Operation Market Garden
Following the successful Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, the 6th June 1944, the Allies advanced and liberated Paris on the 25th August 1944. The next objective was for the Allies to undertake an attack through the Netherlands and into Northern Germany over the Lower Rhine River (Nederrijn River). Had Operation Market Garden been successful it is possible the European war could have been won by the end of 1944. Market Garden was the codename of the Battle for Arnhem. The operation was eventually a failure for a number of reasons. Compliancy, the disagreement by British and U.S, commanders and the first strong well prepared German defensive system since Normandy. During the planning stage, the most basic error of judgement was to ignore the two Panzer Divisions as they were supposedly resting and refitting just north of Arnhem. However, the failure inspired Dutch civilians and earned for Britain a lasting tie of friendship with Holland.
Despite his normal cautious approach for action, British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery suggested the plan for Operation Market Garden. Montgomery persuaded Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Dwight Eisenhower, the plan was possible and duly received the go-ahead. However, U.S. General Omar Bradley disagreed thinking the plan was a hare-brained scheme, but the plan went ahead anyway. He did later concede had the plan been successful the war could have ended in 1944 and was sorry it failed. The operation was carried out in two phases. “Market” was carried out by paratroopers from Britain, the U.S. and Poland and “Garden” was the Allied infantry being transported along a single road from Normandy.
On the 1st September 1944 Eisenhower (Ike) took command of Allied ground forces. On the same day Montgomery (Monty) was promoted to Field Marshall. The Allies advanced through France and into Belgium and liberated Brussels on the 3rd September 1944. The Belgian port of Antwerp was liberated on the 4th September 1944, but supplies could not be brought in as the Germans had naval control in the North Sea. On the 10th September 1944 Monty and Ike met in Brussels and Monty proposed a “full-blooded thrust”. The first disagreement occurred when Monty demanded of his commander-in-chief to give him enough supplies for the operation to succeed. Ike counter argued that as the supplies were coming from Normandy they were to serve the whole advance. However, Market Garden was given the go-ahead. In the meantime U.S. troops had crossed the German border.
17th September1944. Operation Market Garden began with airborne landings taking place at the bridges around Arnhem, Nijmegen and Eindhoven. At the beginning of the operation, apart from Arnhem, the first wave of Allied Airborne attacks were successful, each landing 80% of the troops within 1,100 yds (1,000 m) of their drop zone. German defensive flak was “heavy but inaccurate”, and losses to Allied aircraft was minimal.
Day 1: 17th September 19
The tactical commander of Operation Market Garden was Lieutenant-General Frederick (Boy) Browning. His command included the British 1st Airborne Division commanded by Major-General Roy Urquhart. Only half of the 1st Airborne landed during the first attack, and of these only half of these advanced toward the bridge. Awaiting the arrival of the second wave the following day, theremainder of the 1st Airborne defended the drop zones overnight Whilst most of the attacking forces met with German resistance, the 2nd Parachute Battalion found a route largely undefended. The 2nd Paras, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost arrived at the bridge in the evening and set up defensive positions.
Day 2: 18th September 1944
Towed gliders were scheduled to precede to the bridges. However, the weather forecast for fog in England did turn out to be accurate. This predicted fog postponed the second Allied glider attack for three hours. Eventually the gliders were towed to the battle area only to find thick low cloud developing. In Arnhem the 4th Parachute Brigade, commanded by Brig-Gen John Hackett, jumped and landed at full strength to join up with the defenders.
Deployed east of Nijmegen, German defenders hindered the progress of the U.S. 82nd Airborne (Browning’s third command). The 82nd Airborne Division was commanded by Brig-General James Gavin. The landing zone was cleared of Germans by the 82nd and later in the day 134 B-24 bombers dropped supplies at low level.
Faced with determined resistance by German infantry and tanks, British XXX Corps linked up with the U.S. 101st Airborne Division near Eindhoven. The British XXX Corps, part of “Market”, was commanded by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks (Browning’s second in command). The 101st Airborne Division was commanded by Major-General Maxwell Taylor (Browning’s fourth in command).
