Operation Market Garden, a World War II development designed to allow ground forces access to key bridges and roads through Nazi-occupied Netherlands and into Germany, was the brainchild of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
In mid-September 1944, in an effort to bring the war to an early end, key bridges in the Netherlands were seized by the US 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and the British 1st Airborne Division.
Soldiers assembling in Belgium had to wait for the airborne divisions to advance through the Netherlands before continuing to the Ruhr, Germany’s industrial heartland, to bring down Adolf Hitler’s military machine.
The Arnhem Bridge (pictured) was “a bridge too far” during Operation Market Garden. Troops were overrun by German tanks in 1944
And as each airborne division parachuted and glided in, the five bridges were slowly freed, allowing the British 30th Corps to advance across the Rhine. Market was the air operation and Garden was the advance of the 30th Corps.
Bridges that had to be successfully captured were at Eindhoven 13 miles from the 30 Corps launch point, two smaller crossings at Veghel and Grave, Nijmegen 53 miles from the launch and Arnhem 62 miles from the launch.
By liberating the bridges, the Netherlands would be liberated from the German Wehrmacht and an armored advance into the Ruhr region to paralyze the country’s armaments factories could begin.
By liberating the bridges, the Netherlands would be liberated from the German Wehrmacht and an armored advance into the Ruhr region to paralyze the country’s armaments factories could begin
An Allied parachutist nearly lands upside down during a daylight crash in Holland during Operation Market Garden
But Allied intelligence failed to detect the presence of German tanks, including elements from two SS Panzer divisions, and the 30th Corps was overwhelmed before it could reach the final bridge at Arnhem.
Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, a senior field commander in the Allied Air Forces, originally described the plan as possibly “a bridge too far” – which turned out to be true.
The 10,000 men of Major General Roy Urquhart’s 1st Airborne Division and 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade landed seven miles from the bridge at Arnhem.
British paratroopers on their way to land in Holland on September 17, 1944 in a C-47 transport aircraft
And only one battalion actually reached the bridge, while the rest were pocketed by German forces at Oosetbeeck to the west.
But why did it go wrong?
A lack of transport aircraft, the forested landscape, and weather conditions all played a role in the plan’s downfall.
Airborne troops had to be flown to the Netherlands in three elevators rather than all at once, and later thick whiplashes in England and low clouds over the combat area meant reinforcements and supplies could not be flown in quickly.
And trees surrounding the troops meant wireless radios stopped working. Although telephones were still available, Allied forces seldom used them in case communications were intercepted – so a communications blackout ensued.
Three German soldiers surrender to British forces near the Wessem Canal during the invasion of the Netherlands, 17 September 1944
How many died and how were the surviving soldiers evacuated?
A week after landing, on September 24–25, around 2,100 soldiers from the 1st Airborne Division were brought back across the Rhine. Another 7,500 were either dead or became prisoners of war.
Despite its ultimate failure, Operation Market Garden is remembered for the bravery of the troops and the liberation of large parts of the Netherlands.
Canadians of the British Second Army during the Battle of Arnhem. A week after landing, on September 24–25, around 2,100 soldiers from the 1st Airborne Division were brought back across the Rhine. Another 7,500 were either dead or became prisoners of war