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By September 1944 the SecondWorld War in Europe looked all but over. Germany was at bay, her armies pressed hard by the relentless advance of the Soviets in the east.In France, disorganised and demoralised, to break out of Normandy, Commonwealth, Americanand alliedforces had overcomefierce resistance capturing Paris and liberating most of Belgium. The biggest threatto a quickAlliedvictoryappeared to come not from the Germans, but from dangerously overstreched supplylinesthat could not keep pacewith the raoid advance o the two mainAllied armiesin the west. should be concentrated and a Facedwith such a dangerous situation,the Allies decidedthat resources "rapier-like" Operation Market thrust made into the German linesthat would win the war by Christmas. Gardenwas the proposedsolution.

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Market Garden,the brainchild of FieldMarshalBernardMontgomery commanderof the Commonwealth forces in EuroDe.was one of the most audaciousplansof the SecondWorld War.

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proposedto fly some In the largestairborneoperationin history Montgomery Army,comprising the Britishlst Airborne 35,000 menof the Flrst Allied Airborne Parachute Division(including an attachment o the First PolishIndependent Holland. into German-occupied Brigade Group) and two AmericanDivisions while and Nijmegen, Americanparatroopers would seizebridgesat Eindhoven to capture andhold forceswould be dropped north of the Rhine BritishandPolish by 30 Corps, the vital crossingat Arnhem. These troops would be relieved the from the southalong spearheading the British2ndArmy,whichwouldadvance andenabling crossing the Rhine single roadfrom Eindhoven to Arnhem,eventually to end of Germany to sweepsouthinto the industrial heanland the Alliedarmies the war. and planning errors would havefatal From the outset, bad luck, assumptions for the With someof the "drop zones" consequences for the operation's success. the elementof distances from the vital bridges, airborneforcesat considerable surprisewas lost and large numbersof troops were unle to reach their gained their deensive valuable time to reinforce objectives, whilethe German's positions. along the reliefroutewould Delays in capturing someof the key bridges in Arnhem. for the Britishand Polish alsohaveserious conseouences DaratrooDers Therewere too few aircraftto carrythe entirearmy.Badweatheranda decision force that the Allies the effective to makeonly three daily'lifts'further hindered at could bring to bear on the ground.To compoundmatters,the paratroopers with the communication would not work and with Arnhemfoundtheir radios forces outside the town almost impossible,all efective control over the actions. into a series of isolated anddesperate engagement waslost asit spiralled intelligencereports But, perhaps most significantly, Divisions of two SSPanzer indicating the presence near Arnhem were largely ignored, the beingthat the rePortswere assumption or that theseunitswere no inaccurate Ionger combat effective.Over the next few days,the relativelylightly armed paratroopersin and aroundthe town
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On Sundayl7 September the attackwent aheadas planned. The 500 glidersand 1,500 transport aircraft landed the first wave o airborne troops with little oppositionand they soon beganmoving towards their targets,althoughas the Americansreachedsome o their oblectives they found the bridgeshad already been blown up. The relief force of 30 Corps were also encountering dificulties backat the ooeration's start-line.

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With only three daysto make sixty miles along a narrow, well defended road, the 30 Corps armoured column ran into trouble almost immediatelywhen German anillery picked of the nine leading vehicles, effectively bringingit to a standstillor nearlyan hour. By the end o the irst day, the column had travelleda mere sevenmiles.

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In Arnhem, the operationwas not going to plan. Some 2,000 men of the lst Airborne's lst Parachute Brigadebeganto encounterheavyoppositionas they closedin on the vital bridge.lt was impossible to co-ordinateany attack on the problemswith the radiosbut, even so, Germandefenders because of continuing one battalion(some 700 men) reachedand capturedthe northern end o the bridge. Digging into the surroundingbuildingsthey waited for the inevitable

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German counter-attack. Sure enough, the tanks which had been discounted in the earlier intelligencereports began moving into Arnhem to take on the paratrooPers. Throughout the next day,the remainder of the lst ParachuteBrigadeought desperatelyto reach the men at the bridge who were putting up a heroic defence in the face of overwhelming odds. By nightfallit was apparent that any further attempts to reach the bridge would be futile but it was not until Thursday 2lst that surrounded, with no ammunition,no hope of reliel and with German destroying house after house, tank systematically the much reduced force at the bridge was forced to surrender. I/alkenswaard War Cemetery

o the Airborne Divisionhad formed a But all was not yet lost. The remainder knownasThe Thisbecame of the town at oosterbeek. perimeter on the outskirts of success. stooda chance cauldronandfor aslongasthey heldit, MarketGarden uponhow soon30 Corpscouldreachthem' now depended Everything 30 Corps hadcovered20 milesin iust a few dayof the oPeration, On the second were still wherethe Americans Nijmegen' they reached On the third day, hours. waal,wasthe last The bridgehere,overthe River in bitter streetfighting. engaged 20th, day four of On Wednesday obitacleto Arnhemand it hadto be captured. were orderedto crossthe river so that the bridge the Americans the oDeration, but at The attackwassuccessful from both endssimultaneously. couldbe attacked a terrible cost. More than half of the force was killedor woundedbut with the the route to ArnhemwasoPen'lt aPPeared bridgenow in Alliedhands Nijmegen would at lastsucceed. asif OoerationMarketGarden

