitions, enabled enemy armor to demolish British positions from point-blank range. Food, water and medical supplies were scarce, and so many buildings were on fire and in such serious danger of collapse that a two-hour truce was arranged to evacuate the wounded (including Lieutenant-Colonel Frost) into German captivity. Frederick Gough took over as commander when Frost left. While leading a remnant group in withdrawal from the bridge, toward Oosterbeek, for a joining with the rest of the 1st Division, Major Hibbert was captured. The Germans overcame pockets of resistance throughout the day, gaining control of the northern bridge approaches and permitting reinforcements to cross the span and reinforce units further south near Nijmegen. The remaining British troops continued to fight on, some with just fighting knives but by early Thursday morning almost all had been taken prisoner. The last radio message broadcast from the bridge – "Out of ammo, God save the King" – was heard only by German radio intercept operators. While it was estimated that the 1st Airborne Division, 10,000 strong, would only need to hold the Arnhem bridge for two days, 740 had held it for twice as long against far heavier opposition than anticipated. While 81 British soldiers died defending Arnhem bridge, German losses cannot be stated with any accuracy, though they were high; 11 units known to have participated in the fighting reported 50% casualties after the battle. In memory of the fighting there, the bridge has been renamed the "John Frost Bridge".


Oosterbeek

Further west, the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division were gathering at Oosterbeek for their last stand; those already there were not seriously challenged by the enemy that day. To the east of the village, the 1st, 3rd and 11th Parachute Battalions and the 2nd South Staffordshires were organized into a defensive position. In desperate fighting later in the day, they repulsed an enemy attack which threatened to cut the division off from the Rhine and seal the fate of the bridgehead. In the woods to the west of Oosterbeek the 4th Parachute Brigade fought its way towards the divisional perimeter but was attacked by German troops supported by artillery, mortars and tanks, (some mounting flame-throwers). The brigade had many casualties and the 10th Battalion reached Oosterbeek in the early afternoon with only 60 men. In the rear, the 156th Parachute Battalion fought off numerous enemy attacks before counter-attacking; the Germans did not know they were fighting men who were in full retreat. The battalion, down to 150 men, mounted a bayonet charge to capture a hollow in the ground in the woods where they were pinned down by enemy attacks for the next eight hours. Towards the end of the day, 75 men fixed bayonets, broke through the German lines and retreated to the Allied pocket at Oosterbeek.


Nijmegen

The 82nd did not drop on both sides of the Nijmegen bridge: all troops were dropped on the south side of the Waal river. Hence the Americans had no means to seize the bridge, other than by a frontal river crossing from the south. The only boats available were canvas folding boats (normally used only by engineers) from the British XXX Corps stores. These boats, described at the time as "Bailey boats", did not arrive until the afternoon, and with time running short, a daylight assault crossing was ordered. At about 15:00 (D+4), the 504th PIR began the river assault, when members of its 3rd Battalion – commanded by Major Julian Cook – were rowed across the Waal, by members of Company "C", 307th Engineer Battalion (C/307th) in 26 boats. A shortage of
paddles A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...
required some troopers to paddle the craft with their rifle butts. Despite heavy fire from the German side, about half the boats survived the first crossing and 11 survived the first two crossings. Before the day was over, some boat "crews" from C/307th had crossed the Waal five times, while ferrying across two entire battalions from the 504th. (The costly attack was later nicknamed "Little Omaha" in reference to
Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha ...
. 200 paratroopers were killed, while German losses exceeded 267. ) The paratroopers then proceeded through the village of
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Lu ...
, toward the north end of the bridge. As German forces withdrew from the north end, tanks of the Irish Guards began to cross the bridge from the south, supported by elements of 505th PIR, at 19:30 (D+4). The Irish Guards' tanks linked up with the 504th PIR 1 km north of the bridge, in Lent. A perception that subsequent advances by XXX Corps were unreasonably slow has remained controversial. Frost and Hibbert's forces controlled the Arnhem bridge, away for about another two-and-a-half hours (until about 22:00 that night) and some British resistance in that area continued until the early hours of the following morning. However, it was already dark when the Nijmegen bridge was captured,Operation Market Garden Then and Now, Volume 2 (Allies Capture Nijmegen Bridge) by Karel Margry the overall situation was chaotic, and the depth of German opposition to the north was unknown, to the Allies, and even to German officers on the ground. For instance, the 10th SS Panzer Division commander, Heinz Harmel, when interviewed several decades later by Robert Kershaw (a former British Army officer), stated: "The four panzers ( Carrington's Grenadier tank troop) who crossed the bridge made a mistake when they stayed in the village of Lent. If they had carried on their advance, it would have been all over for us." Harmel's artillery map, preserved from the time of the battle, suggested that German troops between Nijmegen and Arnhem were extremely thin: there were a handful of security pickets with rifles at the
Betuwe Batavia (; , ) is a historical and geographical region in the Netherlands, forming large fertile islands in the river delta formed by the waters of the Rhine (Dutch: ''Rijn'') and Meuse (Dutch: ''Maas'') rivers. During the Roman empire, it was an ...
midpoint, in Elst. In fact, however, Harmel was evidently unaware that three Tiger tanks, one heavy gun and two companies of infantry had already been heading south from Arnhem towards Lent, when the Irish Guards' tanks crossed the Nijmegen bridge.Nijmegen: U.S. 82nd Airborne Division – 1944, chapter nine, by Tim Saunders Sgt Peter Robinson, Guards Armoured Division, whose tank led the advance over the Nijmegen road bridge, stated:
We reached the far end of the bridge and immediately there was a
erman Erman Rašiti may refer to: Given name * Erman Bulucu (born 1989), Turkish footballer * Erman Eltemur (born 1993), Turkish karateka * Erman Güraçar (born 1974), Turkish footballer * Erman Kılıç (born 1983), Turkish footballer * Erman Kunt ...
roadblock. So the troop sergeant covered me through and then I got to the other side and covered the rest of the troop through. We were still being engaged; there was a gun in front of the church three or four hundred yards in front of us. We knocked him out. We got down the road to the railway bridge; we cruised round there very steady. We were being engaged all the time.
Initially, four tanks crossed the bridge with a high probability some of the German explosive charges for demolition would activate. British engineers had cut some charges on the south of the bridge. As the tanks moved over the bridge they were fired on by single-shot, disposable anti-tank
Panzerfaust The ''Panzerfaust'' (, "armour fist" or "tank fist", plural: ''Panzerfäuste'') was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light a ...
s, and had grenades dropped on them by German troops in the bridge girders – 180 German bodies were recovered from the girders with some unaccounted falling into the river below. Once across the bridge only a few 82nd troops met the first tanks as they crossed the bridge. After crossing the bridge one tank was destroyed and another badly damaged, yet moving, and was driven to the village of Lent on the north side of the bridge by the only survivor of the attack – a Sgt Knight – who had survived by feigning to be dead. The rest of the crews were killed, injured, or taken prisoner. One tank destroyed a German
Sturmgeschütz ''Sturmgeschütz'' (abbreviated StuG) meaning "assault gun" was a series of armored fighting vehicles used by both the German ''Wehrmacht'' and the ''Waffen-SS'' formations during the Second World War (1939-1945). The main StuGs were the Stu ...
assault gun lying in wait. The Guards tanks met the bulk of the 82nd troops north of the bridge in the village of Lent, 1 km north of the bridge and in darkness, after clearing out SS troops from the village and setting the church ablaze. It was dark by the time (19:30) the Irish Guards tanks linked up with the 504th PIR, north of the Nijmegen bridge. Moreover, on the road out of Lent, on the northern side of the railway bridge, the leading tank met two hidden German anti-tank guns in darkness. Even if the guns were located and destroyed, German troops with Panzerfausts were on the road and four available Guards tanks were low on ammunition. Only one of the four available tanks was a
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
, mounting a gun capable of destroying a Tiger tank. Three Tiger tanks were heading south to Lent, unbeknownst to the Guards tank crews. Unable to locate the anti-tank guns, the tanks stopped. In addition, German forces were still threatening to retake the north end of the bridge. Many of the Guards tanks were still assisting the 82nd and XXX Corps infantry in Nijmegen. The Guards who were over the bridge could not leave the northern end of the bridge for fear of recapture. At Lent only five tanks were available, including the damaged tank, which now reportedly had a joint UK-US crew: it included members of the 82nd who had prior experience with Sherman tanks. Carrington's tank was stationary, alone, at the northern end of the bridge for 45 minutes, awaiting infantry who were fighting German snipers in the girders as they moved across the bridge. In the meantime, Carrington was attacked by Germans with a Panzerfaust. After clearing the bridge of snipers, the Irish Guards crossed the bridge and formed a defence line. The line was reinforced with 82nd troops. To the east, German attacks on the Groesbeek Heights made significant progress. A counterattack at Mook by elements of the 505th PIR and 1st Battalion, the Coldstream Guards of XXX Corps forced the Germans back to their line of departure by 20:00. The 508th PIR lost ground at Im Thal and Legewald, when attacked by German infantry and tanks. To the south, running battles between the 101st and various German units continued. Eventually several tanks and self-propelled guns managed to cut the roads but pulled back when low on ammunition.


