Omroep Gelderland is all about Operation Market Garden in the third weekend of September. Follow live the commemorations in Arnhem, from the Ginkelse Heide and in Oosterbeek. You will also experience Bridge to Liberation.
Operation Market Garden was the largest airborne operation up to that point in World War II. The aim was to acquire the bridges over the Maas, Waal and Rhine in the Netherlands. Market Garden was a daring plan by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. It was operated by English, American and Polish airborne troops and three divisions of ground forces.
A bridge too far
Operation Market Garden was very ambitious, but failed due to bad weather conditions and fierce German resistance, especially at the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem. And that wasn’t the only problem of the operation. Communication problems, the difficult advance of the ground troops and errors in the high command also cause the failure. After the successful Battle of Nijmegen, the Allies failed to capture the last bridge at Arnhem; it became the proverbial "bridge too far".
Source of information: Liberation Route Europe