THE ORIGINAL THUNDER RUN|ARNHEM
Corps and Guards Armoured for
being sluggish perhaps lack a full
appreciation of what was happening.
Likewise, VIII and XII Corps have
been described as slow, but in their
advance into heavy resistance, the
two corps suffered almost 4,000
casualties with XXX Corps losing
nearly 1,500 as it tried to push
through.
XXX Corps’ gains were gradually
consolidated as the British fanned
out into the flanks of the original
advance and secured more ground.
The bridges at Nijmegen and Grave
proved valuable in subsequent allied
operations and the value of the
Nijmegen bridges may be gauged by
the German efforts to destroy them,
including attacks by jet aircraft and
sabotage by frogmen. But the enticing
prospect advanced by Montgomery
was not to be. The Allies would not
overrun the Ruhr. The war would
not end in 1944.
Monty’s bold plan, so out of
character for a man renowned for
attention to detail, had been too
ambitious. There may be some truth
after all in the quip often attributed
to Browning, but probably made by
someone after the event, that Arnhem
was “a bridge too far”. Even then, was
not Nijmegen Bridge an equally valid
candidate for that comment?http://www.britainatwar.com^41roads and lanes. Their route became
that used for the evacuation.
Montgomery’s grand plan had
failed. While most of the blame is
usually attributed to him, others
were also at fault. Eisenhower – who
was very keen, perhaps overly so,
to use the First Allied Airborne
Army – approved the plan. Lewis
Brereton, an American lieutenant
general, and the rarely mentioned
commander of that army, must also
shoulder part of the blame as someLEFT
Guards Armoured
Division Shermans,
of the Grenadier
Group, cross
Nijmegen bridge.
TAYLOR LIBRARY/
PEN & SWORD BOOKSBELOW
XXX Corps carriers
cross at Nijmegen.
The lengthy battle
to secure the
town and bridge
was instrumental
in delaying any
advance to Arnhem.
TAYLOR LIBRARY/
PEN & SWORD BOOKSof his decisions were questionable.
He modified the plan and restricted
the use of gliders, number of lifts per
day, and decided to drop in daylight.
Lieutenant-General Browning,
commanding I Airborne Corps, took
his headquarters into the battle on the
first day, using precious gliders that
might otherwise have transported an
additional battalion to reinforce the
Arnhem bridgehead.
There were many other factors,
although those who blame XXX
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