By September 1944 the Second World War in Europe looked all but over. Germany was at bay, her armies in retreat.

In France, Allied forces had overcome fierce resistance to break out of Normandy, capturing Paris and liberating most of Belgium. The biggest threat to a quick victory appeared to come not from the Germans, but from dangerously overstreched supply lines.

The Allies decided that resources should be concentrated and a “rapier-like” thrust made into the German lines that would win the war by Christmas.

The Plan

Operation Market Garden was the daring brainchild of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commander of the Commonwealth forces in Europe.

Montgomery proposed to fly some 35,000 men of the First Allied Airborne Army, comprising the British 1st Airborne Division

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(including an attachment of the First Polish Independent Parachute Brigade Group) and two American Divisions, into German-occupied Holland.

American paratroopers would seize bridges at Eindhoven and Nijmegen, while British and Polish forces would be dropped north of the Rhine to capture and hold the vital crossing at Arnhem.

These troops would be relieved by XXX Corps, spearheading the British 2nd Army, which would advance from the south along the single road from Eindhoven to Arnhem.

Using the captured bridges to cross the river Rhine, the Allied armies would sweep south into the industrial heartland of Germany and perhaps end the war.

The Landings

On Sunday 17 September, British pathfinders touched down in fields west of Oosterbeek. They were followed soon after by more paratroopers dropping from some 140 aircraft, and 320 gliders landing men, equipment, vehicles and weapons.

As the first wave of airborne forces attempted to advance, they met stiff resistance from German units. By that night only a few hundred men of the Parachute Regiment had reached the Arnhem road bridge and by the following morning, German counter-attacks had cut them

off from the landing zones. British forces were scattered and their radio communication disrupted. Bad weather delayed the arrival of vital reinforcements.

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The Battle

XXX Corps struggled towards the airborne forces along a narrow, well defended road. It was not until the third day of the operation that XXX Corps reached Nijmegen.

Meanwhile, Allied forces around Oosterbeek fought desperately to hold their ground and to reach their comrades in Arnhem, where the diminishing group of British paratroopers faced German reinforcements – including tanks. The British had few antitank weapons, limited food and supplies, and their ammunition was running low.

By 22 September, the bridge was lost and survivors had fought their way back to Oosterbeek. Here the fighting grew fierce, as German fire caused continuous casualties. Polish paras secured the Driel riverbanks but few Allied reinforcements crossed the river.

On the night of 25 September, in heavy rain and shielded by an intense ar tillery barrage from XXX Corps, the remaining airborne troops began to withdraw across the river to safety.

Originally asked to hold the area for three days, they had held it for nine.

The Aftermath

Approximately 10,600 men fought at Arnhem, but only 2,400 returned. Over 1,500 were killed, the remainder captured or wounded.

Allied ground forces suffered over 5,000 casualties (killed, missing or wounded).

Polish forces took around 400 casualties. The American 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne suffered almost 2,000 and 1,500 casualties respectively.

German casualty estimates range from 3,000 to 8,000.

Many Dutch civilians lost their lives in the fighting. After the battle, residents of Arnhem and its surrounding towns and villages were evicted from their homes.

The Allies did not cross the Rhine again until the spring of 1945, with Arnhem eventually liberated that April.

Commemorations

The majority of those who fought and died in Operation Market Garden are buried in Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery or commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial. Others are to be found in cemeteries along the Eindhoven to Nijmegen route traversed by XXX Corps.

Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery was constructed on the site of the airborne landings. There are now almost 1,700 Commonwealth servicemen buried or commemorated here.

Members of the Polish Airborne forces who died are buried alongside their allies at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery while those who have no known grave are commemorated on the Polish Monument at Driel.

Many of the Commonwealth aircrew who died during the operation have no known grave and are commemorated at the Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede in the United Kingdom.

In 1945 some 1,200 children “adopted” the cemetery at Oosterbeek, placing flowers on the graves and developing close bonds with the relatives of those who had died - a tradition that continues among Arnhem school children to this day.

T H E I R N A M E L I V E T H F O R E V E R M O R E

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is responsible for the commemoration of almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who gave their lives in the two world wars. The graves and memorials of these men and women, who came from all par ts of the Commonwealth and who were of many faiths and of none, are found around the globe in 153 countries.

Enquiries on the location of individual burials or commemorations can be directed to the offices below or to the Commission’s website at www.cwgc.org where there is an online searchable database.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission2 Marlow Road Maidenhead BerkshireSL6 7DXTel: +44 (0) 1628 507200 Fax: +44 (0) 1628 771208 E-mail: enquiries@cwgc.org Website: www.cwgc.org

Images c/o CWGC and the Imperial War Museum.

Commonwealth War Graves CommissionWestern Europe AreaElverdingsestraat 82B-8900 IeperBelgiumTel: +32 (0) 57 22 36 36Fax: +32 (0) 57 21 80 14E-mail: newoffice@cwgc.org