DK - World War II Map by Map

OPERATION MARKET GARDEN 199

Dinther

Veghel

Schijndel

Boxtel

Son en

Breugel

Nuenen

Helmond

Gemert

Koevering

Uden

Erp

Eindhoven

Best

Valkenswaard

Arnhem

Huissen

Ressen

Bemmel

Beek

Wyler

Groesbeek

Oss Grave Heumen

Hatert

Oosterbeek

Renkum

Elst

Driel

Opheusden

Nijmegen

Waal Waal

Low

er

Rh

ine

Maas^

M

aa

s-

W

aa

l (^) C
an
al
Wilhelmina Canal
(^) W
ilh
el
mi
na
(^) C
an
al
IJs
sel
G E R M A N Y
G R E A T E R
N E T H E R L A N D
German S
84th Corps
German 2nd
SS Panzer
Corps
German 2nd
Parachute
Corps
OPERATION MARKET GARDEN
In one of the boldest plans of the war, the Allies dropped thousands of troops behind enemy
lines in the Netherlands, near the German border. This operation—designated Market Garden—
aimed to clear a path for the Allies into Germany, but it turned out to be a costly failure.
A FLAWED PLAN
Montgomery planned to secure the
bridges along the road from Eindhoven to
Arnhem with airborne troops, creating a
safe corridor for his ground forces. He
anticipated little resistance.
KEY
Main German
attacks
German forces
Advance of 30th Corps
ground forces
Road from Eindhoven
to Arnhem
Key bridges
Major battles
Key urban areas
SEP 15, 1944 SEP 20 SEP 25 SEP 30
2
3
4
1
TIMELINE
5
THE BATTLE OF ARNHEM
SEPTEMBER 17–20, 1944
Much of the British 1st Airborne Division that had
landed near Arhem was cut off by the Germans
and forced into a defensive pocket at Oosterbeek.
Only one part of the force—the 2nd Parachute
Battalion—made it into Arnhem center, where,
under heavy German fire, it set up positions at the
north end of the bridge. Isolated, the battalion
soon began to run out of ammunition and water.
4
Allied landing
zones
Arnhem front lines,
Sep 17
1st Airborne Division advances, Sep 17–18
Allied pocket,
Sep 20
Advance of
30th Corps
Sep 17–20 The 2nd Parachute
Battalion reaches the Arnhem
bridge; 740 men hold the
bridgehead for three days
under heavy fire.
Sep 25
The surviving British
and Polish troops
are evacuated.
Sep 19–20 The Germans
squeeze the British into
a small area, where they
are unable to reach supplies
dropped by air.
TRAPPED AT ARNHEM
British troops at Arnhem were trapped
north of the river as German forces closed in
and the Allied forces to the south struggled
to reach them.
By mid-September 1944, the Allies—sensing stiffening resistance—
were desperate to break through into Germany. In a hastily
conceived plan, Field Marshal Montgomery believed that he could
push through the Netherlands and into Germany, bypassing the
heavily defended Westwall, or Siegfried Line (see pp.200–201). On
September 17–18, 35,000 airborne troops were delivered by glider
and parachute to around Nijmegen, Eindhoven, and Arnhem. Their
task was to secure bridges along the road between these cities; the
British 30th Corps would then advance over this route and cross
the Lower Rhine at Arnhem, after which the Allies would have
easy access into Germany’s industrial heartland in the Ruhr.
However, the Allies never managed to take the bridge over the
Rhine at Arnhem, and after a week of bitter fighting, in which
over 1,000 Allied troops died, they were forced to evacuate.
Market Garden failed, wasting resources that would have been
invaluable over the coming months, when the Allies tackled
German defenses over a broader front.
THE END OF THE OPERATION
SEPTEMBER 21–25, 1944
On September 22, 30th Corps finally managed to
link up with Polish paratroopers who had been
dropped over Driel with orders to cross the
river and reinforce the British perimeter at
Oosterbeek. They were too late to make a
significant impact; by September 25, 1,800
exhausted men of the 1st Airborne Division
were preparing to evacuate.
5
Polish landing
zone, Sep 21
British and Polish
evacuation, Sep 25
Arnhem
Planken
Wambuis
Driel
Doorwerth
Zilverenberg
Heveadorp
Oosterbeek
Renkum
Heelsum
Wolfheze
Buunderkamp
Low
er
Rhi
ne
US_198-199_Operation_market_garden.indd 199 19/03/19 5:40 PM