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On the eveningof Friday 22nd, 30 Corps's tanks began to arrive on the south bank of the RhineoDDosite the bridgeheadstill held by the lst Airborne Division at Arnhem but, despite repeated attempts over the next three days,it proved impossible to reinforce their positions.By the 25th it had become clear that what remained of the lst Airborne Division would haveto be withdrawn and that night, under cover o darkness, two thousand were ferried across the river to safery Although they had originally beenaskedto hold the area for three days, they had held it for nine.
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Approximately 10,600men fought at Arnhem, but only some 2,400 returned. Over 1,500were killed, the remainderwere captured or wounded. Had the it is possible that the war would haveendedin 1944and that operationsucceeded the map of post-warEuropewould havebeenvery different. Historianscontinueto debate the reasonsfor Market Garden'sfaiiure but the markedin the mainby Their sacrifice, braveryo those involvedis not in question. the Commonwealthwar cemetery at Arnhem Oosterbeekand the Groesbeek Memorial,will not be forgotten.

Althoughthe maiorityof thosewho oughtand died in OperationMarket Garden on the or commemorated are buried in alongthe Eindhoven othersare to be found in cemeteries their comradeswho died to Nijmegenroute traversedby 30 Corps, alongside in the area. duringlater operations to be which was the first village These include: 1944; in September liberated on the main line of the advanceinto Holland where the villagewas entered by and parachutists Division on l7 September1944. o the 82nd U.S.Airborne

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Members of the Polish Airborne forces who died in the oDeration are buried alongsidetheir allies, 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 by name at the Commonwealth Air in the ForcesMemorial,Runnymede United Kingdom (the subject of a separateinformation sheet).

,{rnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery(l,7 63 burials)

The cemetery was constructed on the site of the airborne landingsand contains the graves o the majority of those killed during Operation Market Garden and many of those who died in later fighting in the area. In 1945some 1,200 children"adopted" the Commonwealth cemeteryat Arnhem, placing flowers on the graves and developing close bonds with the relatives o amongArnhem schoolchildrento thosewho had died - a traditionthat continues this day. lies 7 km west of Arnhemon the Arnhemis in the eosternNetherlonds. Oosterbeek From the Utrechtseweg, turn on to the Stotionsweg heoding rood to Wogeningen. for Oosterbeek Stotion.At the roilwoy stoton,turn right on to VonLimburgStirumweg. The entronceto the cemeteryis o short distonceolong this rood oppositethe town ceme,ery.

.rroesbeek Memorial (1,035 names)

of The Groesbeek Memorial commemorates by name morethan 1,000 members in north-west the Commonwealth land orces who died during the campaign the Seine at the end of August| 944 andthe Europebetweenthe time of crossing graves end of the war in Europe, andwhose are not known. close to the German Groesbeek is locotedl0 km southeostof the townof Nijmegen Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery The Memoriol stonds in Groesbeek frontier. whchis 3 km north of the villoge ond 1.5 kilometes eost of the main rood to -Groesbeek, junction at the Overosselt-Mook Nrjmegen. On leoving the A73motorway

foltow directionsto Mook, possingMook Wor Cemetery ond continuing to the roundobout outside the villoge of Groesbeek.Turn left ot the roundobout onto A to Molenweg. possing The roodnome then chonges Dorpstroot, throughGroesbeek. the onto Molenweg ght hond turning sign indicotes the Commission direction from lies I km downthis rood Conadion Wor Cemetery The Groesbeek ZevenHeuvelenweg. on the right. by the were designed Memorial Both the cemeteryat Arnhem andThe Groesbeek architectPhilioHeoworth.

or markingand is responsible War GravesCommission The Commonwealth forceswho died the graveso those membersof the Commonwealth maintaining to the dead memorials and maintaining duringthe two world wars,or building of these 1.7 whose gravesare unknown and for providingrecordsand registers the throughout found in most countries million burials and commemorations wono. may be burialsand commemorations Enquiries about the locationof individual directedto eitherof the officesbelow or to the Debt of Honour Register a search web site at wvwv.cwgc.org at the Commission's by surnamedatabase

are frotn Quotations 'Arnhem Lift publshed , anonJmousl! in January 1945, the author later identified as Sgt Lous Hagan, MM, a glider plot.

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