The Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market Garden)

In May 1945 the Russians hoisted their flag over the ruins(yıkılma) of the
Reichstag. The Second World War in Europe was effectively over. However, the
troops(takımlar) who captured Berlin could easily have been British or American,
if events in a small town in Holland had turned out differently. If Operation Market
Garden had succeeded, the Western Allies would have punched(zarar vermek)
their way across one of the last great natural barriers(engeller) between them
and the German Fatherland. Their tanks and troops might have reached Berlin
weeks before the Russians, ending the war by Christmas 1944. The fate(sonuç)
of post-war Europe might have been very different.

Market Garden was one of the boldest(en cesur) plans of the Second World War.
Thirty thousand British and American airborne troops were to be flown behind
enemy lines to capture eight bridges which spanned(sağlamak) the network of
canals and rivers on the Dutch/German border. At the same time British tanks
and infantry(piyade) were to push up a narrow road leading from the Allied front
line to these key bridges. They would relieve the airborne troops, and then cross
the intact(bozulmamış,sağlam) bridges.
The plan was conceived(tasarlamak) by General Bernard Montgomery,
commander of the British forces in Europe. The glittering(görkemli) triumph(zafer)
of the D-Day landings in France had become bogged down(korkutmak,ürkütmek)
in the slow and costly(pahalı) progress through the Normandy fields and
hedgerows(yol kenarındaki sıra sıra çalılar), which the Germans defended with
skill and tenacity(azim). After weeks of heavy fighting the Allies had finally broken
through. For the next three weeks they rolled through France and Belgium,
liberating Paris and Brussels. Victory seemed close.
But the Germans were regrouping(yaniden gruplaşma), and as the Allies pushed
nearer to the border of their homeland, their resistance stiffened(sertleşmek).
Montgomery believed that a powerful, narrow thrust deep into German lines
would be more effective than an advance on a broad front, which had become
difficult to supply from the few ports controlled by the Allies.

Intelligence warning
The soldiers who would carry it out were the First Allied Airborne Army, including
one British and two American divisions. They had been kept in reserve in
England since D-Day. Operation after operation had been cancelled. Now their
skills and training could be used at last. Tony Hibbert was brigade(tugay) Major of
the 1st Parachute Brigade(paraşüt tugayı):
My first reaction was one of enormous enthusiasm and excitement, because this
was the first time that anyone on our side, had contemplated(üzerinde düşünmek)
the proper strategic use of airborne forces en masse(çalışanlar).
Dropping by parachute and in gliders these divisions would land near the Dutch
towns of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, to take the eight key bridges. The
planners called this an 'airborne carpet' along which the advancing British armour
of XXX corps(kolordu) could push through to Germany. The airborne commander,
General 'Boy' Browning had just seven days to prepare for the operation. The
information he was given on the German troops in the area was alarming. It
suggested that there were two SS Panzer divisions around Arnhem, with many
tanks and vehicles. Major Tony Hibbert recalls the bleak(soğuk,tatsız)
assessment of aerial photographs made by General Browning's intelligence
officer, Major Brian Urguhart.

He showed me photographs of German Panzer 4's, mainly I think they were,

tucked in (kırılma) underneath woods. He went to General Browning, and said
that in his view the operation, could not succeed, because of the presence of these
two Divisions.
The dead line for cancelling the operation was now close. General Browning had
to weigh up(tartmak) the intelligence reports, which might be wrong. He decided
that the operation would go ahead. The huge risks inherent in Operation Market
Garden were now undermined(çökertmeye çalışmak) by a series of dangerous
compromises(uzlaşma). There were too few aircraft to deliver all the
airborne(hava indirme) troops in one go(bir seferde). Therefore they would be
dropped over three days. Anti-aircraft defences near Arnhem itself were thought
to be too effective to land gliders(planör) near the town. The troops would be
dropped at a site seven miles away, losing any element of surprise.