Day 5: Thursday, 21 September


Oosterbeek

Approximately 3,584 survivors of the 1st Airborne Division established themselves in the buildings and woods around Oosterbeek with the intention of holding a
bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken over ...
on the north side of the Rhine until XXX Corps could arrive. Throughout the day their position was heavily attacked on all sides. In the southeast, Lonsdale Force (the remnants of the 1st, 3rd, and 11th Parachute Battalions and 2nd South Staffordshires) repulsed a big attack aided by the fire of the divisional light
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sie ...
. In the north the 7th
King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's ...
were almost overrun during the afternoon but a counterattack with
bayonets A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustra ...
restored the situation and the heavily depleted battalion moved further south to occupy a narrower front. The most serious attack of the day was made at dawn against "B" Company, 1st Battalion,
Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service i ...
which controlled a vital area of high ground in the southwestern tip of the perimeter overlooking the Heveadorp ferry crossing at Driel, which was the division's only straightforward means of receiving reinforcements from the south. The company was attacked by enemy infantry and armour, including captured French tanks equipped with flamethrowers, and the heights were lost. Counterattacks failed and the remnants of the company were redeployed. The division was left in a precarious position, controlling just of the riverbank. The division held ground to similar attacks elsewhere on their front. A supply attempt by RAF Stirlings of 38 Group was disrupted by the only Luftwaffe fighter interception during the operation. Fw 190s intercepted the Stirlings at low altitude and shot down 15. Anti-aircraft fire accounted for 8 further losses. The Fw 190s were able to penetrate the screen of Allied fighters sent to cover the drop when the U.S. 56th Fighter Group was late in arriving in its patrol sector between Lochem and
Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, b ...
. The 56th redeemed itself to an extent by shooting down 15 of the 22 Fw 190s as they departed.


Remainder of Polish paratroopers enter the battle

After two days of delay due to the weather, the remainder of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade under Major-General Stanislaw Sosabowski entered the battle on the afternoon of 21 September, delivered at about 17:15 by 114 C-47s of the U.S. 61st and 314th Troop Carrier Groups. Two of the brigade's three battalions were dropped amidst heavy German fire, opposite the 1st Airborne Division's position on a new drop zone south of the Rhine near the village of
Driel Driel is a village in the municipality of Overbetuwe, approximately four kilometers southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine, in the Netherlands. History On 21 September 1944, Driel was the drop zone of the Polish 1st Independent Pa ...
. The third battalion was dropped 12–15 miles away near Grave. Overall, the poor coordination by the British air transfer officers and persistent attacks by Luftwaffe aircraft caused their supplies to be dropped away on the opposite side of the Rhine. Intending to use the Heveadorp ferry to reinforce the division, they discovered that the opposite bank was dominated by the enemy and that the ferry was missing; it was later found downstream past the road bridge, completely unserviceable. Unable to help the British, the Polish withdrew to Driel for the night and organised defence there, with the Rhine behind their backs and German units increasing in strength around them. The brigade had lost 25% of its fighting strength, amounting to 590 casualties. Several attempts to cross the Rhine on improvised equipment were only partly successful due to heavy German fire and an inability by the 1st Airborne to secure the landing area on the Rhine's northern bank. The 1st Airborne Division made radio contact during the day with guns of the 64th Medium Regiment of XXX Corps' artillery, which had advanced with the ground forces and were assigned to the division for support. Unlike many others, this radio link worked throughout the battle and the regiment provided valuable fire support to the division.


