Market Garden was a code name for an Allied offensive aimed at liberating the Netherlands. This large-scale operation took place in the year 1944 but failed. The intention was that this battle would be decisive and stop the war once and for all. The essence of the plan was fine, but something went wrong in the execution, but what actually happened during this operation?
Men
Four units were deployed for this operation, consisting of three airborne divisions and a paratroop brigade. The following divisions took part in this operation:
- 82nd Airborne Division (American) – US 82nd Airborne Division, alias: All American
- 101st Airborne Division (American) – US 101st Airborne Division, alias: Screaming Eagles
- 1st Airborne Division (British) – British 1st Airborne Division
- 1st Parachute Brigade (Polish) – Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The plan was for the 101st airborne division to capture Eindhoven and the nearest bridges. The objective of the 82nd airborne division was to capture the bridges of Grave, Nijmegen, and Wijchen. The 1st British divisions had to capture the Rhine bridge near Arnhem. The intention was for Arnhem to be recaptured within two days and for the soldiers to then advance west and liberate the whole of the Netherlands.
Course of the operation – 1944
September the 17th
On this day the operation began. Americans and British came out of the sky with parachutes and started their black job. The Americans worked well and managed to capture the Maas Bridge and several bridges over the Zuid Willemsvaart. However, the bridge at Son en Beugel was blown up, preventing them from crossing. The Nijmegen bridge also caused problems and could not be conquered because the Germans offered too heavy resistance. The British also had a lot of problems: railway lines and bridges were blown up, leaving little to conquer. After the first day they did not manage to go further than the Valkenswaard, which is fifteen kilometers from the starting point.
September 18th
Eindhoven was liberated on this day but there was no trace of the Germans. However, the Germans soon made a surprise attack, which resulted in them being bombarded from the adjacent village of Zandduinen. Meanwhile, the 82nd was still busy capturing the bridge that connected to Nijmegen. The British also had a hard time again and there was heavy fighting around Arnhem.
September 19
A day that started well but ended badly. A British tank division managed to strengthen several bridges, but the Nijmegen bridge remained unconquerable. The British suffered heavy losses in their futile attempts to take Arnhem. On this day, 277 people met their end.
September 20
On this day Nijmegen was finally conquered. The bridge at Arnhem was also captured. However, there were few men left and due to a lack of ammunition and food, the outcome of this battle was already clear in advance.
21st of September
Early in the morning the Germans managed to clear all the English resistance around Arnhem and launched a counter-attack. However, this failed due to the heavy artillery fired by the British troops.
September 22
Of the 2,500 Polish paratroopers who landed, only fifty managed to cross. This was because they had no boats and the crossing was under German fire. The Allies managed to conquer some villages, but the Germans had murdered a lot of men.
September 23
The Germans managed to kill a lot of British with snipers and artillery. Another 150 Poles managed to cross the river, reinforcing the ground troops.
September 24
The generals of the 30th decided to attack across the Rhine. However, most did not survive and it was decided to evacuate the remaining troops, the operation became a lost cause.
25th of September
About two thousand soldiers are evacuated and this marks the end of the operation. The failure of this operation is estimated to have extended the war by just under a year. If this operation had been successful, the war could have ended before the winter of 1944. my view on