The first day

On Sunday 17th September, 500 gliders and 1,500 aircraft flew over the men of
XXX corps whose job was to follow in their tanks and trucks. As the aircraft flew
over, the Allied guns began a huge barrage to hit the Germans guarding the road
ahead. The weather that day was beautiful, cloudless blue sky and a warming
autumn sun. Major Tony Hibbert remembers:
...an enormous feeling of excitement, and I think everyone at that stage felt totally
confident they would win. Certainly the flight over from England was absolutely
beautiful. There was an absolute mass, an armada(donanma) as far as the eye
could see, in both directions, and about 20 planes wide, the most extraordinary
sight I've ever seen.
Moffat Burriss was a company commander in the American 82nd airborne
division, charged with taking one of the crucial bridges at Grave.
I remember standing in the door with a Sergeant, and we looked down as we flew
over the bridge, and the tracer started swinging(sallanamak) toward us and we
ducked back, looked at each other and started laughing, because why were we
ducking behind this little thin skin of the plane? It would not stop a bullet. And he
stuck his head out and said you dirty Krauts, we'll be down there and get you in a
minute.
The sergeant's prediction(tahmin) was right. American and British gliders and
parachutists drifted down on target, gathered up their equipment and began to
move towards the bridges they had to take. The road up which XXX corps would
have to travel to reach the bridges was narrow, just wide enough for two vehicles
to pass. It was defended by small groups of determined(kararlı) German
infantry(piyade). As the XXX corps tanks approached, they picked off the leading
nine vehicles, bringing the whole column to a standstill. It was 40 minutes before
they moved again. The Germans were quick to organise against the airborne
troops.
The British paratroopers(paraşütçü) began their advance towards Arnhem, and
were soon under attack. They quickly found that their radios didn't work properly.
It was impossible to co-ordinate the attack properly, because no one could
communicate. However, one British battalion (tabur) did find a way through the
German perimeter (çevre) around Arnhem, and by 8 pm on the first day, they had
captured the northern end of the road bridge across the Rhine. The Americans
had also reached their objectives. But most of the bridges were blown up
(havaya uçurmak) before they could be captured.
At the end of the first day XXX corps had advanced only seven miles from their
start line, and had not reached the first in the sequence (sıra, zincir) of bridges.
Meanwhile the Germans were reinforcing,(güçlendirmek) and their tanks were
moving into Arnhem ready to take on the lightly armed British paratroopers.

On September 18th, the second day, XXX corps(kolordu) began to make the
progress(ilerleme) expected of them. Their tanks covered 20 miles in a few
hours, hooking up(erişmek) with the Americans at one of the intact(bozulmamış)
bridges near Grave. On the third day they reached Nijmegen, where the
Americans were still fighting in the streets in their efforts to reach the bridge
across the might river Waal. Once they had taken Nijmegen bridge, only Arnhem
would be left, and the north end at least was still in British hands. It seemed that
Operation Market Garden might succeed.
But they could not get across the bridge. General Horrocks, XXX corps
commander, ordered American troops(asker) to attack across the river Waal, so
that they could capture the German end. The attack was enormously(oldukça
çok) costly(pahalı).
The bullets hitting the water looked like a hailstorm(dolu fırtınası), kicking up
little spouts(damlacıklar) of water. When we reached about the halfway point,
then the mortar(havan) and artillery(topçu) fire started falling. And when a boat
was hit with an artillery shell or a mortar shell, it just disintegrated(parçalamak),
and everybody was lost. (Moffat Burriss)
Half of Burriss' company was killed or wounded(yaralanmak) on the crossing.
The survivors reached the far bank, and from there successfully stormed(hücum
etmek) the Nijmegen bridge. At last the route to Arnhem was in Allied hands.
However, it was too late for the British parachute battalion(tabur) at the north end
of the bridge. The Germans had moved their tanks into the town, and one by one
they were demolishing(yıkmak) the houses in which the British were fighting. By
now the paratroops(paraşütçü) had few anti-tank weapons, they had no food,
and crucially(son olarak) they had little ammunition(mühimmat) left. Major Tony
Hibbert remembers the German tanks were now devastatingly(yok edici)
effective.
 We really had nothing we could do to them, and they drove up and down the
street, firing high explosive into the side of the building, to create the gap(yarık),
and then firing smoke shells through that. The phosphorus(fosfor) from the smoke
shells burned us out. By about 8 o'clock, on Wednesday evening, the fires got out
of control and of course we had by this time about 300 wounded in the
cellars(mahzen).
They were forced to abandon(terk etmek) their positions near the bridge, and to
try and fight their way out. Three miles from Arnhem British paratroops were
holding a pocket of land at the village of Oosterberck. By now XXX corps,
commanded by General Horrocks, was on the other side of the river from the
airborne troops. However, they could not cross. German artillery controlled the
river. Horrocks decided to evacuate(boşaltmak) the British survivors; only some
2,500 eventually(sonuçta) made the crossing. The Parachute division(tümen)
had left behind nearly 1,500 dead, and more than 6,500 prisoners, many badly
wounded.
Operation Market Garden had failed. It would be another four months before the
allies crossed the Rhine again and captured the German industrial
heartland(merkez). The war dragged on, costing the lives of many thousands of
civilians and servicemen.
By Mark Fielder, Executive Producer of the Battlefields series
Mark Fielder specialises in history documentaries, and has made many series for
the BBC and Channel 4. These include D-Day, Burma, War Walks, Western
Front, Elizabeth, Victorians Uncovered and The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

The Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market Garden)

by Mark Fielder (September 2001)