Nato troops commemorate 80 years since Operation Market Garden
Paratroops from nine Nato nations today jumped into Ginkle Heath on the outskirts of Arnhem – the same landing zone used 80 years ago during Operation Market Garden.
The 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team (16AABCT) were joined by paratroops from Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and the US on the anniversary of the daring mission.
The Red Devils, the British Army’s freefall parachute team are also listed to jump.
A handful of veterans who survived the intense nine-day battle will witness the commemoration ahead of a memorial service at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Ceremony tomorrow.
Princess Anne will represent King Charles III at the event.
A series of commemoration events are taking place today and tomorrow across the UK and at the scene of the famous battle which was immortalised in the all-star 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far.
Nato troops have commemorated the 80th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden in Holland this weekend
Some 35,000 UK, US and Polish paratroopers jumped behind enemy lines in September 1944 in an effort to liberate Holland and open up the road to Berlin
Reenactors fired a WWII field gun in a demonstration outside Eerde
Some of those making the jump this weekend used vintage-style parachutes
What was Operation Market Garden?
Between September 17 and September 25, 35,000 British, American and Polish paratroops were dropped behind enemy lines in an audacious attempt to liberate the Netherlands and open up a route into the heart of Germany.
Operation Market Garden – which has been immortalised by the 1977 movie – A Bridge Too Far, saw some of the most intense fighting of the Second World War.
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery convinced the Allied Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower that Operation Market Garden could finish the war in Europe by Christmas by leapfrogging German defences and capturing key bridges across the River Rhine, opening up the road to Berlin.
American troops from the US 101st Division would target Eindhoven and the bridges over canals and rivers to the north of the town. At the same time, the US 82nd Division would seize bridges in Nijmegen as well as occupying the Groesbeek Heights to the east of the city.
The British 101st Airborne Division along with the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade would drop into Arnhem – the most crucial bridge crossing the Lower Rhine.
The British 1st Airborne Division landed around nine miles from Arnhem in broad daylight at the start of Operation Market Garden on September 17, 1944
This photograph taken from a Spitfire shows the bridge at Arnhem over the Neder Rijn. British troops are holding out on the northern side of the bridge. This is the bridge immortalised in the 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far
Two British paratroopers who died during Operation Market Garden, Lieutenant Dermod Anderson and Private Henry Moon, were buried where they fell during the battle. 80 years on, both soldiers were laid to rest at the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek
Meanwhile, tanks from Britain’s 30 Corps would blast their way across Holland to provide support to the paratroops at Arnhem.
Unlike the D-Day invasion, where gliders and paratroopers dropped directly onto crucial bridges behind the invasion beaches under the cover of night, British troops heading to Arnhem parachuted up to nine miles from the target bridge in broad daylight – losing the element of surprise.
Due to a shortage of transport planes, troops were dropped over the course of several days and were faced by large numbers of German mechanised infantry and tanks – including two Panzer divisions which had not been seen by army intelligence.
The British troops had been told they would have to hold out for 48 hours until the arrival of 30 Corps. By the time they were ordered to retreat, nine days later, some 1,600 British soldiers lay dead and almost 6,500 had been captured.
Five Victoria Crosses were awarded – four more than on D-Day. Four of the five VCs for Market Garden were awarded posthumously.
This image shows British troops near the Arnhem bridge during Operation Market Garden in September 1944
The armoured advance through Belgium towards Holland and the objective at Arnhem has hampered by well-organised German infantry.
Within a few miles, nine British tanks had been knocked out by German infantry firing handheld Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons.
The US 101st Division liberated the Dutch city of Eindhoven on September 18, but the Germans had managed to destroy several bridges in the region to slow down the rate of advance. That same day British troops, who were dug in along the north of the bridge at Arnhem were coming under heavy fire from German massing on the south side ahead of 48 hours of counter attacks.
As the Germans advanced on the bridge at Arnhem, Allied resupply drops to the paratroops on the ground were falling into enemy hands – further reducing the fighting effectiveness of the British troops who were running out of food, ammunition and medical equipment.
After nine days under intense fire, the remaining British and Polish troops were forced to retreat
Some elements of the 1st Airborne Division attempted to hold out against constant counter attacks in the village of Oosterbeek on the outskirts of Arnhem
Bad weather prevented the Allies from taking advantage of their overwhelming air superiority, which left troops on the ground open to counter attack.
British armour had to come to a halt some eight miles from Arnhem as they lacked infantry support to advance to the town.
Poor weather was still hampering re-supply efforts and on September 20, the Germans agreed for a temporary truce to allow the evacuation of badly wounded British troops in the village of Oosterbeek – to the west of Arnhem where elements of the 1st Airborne Division were holding out.
The following day, the 30 Corps armour were in Nijmegan – south of Arnhem – and were able to provide artillery support to the troops holding out in Oosterbeek – but did not have the range to cover the elements of the Parachute Regiment in Arnhem. That evening, the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade under Major -General Stanislaw Sosabowski dropped into Driel – where they came under heavy fire. Several aircraft were shot down while others were forced to return to Britain.
By September 22, only a handful of Polish troops linked up with the British in Oosterbeek.
On September 24, a further truce allowed the allies to evacuate a further 1,200 wounded British and Polish troops who were taken into German captivity.
In total, the 1st Airborne Division had around 1,800 men left from their original complement of 10,000. It is estimated that 1,485 British and Polish airborne troops had been killed or died of their wounds during the battle. More than 6,500 had been taken prisoner.