Day 3: 19th September 1944s
The remaining 1st Airborne attempted to withdraw into a defensive pocket at Oosterbeek and form a bridgehead on the Rhine River. Later in the day 35 gliders containing the first wave of the Polish 1st Independent Polish Brigade, commanded by Major-General Stanislaw Sosabrowski parachuted into Driel, approximately 2.5 miles (4km) south-west of Arnhem. Most of the Polish troops were killed. The second wave of gliders transporting the remainder of the Polish paras were postponed due to dense fog in England.
Approaching Nijmegen, Grenadier Guards of the XXX Corps made contact with the 82nd Airborne, south-west of the bridge at Grave. Commanders of the XXX Corps’ armoured division took control of the troops of the combined forces of XXX Corps and 82nd Airborne. They were halted 440 yards (400m) from the bridge. Plans were discussed and agreed the 82nd Airborne would cross the river in small boats and attack from the north. Boats were requested but did not arrive. Bad weather in England prevented the much-needed scheduled reinforcements.
To the south, at Eindhoven, units of the 101st Airborne were forced to yield to the German counter-attacks. German tanks were pushed back with the arrival of British tanks and the bridge was secured. When German bombers attacked the town of Eindhoven they dropped parachute flares which set the town ablaze causing massive damage and many civilian casualties. The bombers did not suffer any losses as the Allies had no anti-aircraft guns.
Day 4: 20th September 1944
At Arnhem Bridge, Frost’s forces continued to hold out against tanks the Allies thought were being rested and refitted. After having established communications with the 1st Airborne they learnt XXX Corps would not be relieving them as they had been halted at Nijmegen. The tanks were able to demolish the British positions at point-blank range as there was a lack of anti-tank munitions. Also lack of food, water and medical supplies had weakened the British defence. A two hour truce was arranged to evacuate the wounded into German captivity, including the wounded Colonel Frost. When Frost left Major Frederick Gough took over as commander. The remaining British troops continued to fight PD.
At Nijmegen the 82nd Airborne landed on the south of the river. German defenders and some tanks were positioned to the south side of the river and access to the bridge was blocked. The only way the 82nd Airborne could seize the bridge was by a frontal river crossing from the south. British XXX Corps canvas folding boats were the only vessels available. 26 boats were rowed across the river with some troops using their rifle butts as paddles. Despite heavy fire from the Germans about half the boats survived the crossing. After the second crossing only eleven boats survived. Some “boat crews” had crossed the river five times to ferry over the remaining troops. German forces withdrew from the north end of the bridge when the U.S, paratroopers arrived. Tanks of the XXX Corps crossed the bridge and the bridge was captured. 200 paratroopers were killed crossing the river with German losses in excess of 260.
Day 5: 21st September 1944
Major Gough’s 1st Airborne left Arnhem and established themselves in the buildings and woods at Oosterbeek. The intention was to form a bridgehead until the XXX Corps arrived. All day they were heavily attacked on all sides by German armoured vehicles. Despite several infantry attacks the remnants of the 1st Airborne held the ground.
Due to fog over England having lifted the remainder of Sosabowski’s Polish Brigade entered the battle. Two thirds were dropped and landed south of the Rhine near Driel, and were confronted with heavy German fire. The remaining Polish paratroopers landed 12 to 15 miles away near Grave. Persistent attacks by Luftwaffe and the poor coordination by British air transfer officers caused the Polish supplies to be dropped on the opposite side of the Rhine, 9.3 miles away. Unable to help the British, all of the Polish paratroopers withdrew to Driel and organised defensive positions.
Five tanks of the XXX Corps had crossed the captured Nijmegen Bridge and were awaiting the infantry to secure the bridge. Unknown to the Allied defenders of the bridge, three Tiger tanks with accompanying infantry was heading along the road from Arnhem. These tanks were the remainder of tanks the British thought were resting and refitting. Supplies for the XXX Corps were slow coming along the single road from Belgium and with other confusions all round reinforcements did not reach Nijmegen. In the meantime the German defences had been reinforced. The reserve troops attached to the 82nd Airborne were ordered to make contact with the Polish paratroopers at Driel.
Day 6: 22nd September 1944
As the reserves attached to the 82nd Airborne attempted to advance to Driel, the fog lifted exposing them to German fire. They eventually arrived at Driel during the evening. Lacking assault craft, British and Polish engineers, on both sides of the Rhine, had worked all day to improvise a small boat crossing linked by signals cable. The Polish troops were forced to row across the river against the strong current as the cable kept breaking. Only 52 Polish survived the crossing after being decimated by heavy German fire before a halt was called.