Nijmegen

Despite the capture of Nijmegen bridge and the clearing of the town on the previous evening, the five tanks of Guards Armoured Division which were across the river did not advance due to: darkness, one tank having been hit, meeting hidden German anti-tank guns, not knowing the full situation on the road ahead and having to secure the northern end of the bridge until infantry were fully in place. Unbeknown to the leading tank crews, three Tiger tanks and two companies of infantry were heading down the road south from Arnhem to Lent. The division resumed its advance about 18 hours later, at noon in daylight with reinforcements from Nijmegen. Horrocks claimed he needed to hold his force as his troops were still fighting in Nijmegen and supplies were slow coming up the single road from Belgium. The Coldstream Guards Group were repulsing an attack on the Groesbeek position, the Irish Guards Group had moved back south to Eindhoven to meet another attack, the Grenadiers had just captured the approaches to the bridge with assistance by the 82nd Airborne paratroops and had five tanks across to support securing the north end of the bridge, and the Welsh Guards were in reserve for the 82nd Airborne. The Guards Armoured Division was scattered over 25 square miles of the south bank of the Waal. Horrocks stated, "Jim Gavin, the divisional commander, could have had no idea of the utter confusion that reigned in Nijmegen at the time, with sporadic battles going on all over the place, and particularly on our one road to the rear where chaos reigned". The Market Garden plan depended upon a single highway as the route of advance and supply. This imposed a delay, although the delay was not that great. A problem was that other units could not be deployed on other routes to maintain momentum. Brigadier General Gavin opinioned that this would not have been an issue with firm leadership, although he failed to discuss his own failings in maintaining the set schedule. The historian Max Hastings argued that the delays in moving towards Arnhem "reflected poorly on the British Army". Carrington stated that he met no one who "suggested we should press on to Arnhem." The historian Robin Neillands argued that the failure of Gavin's 82nd Airborne to take the Nijmegan bridge on 17 September, was a "major contribution to the failure of the entire Arnhem operation and it will not do to pass the blame for that failure on to the British or to Captain Lord Carrington." The delay enabled the Germans to reinforce the defence already established at Ressen (an SS infantry battalion, eleven tanks, an infantry battalion, two 88 mm batteries, twenty 20 mm flak and the remnants of the forces fighting at Arnhem), aided by use of the bridge following their capture of its northern end. The advance of the Guards, hindered by marshes that prevented off-road movement, was soon halted by a firm German defensive line. The Guards spearhead did not have the strength to outflank the line. The 43rd Division was ordered to take over the lead, work its way around the enemy positions and make contact with the Polish airborne troops at Driel to the west. The 43rd was away and there was a traffic jam between them and Nijmegen. It was not until the following day, Friday, that the whole division crossed the River Waal and began its advance. The Germans, clearly starting to gain the upper hand at Arnhem, continued counterattacking all along the path of XXX Corps. XXX Corps still managed to advance with the 101st Airborne Division and XXX Corps holding ground. Glider tugs and cargo carriers delivered supplies to the 82nd Airborne Division. About 60% of the supplies were recovered with 351 of the gliders being counted as effective, partly with the help of Dutch civilians. Most of the 82nd and 101st, reinforced with British armoured units, were engaged in defensive fighting with the objective of holding the highway corridor. Small engagements were fought along the whole length of the corridor.


Day 6: Friday, 22 September ("Black Friday")

The Germans, wary after unsuccessful and costly attacks the previous day, shelled and mortared the airborne positions heavily. By the end of the battle some 110 guns had been brought to Oosterbeek as the Germans shifted to the tactics that had worked so well at Arnhem bridge. Attacks were limited, conducted against specific positions and even individual houses. Numerous well-sited British anti-tank guns also caused German reluctance to attack. The survivors of the 1st Airborne were outnumbered 4 to 1. The Polish 1st Parachute Brigade at Driel, unable to cross the Rhine, nonetheless forced a redeployment of German forces. Fearing a Polish attempt to recapture Arnhem bridge or, worse, an attempt to cut the road to the south and so trap the 10th SS Panzer Division then blocking the route of the Guards Armoured Division to Arnhem, the Germans withdrew 2,400 troops from Oosterbeek. They were moved south of the river to engage the Polish paratroopers at Driel, making attacks to little effect through the day. The British 43rd Wessex Division had moved up in order to relieve the Guards Armoured Division. Elements of the 43rd took
Oosterhout Oosterhout (; from ''ooster'', "eastern", and ''hout'', "woods") is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in . Population centers The municipality of Oosterhout includes the following pla ...
from the Germans on 22 September, and then gained Opheusden and Doodewaard the following day but they were unable to push the frontline any further.


Link-up between the Poles and XXX Corps

The fog lifted as leading elements of the 43rd Division attempted to advance to Driel, exposing them to German fire. Whilst passing the outskirts of Elst at the De Hoop crossroads the 5th
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...
came across a column of Tiger I tanks of schwere Panzer-Kompanie "Hummel." The Cornwalls set up an ambush and succeeded in knocking out five Tigers in a combined use of mines and PIATS. They arrived in Driel during the evening. Lacking assault craft, an unsuccessful attempt was made that night to put elements of the Polish brigade across the river. British and Polish engineers on both sides of the Rhine had worked through the day to improvise a crossing using small boats linked by signals cable but the cable kept breaking forcing the Polish troops to slowly row across against the strong current. The attempt was made under enemy observation and fire and only 52 soldiers of the 8th Polish Parachute Company survived the crossing before a halt was called at dawn. While much of the corridor was firmly in Allied hands, German counterattacks were still being mounted along its length. During the previous night, two mixed armoured formations on either side of Highway 69 attacked between Veghel and Grave; one group managed to cut the highway and prevent any further advance to Arnhem.


Day 7: Saturday, 23 September

The Germans had figured out what the Poles were attempting to do and they spent the rest of the day trying to cut off the British in their northern bridgehead from the riverside. The British managed to hold on and both sides suffered heavy losses. The Germans also attacked the Poles on the south side in order to tie them down but several tanks arrived from XXX Corps and the German attack was defeated. Boats and engineers from the Canadian army also arrived that day and another river crossing that night landed 150 troops of the Polish 3rd Parachute Battalion on the north bank of the Rhine. To the south several more German attacks from their position astride the road were stopped but the road was still cut. XXX Corps then sent a unit of the Guards Armoured Division south and re-took the road. The rest of the force to the north continued to wait for infantry to move up, still only a few kilometres south of Arnhem. The 325th GIR was finally delivered to reinforce the 82nd Airborne, originally planned for 19 September, and while it was immediately 75% effective, arrived far too late to affect the battle in that sector.


Day 8: Sunday, 24 September

Another German force cut the road to the south of Veghel and set up defensive positions for the night. It was not clear to the Allies at this point how much of a danger this represented but the principal objective of Operation Market Garden, i.e. the Allied crossing of the Rhine, was abandoned this day and the decision made to go over to the defensive with a new
front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or unint ...
in Nijmegen. Nonetheless, an attempt was made on Sunday night to reinforce the 1st Airborne Division with the 4th Battalion, The Dorsetshire Regiment. Two companies were put across the river but the location of the crossing point was ill-advised and the Dorsets landed among German positions. Fragmented by their landing and immediately pinned down, of the 315 men who crossed only 75 reached Oosterbeek; the remainder were taken prisoner. As a result of this failure, it was decided to withdraw the 1st Airborne Division from its bridgehead on the northern side of the Rhine.


