Netherlands
Netherlands
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23
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17-27 Sept. 1944: Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery’s brain child, Operation Market-Garden, the largest airborne operation in history, is executed in Holland.
Intended to cease a bridge crossing the lower Rhine River in Arnhem, the failed operation is ever-after remembered as having tried to go “a bridge too far.”
The Market plan called for three Allied airborne divisions plus a Polish airborne brigade, to land on key terrain in Holland in daylight and cease bridges crossing the Rhine in Arnhem (British 1st Abn. and Poles); the Waal in Nijmegan and near Grave (U.S. 82nd Abn.); and the Wilhelmina Canal near Veghel, Son, and Eindhoven (U.S. 101st Abn.).
Meanwhile, the Garden plan called for the British XXX Corps to attack north from the French border along a single highway and race forward as fast as possible to relieve the airborne forces holding the bridges along the route.
Unfortunately for the Allied paratroopers, they would not encounter just a few weary stragglers without armor support, as intelligence experts believed. Instead, two full Waffen SS armored divisions had infiltrated into the area and were prepared to give them stiff resistance. This slowed XXX Corps’ advance and resulted in high casualties–especially in the airborne units.
For details, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden
ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) British 1st Abn. Div. paratroopers jump into Holland. (2) British 1st Abn. Div. "Red Devils" on the DZ outside of Arnhem. (3) British glider troops land in Holland during Operation Market-Garden. (4) Machine-gun fire tears into the cockpit of a British Horsa glider landing near Arnhem. (5) XXX Corps armor advances through Holland to link up with paratroopers holding bridges. (6) Men of the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Lt. Inf. engage a column of Tiger I tanks on the road between Nijmegen and Driel. (7) British paratroopers battle German armor on the Arnhem bridge on 18 Sept. (8) British Shermans advance on "Hell's Highway" en route to Nijmegan. (9) British 1st Abn. Div. paras defend the bridge at Arnhem. (10) Maj. Digby Tatham-Water leads British paras in Arnhem on 19 Sept.
More photos of the Market-Garden operation will follow over the next three days.
Intended to cease a bridge crossing the lower Rhine River in Arnhem, the failed operation is ever-after remembered as having tried to go “a bridge too far.”
The Market plan called for three Allied airborne divisions plus a Polish airborne brigade, to land on key terrain in Holland in daylight and cease bridges crossing the Rhine in Arnhem (British 1st Abn. and Poles); the Waal in Nijmegan and near Grave (U.S. 82nd Abn.); and the Wilhelmina Canal near Veghel, Son, and Eindhoven (U.S. 101st Abn.).
Meanwhile, the Garden plan called for the British XXX Corps to attack north from the French border along a single highway and race forward as fast as possible to relieve the airborne forces holding the bridges along the route.
Unfortunately for the Allied paratroopers, they would not encounter just a few weary stragglers without armor support, as intelligence experts believed. Instead, two full Waffen SS armored divisions had infiltrated into the area and were prepared to give them stiff resistance. This slowed XXX Corps’ advance and resulted in high casualties–especially in the airborne units.
For details, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden
ILLUSTRATIONS: (1) British 1st Abn. Div. paratroopers jump into Holland. (2) British 1st Abn. Div. "Red Devils" on the DZ outside of Arnhem. (3) British glider troops land in Holland during Operation Market-Garden. (4) Machine-gun fire tears into the cockpit of a British Horsa glider landing near Arnhem. (5) XXX Corps armor advances through Holland to link up with paratroopers holding bridges. (6) Men of the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Lt. Inf. engage a column of Tiger I tanks on the road between Nijmegen and Driel. (7) British paratroopers battle German armor on the Arnhem bridge on 18 Sept. (8) British Shermans advance on "Hell's Highway" en route to Nijmegan. (9) British 1st Abn. Div. paras defend the bridge at Arnhem. (10) Maj. Digby Tatham-Water leads British paras in Arnhem on 19 Sept.
More photos of the Market-Garden operation will follow over the next three days.
WWII World War Two
Military History
Netherlands
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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Failures: intelligence, logistics, communications, leadership. All seem to point to the Brits.
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
Exactly so. It was one of those "if anything can go wrong, it will" operations--PLUS it was a "bridge too far" . . .
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Even the best planners make terrible decisions that cost lives. Market Garden was a noble plan that relied on tight schedules being met and terrain being controlled. Neither of those two things were fully met and we paid a hard price for it.
I will say, I still love the movie A Bridge Too Far.
I will say, I still love the movie A Bridge Too Far.
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CPT Kevin McComas
Agreed - it really is a terrific movie! Gets the big stuff right and there is an abundance of small details that it nails as well
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MAJ William Smith
MG Garrison did the same thing in Mogadishu in 1993. Sent in Rangers by helicopter and then the 10th Mountain Division down virtually a single road to relieve them. I wonder what his War College grades were like.
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
Great movies about both Market-Garden and Mogadishu! Would they were all as good. More great pics to come . . .
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