Day 7: 23rd September 1944
The Germans spent the day trying to isolate the remnants of the 1st Airborne who had made their way to Oosterbeek. In an effort to cut off the combined Polish and XXX Corps the Germans attacked several locations to tie down the forces but the attacks were defeated.However,the attempt to reinforce the 1st Airbornewas a complete failure as the Polish and XXX Corps did not manage to make contact as planned.
Day 8: 24th September 1944
A second attempt to reach the 1st Airborne also failed. Operation Market Garden, the Allied crossing of the Rhine was abandoned. A decision, by commanders in the field, was made to form a new defensive line in Nijmegen. However, another decision was taken to attempt to reinforce the 1st Airborne. Of the 315 Dorsetshire Regiment who parachuted and landed north of the Rhine only 75 reached 0osterbeek. The Dorsets had landed among German positions and were immediately pinned down. The remaining 260 Dorsets were taken prisoner. A final decision was made to withdraw the 1st Airborne from its bridgehead north of the Rhine.
Day 9: 25th September 1944
At dawn Gough’s 1st Airborne received orders to withdraw from Operation Market Garden. At 22.00 hrs, Polish paratroopers covered the retreat of the 1st Airborne as they began their withdrawal. British and Canadian engineers ferried the defenders across the Rhine. At first light the next morning all but 300 men of the 1st Airborne were safely across the river. Of the remaining 300, some of whom were Polish, surrendered on the north bank and were taken prisoner. The withdrawal of the 1st Airborne was a success.
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Arnhem ended up being a BRIDGE TOO FAR and the failed operation had incurred approximately 17,000 overall casualties. Out of nearly 11,000 men who had crossed north of the Rhine, approximately 7,900 lost their lives, were wounded or captured. German casualties amounted to approximately 8,000. Individual Allied commanders blamed the failures of everything else but forgot to mention their own blunders. Ultimately they considered the British were responsible owing to the lack of planning. Undoubtedly the operation was a German victory, but somehow Monty, for some reason, claimed the operation had been 90% successful!
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Various Honours were awarded during Operation Market Garden.
VICTORIA CROSS
Five VCs were awarded, four posthumously.
17TH/20th Sept. – John Greyburn, 2nd Parachute Brigade and awarded the posthumous promotion to Captain.
18th Sept. – F/Lt David Lord, pilot of RAF Down Ampney, Gloucestershire.
19th Sept. – Captain Lionel Queripel, 10th Parachute Battalion.
20th Sept. – Lance Sergeant John Baskeyfield, South Staffordshire Regiment.
25th Sept. – Major Robert Cain, South Staffordshire Battalion. He was the only one to survive the battle. The TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson married his second wife Frances Cain in May 1993. Frances is the daughter of the VC recipient Robert Cain. Together they had three children but the marriage didn’t last and ended in divorce in 2014.
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Commissioned in April 1942, Flight Lieutenant James Edwards was a Dakota pilot in the Royal Air Force. Ferrying supplies into Arnhem his aircraft was shot down and he received facial injuries which required plastic surgery. He had previously taken part in the D-Day landings of June 1942. For the action at Arnhem he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He became a member of the “Guinea Pig Club” and grew a large handlebar moustache that disguised his injury. The “Guinea Pig Club” was set up for people with facial injuries requiring plastic surgery. Upon recovering from his injuries, and the war being over, he became a comedian on radio and TV. With his handlebar moustache he ended being known as Professor Jimmy Edwards.
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MEDAL OF HONOR
Three posthumous Medal of Honor were awarded to American soldiers.
18th Sept. – Robert Cole, commanding the 3rd Battalion of 502nd Polish Infantry Regiment.
19th Sept. – Private First Class Joe Mann, 101st Airborne Division.
21st Sept. – Private John Towle, 82nd Airborne Division.
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Military Order of William
Two units received the highest Dutch military award, the Military Order of William.
8th October 1945 – HM Queen Wilhelmina awarded the Knights 4th Class honour to the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division.
31st May 2006 – HM Queen Beatrice awarded the Knights 4th Class honour to the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade.
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