Day 9: Monday, 25 September

At dawn the 1st Airborne Division received their orders to withdraw across the Rhine; this was called ''Operation Berlin''. This could not be done until nightfall and in the meantime the division struggled to survive. In a departure from their cautious attritional tactics of the previous days, the Germans formed two potent SS battlegroups and made a significant thrust along a narrow front in the eastern sector. This succeeded in breaking through the thin front line and for a time the division was in peril. The attack met with increasing resistance as it pushed deeper into the British lines and was finally broken up by a heavy bombardment of the 64th Medium Regiment. Employing every ruse to give the Germans the impression that their positions were unchanged, the 1st Airborne Division began its withdrawal at 22:00. British and Canadian engineer units ferried the troops across the Rhine, covered by the Polish 3rd Parachute Battalion on the north bank. By early the next morning they had withdrawn 2,398 survivors, leaving 300 men to surrender on the north bank at first light, when German fire prevented their rescue. Of approximately 10,600 men of the 1st Airborne Division and other units who fought north of the Rhine, 1,485 had died and 6,414 were taken prisoner of whom one third were wounded. To the south the newly arrived 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division attacked the Germans holding the highway and secured it by the next day. The German bridgehead on the island by this time initially encompassed the villages of Elden, Elst, Huissen and Bemmel - the latter considered the most important. Elst however was lost on September 25 after several days of bitter street fighting with troops from the 43rd Wessex. Meanwhile the village of Bemmel was captured by the 5th
East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...
on the same day.


Further fighting, 26–28 September

On 26 September the Germans then crossed the Rhine in battalion strength and managed to gain a small bridgehead at Randwijk. This was only lightly held by 43rd Wessex Reconnaissance troops but on seeing the Germans were soon reinforced by the Hampshires and Somersets with additional support from tanks of the 8th Armoured brigade. Their intention was to take out the dyke road near Randwijk which was used by the Germans to ferry the crossings. Despite the interference from the Luftwaffe, the British were able to force the Germans out after a final gun battle in the village church - the Hampshires took 150 POWs. The German bridgehead south of the Neder Rijn was effectively destroyed. The following two days saw the 6th and 7th
Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...
attempt to take
Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", " lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied ...
and Haalderen, two villages both to the northeast and east of Bemmel respectively. This however was a failure. To the south of Haalderen, on the bank of the Waal River, lay a number of brickworks where the tall chimneys were used as German observation points, from where artillery fire could be directed. From 28 September onwards, the II Fallschirmjäger Korps launched a series of assaults from the Reichswald against the Allied positions east of Nijmegen. These attacks were in preparation for a much larger counter-attack planned by Bittrich. Delays in the preparations of 2nd SS Panzer Korps however meant these were repelled as they weren't properly supported by the XII SS Korps, even though they carried out some local diversionary attacks across the Neder-Rijn towards Doorwerth and Wageningen - these too being repulsed. Hitler ordered the Nijmegen bridges to be destroyed, in the hope that supplies and reinforcements to the Allies would be hampered, and to enable a German counterattack to retake the bridgehead. Various attempts at destroying both bridges proved a costly failure, particularly to the Luftwaffe, who launched many sorties - in one day forty-six fighters were lost to the RAF and anti-aircraft fire. Nevertheless, an attempt by three groups of four German Marine Einsatzkommandos (frogmen) set off from 10 km upstream from the Nijmegen bridges to place explosives under them. The frogmen then used the river current in an attempt to return to their lines. The operation was a partial success - the railway bridge was blown up, a span managed to break away from a section and fell into the river, making it totally unusable, but the road bridge was only slightly damaged because the mine had been badly placed. Of the twelve men, three were killed, seven were captured, and two managed to return to their lines. The bridges however were repaired albeit temporarily -
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...
were able to span a Bailey bridge both over the railway bridge and the damaged section of the road bridge.


Casualties

XXX Corps suffered fewer than 1,500 casualties, which stands in stark contrast to the 8,000 casualties suffered by the 1st Airborne Division. On several occasions, units of the flanking British Corps made contact with paratroopers before units of XXX Corps, and fought on to support them until the end of the operation. The higher toll by the 101st Airborne Division reflects the reality that aside from contending with the local German defenders, they also had to combat German troops retreating from the XXX Corps advance. German casualties are harder to determine, due to incomplete records. Rundstedt provided an official figure of 3,300, but this has been challenged by historians. Conservative estimates range from 6,400 to 8,000 killed and wounded. Kershaw listed the German order of battle, with between 6,315 and 8,925 casualties. In '' A Bridge Too Far'', Cornelius Ryan estimated 7,500 to 10,000 additional casualties to those provided by Rundstedt, for a final total of 10,800–13,300 losses. A contemporary paper by the 21st Army Group claimed that 16,000 German prisoners were taken during the course of Operation Market Garden. The report also claimed the destruction of 159 German aircraft, and 30 tanks or self-propelled guns during the operation.


Honours


Victoria Cross

Five
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
es were awarded during Operation Market Garden. On 19 September, RAF Douglas Dakota Mk. III, ''KG374'', c/n 12383, (ex-USAAF C-47A-DK, ''42-92568''), 'YS-DM', of 271 Squadron, RAF Down Ampney,
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of ...
, piloted by F/Lt. David Lord, was hit by anti-aircraft fire in the starboard engine while on a supply sortie to Arnhem. Fire spread over the starboard wing, as Lord spent ten minutes making two passes over very small drop zones (which, unknown to the crew, had been overrun by German forces) to drop eight ammunition panniers. Just after the last pannier was dropped, the fuel tank exploded and tore off the wing, and only the navigator F/O Harry King escaped. He was made a
POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
the following morning, spending the rest of the war in Stalag Luft I at
Barth, Germany Barth is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated at a lagoon ( Bodden) of the Baltic Sea facing the Fischland-Darss-Zingst peninsula. Barth belongs to the district of Vorpommern-Rügen. It is close to the Western Pomerania L ...
. Lord, the second pilot P/O R. E. H. "Dickie" Medhurst (son of
Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Adm ...
Sir Charles Medhurst), the wireless operator F/O Alec Ballantyne, and air dispatchers Cpl. P. Nixon, Dvr. A. Rowbotham, Dvr. J. Ricketts, and Dvr. L. Harper of 223 Company RASC, were killed. Following the release of King from prison camp, full details of the action became known and Lord received a posthumous Victoria Cross (VC) on 13 November 1945, the only VC awarded to any member of Transport Command during the Second World War. In May 1949, the Dutch Government awarded Harry King the Netherlands Bronze Cross. From 17 to 20 September, John Hollington Grayburn of the 2nd Parachute Battalion "led his men with supreme gallantry and determination. Although in pain and weakened by his wounds, short of food and without sleep, his courage never flagged. There is no doubt that, had it not been for this officer's inspiring leadership and personal bravery, the Arnhem bridge could never have been held for this time." John Grayburn's posthumous award of the Victoria Cross was accompanied by his posthumous promotion to captain. Also on 19 September, Captain Lionel Queripel of the 10th Parachute Battalion, though injured in the face and both arms, personally remained as a solitary
rear guard A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
after ordering his men to withdraw, over their protests. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. On 20 September, Lance Sergeant John Baskeyfield's "superb gallantry asbeyond praise. During the remaining days at Arnhem stories of his valour were a constant inspiration to all ranks. He spurned danger, ignored pain and, by his supreme fighting spirit, infected all who witnessed his conduct with the same aggressiveness and dogged devotion to duty which characterised his actions throughout." Sergeant Baskeyfield, a member of the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, posthumously received his Victoria Cross. On 25 September, Major Robert Henry Cain, also of the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, "showed superb gallantry. His powers of endurance and leadership were the admiration of all his fellow officers and stories of his valour were being constantly exchanged amongst the troops. His coolness and courage under incessant fire could not be surpassed." Major Cain was the only Victoria Cross recipient to survive the battle.


Medal of Honor

Two American soldiers received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...
, both posthumously. On 19 September,
Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ...
Joe E. Mann of the 101st Airborne Division, under attack and injured in both arms, "which were bandaged to his body... yelled "grenade" and threw his body over the grenade, and as it exploded, he died." On 21 September,
Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
John R. Towle of the 82nd Airborne Division, under attack and "motivated only by his high conception of duty ... rushed approximately 125 yards through grazing enemy fire to an exposed position from which he could engage nenemy
half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cro ...
with his rocket launcher. While in a kneeling position preparatory to firing on the enemy vehicle, Pvt. Towle was mortally wounded by a mortar shell. By his heroic tenacity, at the price of his life, Pvt. Towle saved the lives of many of his comrades and was directly instrumental in breaking up the enemy counterattack."


Military Order of William

For gallantry during Operation Market Garden, two units received the highest Dutch military award, the
Military Order of William The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: , abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Oran ...
. On 8 October 1945, the US 82nd Airborne Division was awarded the Knights 4th class honour by HM
Queen Wilhelmina Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...
. The division was also allowed to add "Nijmegen 1944" to her battle honors. On 31 May 2006, HM
Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...
awarded the Knights 4th class honour to the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade.


Aftermath


German counter-attack

Model attempted to regain the Nijmegen bridgehead in an effort to contain the allied offensive and drive them off the Betuwe, also known as 'the Island.' Bittrich led II SS Panzer Korps in the counter offensive with the aim of retaking Nijmegen and its bridges. British forces now consisted of the 43rd Wessex, the 50th Northumbrian divisions assisted later by the American 101st and backed by XXX Corps artillery. The line held by the Allies was east of the main road Nijmegen–Arnhem, the line ran through Elst, Bemmel and just west of Haalderen down to the Waal River. Commencing on 30 September, the Germans with some armoured support attacked the Allied line - some ground was gained and over the next few days they continued their attacks. By October 3 the Germans had been repelled, suffering heavy losses in the process, including many of the heavy tanks. British forces from 50th Division then launched a counter-attack on October 4 and 5 recapturing most of the lost ground, and in addition captured the villages of Bemmel and Haalderen, giving extra strength to hold the bridgehead. The 10th SS Division suffered such grievous losses that it was incapable of any offensive action. The Germans made one final effort, this time against the American 101st, who had relieved the 43rd Wessex around Randwijk, Driel and Opheusden. The 116th Panzer Division were beaten back at Driel and were forced to withdraw on 5 October. The following day, the 363rd Volksgrenadier Division attempted to take Randwijk and Opheusden from the Americans, and a bitter battle was fought for the possession of the latter. Opheusden lay in rubble and soon became a no man's land, while the Allies stood firm. The 363rd Division was itself destroyed in the fighting. On 7 October, Arnhem bridge was finally bombed and destroyed by
Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in ...
s of 344th Bomb Group, USAAF. Now unable to ferry heavy equipment across the river, the Germans were unable to mount any further attacks. Von Rundstedt gave permission for Model to abandon the Arnhem bridgehead, and thus was reduced to small outposts. In November, the Germans flooded the island.


Debate on Allied strategy and tactics

Operation Market Garden has remained a controversial battle for several reasons. Allied tactics and strategy have been much debated. The operation was the result of a strategy debate at the highest levels of Allied command in Europe. Much post-war analysis has thus probed the alternatives that were not taken, such as giving priority to securing the Scheldt estuary and so opening the port of Antwerp. But Montgomery insisted that the First Canadian Army should clear the German garrisons in
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Department ...
,
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The ...
and
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Cunningham warned that Antwerp would be "as much use as
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label= Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administr ...
" unless the approaches were cleared, and Admiral Ramsay warned SHAEF and Montgomery that the Germans could block the Scheldt Estuary with ease. The (French) Channel ports were "resolutely defended" and Antwerp was the only solution. But the Germans reinforced their island garrisons, and the Canadians "sustained 12,873 casualties in an operation which could have been achieved at little cost if tackled immediately after the capture of Antwerp. .... This delay was a grave blow to the Allied build-up before winter approached."


Optimistic planning

Among the controversial aspects of the plan was the necessity that all the main bridges be taken. The terrain was also ill-suited for the mission of XXX Corps. Brereton had ordered that the bridges along XXX Corps' route should be captured with "thunderclap surprise". It is therefore surprising in retrospect that the plans placed so little emphasis on capturing the important bridges immediately with forces dropped directly on them. In the case of Veghel and Grave where this was done, the bridges were captured with only a few shots being fired. The decision to drop the 82nd Airborne on the Groesbeek Heights, several kilometres from the Nijmegen Bridge, has been questioned because it resulted in a long delay in its capture. Browning and Gavin considered holding a defensive blocking position on the ridge a prerequisite for holding the highway corridor. Gavin generally favoured accepting the higher initial casualties involved in dropping as close to objectives as possible in the belief that distant drop zones would result in lower chances of success. With the 82nd responsible for holding the centre of the salient, he and Browning decided the ridge must take priority. Combined with the 1st Airborne Division's delays within Arnhem, which left the Arnhem bridge open to traffic until 20:00, the Germans were given vital hours to create a defence on the Nijmegen bridge. At Arnhem, the RAF planners selected the drop zones, refusing to drop near the town on the north side of the target bridge because of flak at Deelen. Another suitable drop zone just to the south of the bridge was rejected because it was thought to be too marshy for landing gliders containing the force's heavy equipment. However, that same drop zone was selected for the 1st Polish Brigade in the third lift, which suggests they were well aware of its suitability. Urquhart made his objections to the RAF planners, who were unmoved, even when he informed them that the troops and glider pilots were willing to take whatever risks landing closer to the objectives entailed. Urquhart made the best of the RAF planners' decision and thus the three main landing and drop zones were from the bridge, with the fourth being away.


Weather

A precarious timetable at the mercy of the weather resulted in the 101st Airborne Division being without its artillery for two days, the 82nd Airborne without its artillery for a day and without its glider infantry regiment for four days, and the British 1st Airborne Division without its fourth brigade until the fifth day. The more time required to complete the air drops, the longer each division had to devote forces to defending the drop and landing zones, weakening their offensive power.


Priority of operation

Several weeks prior to the plan taking shape, the British had captured Antwerp and its all-important port facilities. This action had the potential to greatly shorten the Allies' supply lines and trap
Gustav-Adolf von Zangen __NOTOC__ Gustav Adolf Karl Friedrich Ernst von Zangen (7 November 1892 – 1 May 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a commander of the 15th Army in the Netherlands in 1944 during World War II. He was a recip ...
's 15th Army of 80,000 men on the south side of the Scheldt Estuary. Instead, Von Zangen's men, with most of their heavy equipment including their artillery, escaped by boat to
South Beveland Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt. Topography It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevel ...
peninsula (Zeeland province, the Netherlands). In September, the peninsula could have been sealed by a short advance of only past Antwerp. Instead, because priority on supplies went to Market Garden, the First Canadian Army paused at Antwerp and then fought the costly Battle of the Scheldt in October. In the aftermath of Market Garden, Antwerp was not made operational until 28 November. By 1 October, over 240 Allied supply ships were waiting, unable to unload their cargo because of the limited port facilities on the continent.


Missed opportunities

Arnhem bridge was not the only Rhine crossing. Had the Market Garden planners realized that a ferry was available at Driel, the British might have secured that instead of the Arnhem bridge. Being a shorter distance away from their western drop and landing zones, the 1st Parachute Brigade could have concentrated to hold the Oosterbeek heights, instead of one battalion farther away at the road bridge; in this case, Arnhem was "one bridge too many". A contrasting view is that the attack into Arnhem was intended to capture the rail bridge, the pontoon bridge and the road bridge; that the rail bridge was blown in the face of Frost's 2nd Parachute Battalion, the pontoon bridge had been disabled by the removal of several sections and that this left only the highway bridge intact; the Heveadorp ferry was no substitute for a bridge. Hypothetically, had XXX Corps pushed north, they might have arrived at the south end and secured it (had the Guards Armoured sent more than five Sherman tanks across the bridge at Nijmegen and had they not been later stopped by the German position at Ressen), leaving the way open for another crossing to the north at some other point. There was the smaller possibility of arriving with Frost's force intact. This perceived "lack of guts" caused some bitterness at the time among members of both the British 1st Airborne and the U.S. 82nd Airborne. As it was, XXX Corps did not resume the drive to Arnhem that night, but rather eighteen hours later. The commander of XXX Corps advocated another course of action. About to the west was another bridge at Rhenen, which he predicted would be undefended, because of all the efforts being directed on Oosterbeek. This was true, but the corps was never authorised to take the bridge; if it had, it is almost certain they would have crossed unopposed into the rear of the German lines. By this time, it appears that Montgomery was more concerned with the German assaults on Market Garden's lengthy "tail". Bad choices were made throughout the operation, and opportunities were ignored. The commander of the Glider Pilot Regiment had asked for a small force with gliders to land on the southern side of the bridge at Arnhem to quickly capture it, but he was denied. This was surprising in light of the fact that in Normandy, the British 6th Airborne Division had used such coup-de-main tactics to take the
Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the ce ...
. In Britain, the commander of the British 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, whose troops were slated to fly into a captured airfield, pleaded with his superiors to allow a brigade to fly in with gliders to assist Major-General Urquhart's trapped forces. Browning declined the offer, "as situation better than you think" and reaffirmed his intention to fly the 52nd Division into Deelen airfield as planned. This was probably fortunate, as glider landings on undefended landing zones before the eyes of an alert enemy could have resulted in catastrophe. There was another airfield near Grave and the 52nd Lowland could have been landed there, as the 1st Light Antitank Battery did on 26 September. The Polish 1st Parachute Brigade commander, Sosabowski, was prepared to try a dangerous drop through the fog which held up his deployment but again was refused. Market Garden was a risky plan that required a willingness to gamble at the tactical and operational levels. Unfortunately, the detailed planning and leadership required at those levels was not always present. The 1st Airborne Division, the least experienced in working as a whole division, was given the most difficult objective. In Beevor's view this reflected both the British desire to continue to be seen as an equal partner of the US in the war effort and the fact that US opinion would no longer stand for American troops being placed in the most risky position under British command. As such it represented the triumph of political necessity over the military reality that by this point (unlike in North Africa) US forces were better battlefield performers than the exhausted and over-stretched British. The failure of the 82nd Airborne Division to attach maximum importance to the early capture of Nijmegen Bridge was a major mistake. XXX Corps was also criticized for its inability to keep to the operation's timetable. The most notable example of this was on Wednesday 20 September, when the Nijmegen Bridge had finally been captured and elements of the Guards Armoured Division, after crossing, promptly came to a halt for the night to rest, refuel, and rearm. XXX Corps was delayed at Son by a bridge demolition, and again at Nijmegen (having arrived by D+3, within the maximum time estimate, having compensated for the delay to build a Bailey Bridge at Son). The lead unit of XXX Corps, the Guards Armoured Division, was led by a commander ( Allan Adair) whom Montgomery had sought to remove prior to D-Day. This action was blocked due to Adair's popularity. Gavin regretted giving his division's most important tasks (Groesbeek ridge and Nijmegen) to the 508th PIR rather than his best regiment, Tucker's 504th PIR.


Intelligence failure

Unlike the American airborne divisions in the area, British forces at Arnhem ignored the local Dutch resistance. There was a reason for this: Britain's spy network in the Netherlands had been thoroughly and infamously compromised – the so-called '' England game'', which had only been discovered in April 1944, therefore British intelligence took pains to minimise all civilian contact. U.S. units, without this bad experience, made use of Dutch help. As things turned out, knowledge of the Driel ferry or of the underground's secret telephone network could have changed the result of the operation, especially since Allied radio equipment failed, having to rely on messengers. The latter would have given the XXX Corps and Airborne High Command knowledge about the dire situation at Arnhem. After the war, claims arose that the Dutch resistance had indeed been penetrated. One high-ranking Dutch officer who had worked in counter-intelligence at SHAEF, Lieutenant-Colonel Oreste Pinto, published a popular book, ''Spy Catcher'', part-memoir and part counter-intelligence handbook. Pinto, who had made a name for himself in World War I for his part in uncovering
Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...
, claimed that a minor figure in the Dutch resistance,
Christiaan Lindemans Christiaan Antonius Lindemans (24 October 1912 – 18 July 1946) was a Dutch double agent during the Second World War, working under Soviet control. Otherwise known as Freddi Desmet, a Belgian army officer and SOE agent with security clearance ...
(nicknamed "King Kong") had been a German agent and had betrayed Operation Market Garden to the Germans. Lindemans was arrested in October 1944, but committed suicide in his cell in 1946, while awaiting trial. In 1969, the French journalist and historian Anne Laurens concluded that Lindemans had been a double agent.


Tributes to the participants

Eisenhower wrote to Urquhart: "In this war there has been no single performance by any unit that has more greatly inspired me or more highly excited my admiration, than the nine days action of your division between 17 and 26 September". Montgomery predicted that "in years to come it will be a great thing for a man to be able to say: 'I fought at Arnhem'." CBS war correspondent Bill Downs, who was assigned to Montgomery's campaign since the Normandy invasion, famously said of Nijmegen that it was "...a single, isolated battle that ranks in magnificence and courage with Guam, Tarawa, Omaha Beach...a story that should be told to the blowing of bugles and the beating of drums for the men whose bravery made the capture of this crossing over the Waal River possible."


Debate on outcome


Contemporaneous

Both Churchill and Montgomery claimed that the operation was nearly or 90% successful, although in Montgomery's equivocal acceptance of responsibility for failure he blames lack of support, and also refers to the Battle of the Scheldt which was undertaken by Canadian troops not involved in Market Garden.
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
claimed in a telegram to
Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
on 9 October that In 1948, Eisenhower wrote that "The attack began well and unquestionably would have been successful except for the intervention of bad weather." Eisenhower was isolated in the SHAEF HQ at Granville, which did not even have radio or telephone links, so his staff were largely ignorant of the details of the operation. Bedell Smith's objections were brushed aside by Montgomery, as were those of Montgomery's chief of staff Freddie de Guingand who went to England on sick leave. Responsibility for the failure "began with Eisenhower and extended to Montgomery, Brereton, Browning, and, on the ground side, Dempsey and Horrocks, neither of whom ... galvanised their tank units while there was still time to have seized and held Arnhem bridge". D'Este notes that Montgomery's admission of a mistake was unique: "the only admission of failure by a senior Allied commander". Montgomery claimed that Market Garden was "90% successful" and said: "My country can never again afford the luxury of another Montgomery success," stated Bernhard, the Prince of the Netherlands.


Later assessments

The post-war American official history of the campaign, written by Charles MacDonald, stated that the operation "accomplished much of what it had been designed to accomplish", but that the operation to establish a bridgehead across the Neder Rijn and turn the northern flank of the West Wall had ended in failure. MacDonald stated that the "far-reaching objectives … had not eenattained", but that a salient deep had been created in the German lines. This salient created a constant threat of an Allied breakout to the north, and proved advantageous when the 21st Army Group launched subsequent operations. While a collapse of the German military in the Netherlands was not a formal objective of the operation, MacDonald wrote that "few would deny that many Allied commanders had nurtured the hope" and the operation also failed to realize this. The British official history of the campaign noted that the operation failed, and won "a valuable salient and a bridgehead over the Waal" and conceded that these "had no immediate effect on the Allies advance into Germany." The German official history stated that "In terms of the Allies' original objectives, the operation was a total failure"; it failed to cut-off German forces in the Netherlands, failed to flank to the West Wall, and ended any possibility that the war could end before the end of the year. The reasons for these failures are stated to have primarily been poor terrain, bad weather conditions, and faulty intelligence. However, the history conceded that the German counter-objectives ("to hem in the Allied troops south of the Lower Rhine and to destroy them there") were likewise not met. Rick Atkinson wrote that while "one-fifth of the Netherlands had been liberated … the rest would endure another nine months of occupation", which resulted in 16,000 civilian deaths. Atkinson stated that the terrain captured "led nowhere", and that the operation failed to achieve its objectives due to "an epic cock-up fpoor plan ngwith deficient intelligence, haphazard execution, and indifferent generalship". Carlo D'Este wrote "What had begun with high optimism had turned into a military disaster", and that despite the heroics at Arnhem bridge, the operation "failed to establish a bridgehead north of the Rhine". D'Este argued that this resulted in a stalemate through winter, which saw lengthy attritional battles that obtained little significant territory and caused high casualties. David Fraser wrote that Market Garden was a strategic failure. Stephen Ashley Hart stated that the operation was "partly unsuccessful", and that Montgomery "immediately reconstituted the Second (British) Army so that it could launch Operation Gatwick, an eastward thrust intended to reach the Rhine near Krefeld". This second attempt was cancelled due to the "precarious state of the … salient and the failure to clear the flank-threatening enemy salient at Venlo". Michael Reynolds wrote that "With the war still in progress, it was inevitable that Market-Garden would be presented to the British and American people as a victory.", but stated "In reality, it was a strategic failure" that failed to obtain the desired objectives. Reynolds stated "The salient achieved led nowhere and was to prove extremely costly in the coming months", and that "The seven ritish commandersmost directly involved … bear responsibility for the failure of the Operation. It is also clear that, whilst the German commanders were prepared to take all necessary measures and risk to win the battle, even to point of using men untrained in ground warfare, their British adversaries were ot. Milton Shulman wrote that the "airborne operation had achieved some useful results" by driving a wedge into the German position and "thereby isolating the Fifteenth Army north of Antwerp from the First Parachute Army on the eastern side of the bulge. This segregation from the rest of the German front complicated the supply problem of Fifteenth Army, which was to forced to rely on the inferior crossings over the Maas and the Waal rivers west of the Allied penetration." Shulman stated that the terrain captured "served as an important base for subsequent operations against the Germans on the Rhine", ensured the Allied forces maintained the initiative, forced the Germans to remain on the defensive and ensured they could not assemble enough forces for a counterattack towards Antwerp, and stated that German Fifteenth Army commander called the loss of bridges and terrain as "a great embarrassment to us". Chester Wilmot stated that the captured terrain was "of immense tactical value", which removed "the threat of an immediate counter-stroke against Antwerp; strategically, however, it was in danger of becoming a blind alley, unless the bridgeheads over the Maas and the Wall could be quickly exploited." However, Wilmot noted that the operation failed to achieve its actual objectives, and that Montgomery's claim of a 90 per cent success "is difficult to support, unless the success of the operation is judged merely in terms of the number of bridges captured." Citing the commander of the First Parachute Army, Wilmot stated that the weather was the main contributing factor to the failure of the operation. John Warren wrote that "the greatest airborne operation of the war" had "ended in failure", which had saw "all objectives save Arnhem … won, but without Arnhem the rest were as nothing." Gerhard Weinberg wrote "At the end of ten days of bitter fighting … the attempt to 'bounce' the
hine ''Hine'' is a surname deriving from Middle English. Etymology According to the '' Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', the modern name ''Hine'' and its variants derive from the Middle English word ''hine'' (with the addi ...
had failed by a narrow margin in the face of reviving Germany resistance".


Subsequent combat in the Netherlands

After Operation Market Garden failed to establish a bridgehead across the Rhine, Allied forces launched offensives on three fronts in the south of the Netherlands. To secure shipping to the vital port of Antwerp they advanced northwards and westwards, the Canadian First Army taking the Scheldt Estuary in the Battle of the Scheldt. Allied forces also advanced eastwards in Operation Aintree to secure the banks of the Meuse as a natural boundary for the established salient. This attack on the German bridgehead west of the Meuse near
Venlo Venlo () is a city and municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg, about 50 km east of the city of Eindhoven, 65 km north east of the provincial capital Maastricht, ...
was for the Allies an unexpectedly protracted affair, which included the Battle of Overloon. After ''Aintrees completion
Operation Pheasant Operation Pheasant, also known as the Liberation of North Brabant, was a major operation to clear German troops from the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands during the fighting on the Western Front in the Second World War. This offensiv ...
was launched on 20 October which saw the Market Garden salient expand westward and resulted in the liberation of
's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
. In February 1945, Allied forces in
Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...
advanced from the Groesbeek heights which had been taken during Market Garden, and into Germany, crossing the Rhine in March during
Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal  Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the rive ...
. As a result of Operation Plunder, the city of Arnhem was finally liberated by I Canadian Corps on 14 April 1945 after two days of fighting. A surrender of the remaining German forces in the west of the Netherlands was signed on 5 May.


Famine in the Netherlands

A tragic consequence of the operation's failure was the
Dutch famine of 1944–45 Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...
, also known as the 'Hunger Winter'. During the battle Dutch railway workers, incited by the Dutch government in London, went on strike in order to aid the Allied assault. In retribution Germany forbade food transportation, and in the following winter more than twenty thousand Dutch citizens starved to death.


Commemoration


Memorials and remembrance

The prized Arnhem bridge for which the British had fought so hard did not survive the war. As the front line stabilised south of the Rhine,
B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...
s of 344th Bomb Group, USAAF destroyed it on 7 October to deny its use to the Germans. It was replaced with a bridge of similar appearance in 1948 and renamed John Frost Bridge (John Frostbrug) on 17 December 1977. There are a number of monuments in the Eindhoven - Nijmegen - Arnhem corridor. A memorial near Arnhem reads: Several museums in the Netherlands are dedicated to Operation Market Garden, including the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek, Wings of Liberation Museum Park in Best (near Eindhoven) and Airborne Museum Hartenstein in Oosterbeek. Annually there is a commemorative walk in Oosterbeek on the first Saturday of September which attracts tens of thousands of participants. On 16 September 1994, 101st Airborne veterans unveiled a "Monument for the Dutch" in Sint-Oedenrode. The monument is a gift from the veterans to the civilians who fought alongside of the U.S. troops, much to the surprise and relief of the U.S. soldiers. The inscription on the monument is in English and reads "Dedicated to the people of the Corridor by the veterans of the 101st Airborne Division, in grateful appreciation of their courage, compassion and friendship". The "Airborne trail" is a 225 km footpath from
Lommel Lommel () is a municipality and a city in the Belgian province of Limburg. The Kempen city has about 34,000 inhabitants and is part of the electoral district and the judicial district Lommel Neerpelt. Besides residential town of Lommel also has ...
to Arnhem, created as a permanent reminder of Operation Market-Garden by the Dutch hiking association "Ollandse Lange Afstand Tippelaars" (OLAT). It was officially opened in September 2004, during the festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the Liberation. A Commemorative Project plaque was unveiled on 23 June 2009, to commemorate the unique military and historical ties between Canada and the Netherlands. A hole, a par five, on the south course (Hylands Golf Course Uplands) in
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
was named "Arnhem, in honour of the Royal Canadian Artillery squadrons that took part in Second World War allied airborne Operation MARKET GARDEN from 17 to 26 September 1944. The operation, intended to secure a series of bridges so the allies could advance into Germany, fell short when the allied forces were unsuccessful in securing the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem." The village of Somerby in Leicestershire has a memorial hall dedicated to the men of the 10th battalion who were based there and who did not return. Each year there is a parade in their honour led by the
Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...
.


In film

* Operation Market Garden was the subject of the 1946 film '' Theirs Is the Glory''. This film mixed original footage from the battle with reenactments, shot on location in Arnhem. Many of the actors portraying the paratroopers were soldiers who fought in the battle. Some played themselves, including
Kate ter Horst Kate ter Horst MBE (born 6 July 1906, Amsterdam – 21 February 1992, Oosterbeek) was a Dutch housewife and mother who tended wounded and dying Allied soldiers during the Battle of Arnhem. Her British patients nicknamed her the ''Angel of Arnhem' ...
, Frederick Gough, John Frost, and Stanley Maxted, the Canadian journalist who posted gripping reports from the front at Arnhem. * '' A Bridge Too Far'' is a 1977 epic war film, based on the 1974 book of the same name by
Cornelius Ryan Cornelius Ryan (5 June 1920 – 23 November 1974) was an Irish-American journalist and author known mainly for writing popular military history. He was especially known for his histories of World War II events: '' The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D- ...
. It was adapted by
William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...
, was directed by
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisi ...
, and had an all-star cast. Unlike the earlier film, it covered the entire operation from all sides: British, American, German, Polish, and Dutch. * Dramatizations of the actions of the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...
, 506th PIR during the battle (with cameo scenes also of XXX Corps, British paratroopers and Canadian engineers) formed part of the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
television
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. " Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries forma ...
'' Band of Brothers''. * The 2021 film '' The Forgotten Battle'' includes a depiction of the glider-borne insertion of Operation Market Garden.


References


Footnotes


Citations


Bibliography

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Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


The Digital Monument 1995–2014


{{DEFAULTSORT:Market Garden, Operation
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...
Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Battles and operations of World War II involving the Netherlands Battles and operations of World War II involving Poland Battles of World War II involving Canada Battles of World War II involving the United States Code names Glider Pilot Regiment operations Land battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Military history of Canada during World War II Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom) September 1944 events Western European Campaign (1944–1945)
Market Garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...
Market Garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...
Military operations of World War II