The Battle of Arnhem
The Operation Market Garden was conceived by General Bernard Montgomery, commander of the British forces in Europe. Since the German resistance was getting severer the closer the Allies advanced to the German border, Montgomery was convinced that the Allied forces would face fierce German defense when trying to cross the River Rhine. To make the crossing of the River Rhine easier for the Allied forces, Montgomery came up with a plan according to which a large airborne force would be dropped behind the enemy lines and behind the River Rhine. The German defenders would, however, be also attacked by the British XXX corps from the other side of the River Rhine.
General Montgomery's plan foresaw capturing the bridges on the lower Rhine, Maas and Waal at the Dutch towns of Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Anhem which would allow the Allies to bypass the heavily defended Siegfried Line consisting of over 630 kilometers of bunkers, tunnels and tank defenses. Montgomery was convinced that a strong and narrow trust into the German lines would break the German resistance faster than a broad front.
The fulfillment of the Montgomery's plan was entrusted to the 1st Allied Airborne Army consisting of four divisions – two British and two American which were later joined by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade commanded by Stanislaw Sosabowski. Its commander, General Frederick "Boy" Browning was given only seven days to prepare for the operation. The British Intelligence information were encouraging, implying that there are only poorly equipped and demoralized German troops. The Dutch intelligence warned about the presence of the regrouped SS divisions with many tanks near Arnhem, however, General Browning decided to carry out the Operation Market Garden.
The Allied parachute operation had several disadvantages from the start. First of all, the Allies did not have enough aircraft to drop all troops at once. As a result, the troops were dropped over three days. And secondly, they were about to face the II SS Pancer Corps instead of weak German troops like the British Intelligence information suggested.
The first group of British and American troops were dropped off on September 17 and swiftly moved to their targets. At the same time, the British XXX corps started to approach a narrow road to provide support to the airborne troops and cross the intact bridges. The British paratroopers immediately started to advance to Arnhem but they soon came under fierce German attack. At the same time, they discovered that their radios were not working and that the maps they were given are inaccurate. Despite being unable to coordinate their attack on Arnhem, one battalion managed to break through the German line at Arnhem and by evening captured the northern end of the bridge. The American troops managed to reach their objective as well, however, the Germans destroyed most of the bridges, while the British XXX corps failed to make any significant advance by the end of the first day, giving the Germans enough time to reinforce.
While the German tanks were moving to Arnhem, the second group of paratroopers was dropped off. However, they were several hours overdue due to fog in England. This affected the planned attack at Nijmegen as well as delayed the relief of the British division at Arnhem which was faced with a force of 8,500 men. The bridge at Nijmegen was thus captured only at the evening of September 20. The XXX corps rushed to relieve the British soldiers in the Arnhem area. Now, the Allies would only have to capture Arnhem and the Operation Market Garden would succeed. However, the XXX corps could not get across the bridge. The American troops on the other side of the bridge attacked the German end and managed to capture the bridge but at a heavy cost. The route to Arnhem was finally open but it was too late for the British troops that held the north end of the bridge across the River Rhine.
The British parachute battalion in Arnhem was running out of food and ammunition, while the XXX corps which was on the other side of the river could not cross the bridge. The commander of the XXX corps, General Brian Horrocks decided to rescue the surviving men across the River Rhine and ordered evacuation but only about 2,500 managed to escape. About 1,500 men were killed during the fight with the Germans or trying to escape, while about 6,500 men were captured by the Germans. On September 26, the Operation Market Garden ended as a failure despite the fact that Montgomery claimed for it to be a 90 percent success. With the failure to achieve the main objective which was to capture the Arnhem bridge across the River Rhine, the parachute operation ended as a victory for the Germans. But it could no longer change the course of the war. The Allied defeat in the Battle of Arnhem only prolonged World War II for another four months.
Commanders of the Battle of Arnhem
Roy UrquhartThe British 1st Airborne Division which was given the task to capture the bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem was commanded by Major-General Roy Urquhart. He served in India from the outbreak of World War II until 1941 when he was sent to North Africa and appointed the staff officer in the 3rd Division. Urquhart was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel and made commander of the 2nd Battalion Duke Cornwall's Light Infantry. For a brief time, he also commanded the British 231st Infantry Brigade which took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily.
By 1944, Urquhart became a senior staff officer of the XII Corps and in the same year, he was appointed commander of the 1st Airborne Division despite the fact that he had never been a member of an airborne unit and much less commanded a parachute troop. He also never participated in a glider landing and was prone to airsickness. Nevertheless, Montgomery chosen him for the Operation Garden Market and ordered him to secure the bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem.
Urquhart's division was dropped near Arnhem and resisted the II SS Panzer Corps until receiving the order to withdraw across the river on September 25. Despite the fact that the Operation Market Garden had failed and suffered heavy losses, Urquhart was awarded the Dutch Bronze Lion for his role in the Battle of Arnhem. The 1st Airborne Division was after the battle withdrawn to the United Kingdom and was not sent into action until the end of World War II. Urquhart served the army until 1955 when he retired. Three years later, he published Arnhem: Britain's Infamous Airborne Assault of World War II in which he told his story of the Battle of Arnhem.
John Frost
John Frost actually commanded the group of paratroopers that managed to get to Arnhem. Unlike Urquhart, Frost joined the Parachute Brigade almost immediately after its creation and took part in a number of airborne operations before the Battle of Arnhem. His airborne units participated in the Operation Torch (Allied landings in North Africa) and Operation Husky (Allied invasion of Sicily) but he has distinguished himself the most during the Operation Biting in 1942 for which he was awarded the Military Cross.
During the Operation Market Garden, Frost commanded the 2nd Parachute Battalion consisting of about 750 lightly armed paratroopers. He and his troops landed at Oosterbeek and soon reached their goal which was to capture the northern end of the bridge at Arnhem. However, Frost and his men soon came under the fire of the II SS Panzer Corps which also separated them from the rest of the 1st Airborne Division. With food and ammunition running out and the XXX Corps failing to cross the bridge, Frost's battalion was captured by the Germans. Frost who was wounded during the battle was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was held at Spangenberg and then at Obernassfeld hospital until the area was captured by the American troops in March 1945. For his role at Arnhem, he was awarded a Bar after the end of the war.
In 1978, the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem was renamed John Frost Bridge in his honor. Like Urquhart, Frost published his memories of the battle as well titled A Drop Too Many in 1980.
Stanislaw Sosabowski
The British paratroopers at Arnhem were aided by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade commanded by Stanislaw Sosabowski. His troop was dropped off at Driel on September 19, while the last group of the Polish Parachute Brigade arrived only on September 21 which severely diminished its efficiency. Nevertheless, about 200 men managed to cross the River Rhine and reinforce the surrounded 1st Airborne Division.
After the battle, Montgomery sent him a letter and praised his soldiers for bravery. However, a few days later the commander of the British forces in Europe sent a letter to the British commanders in which he blamed Sosabowski for the defeat in the Battle of Arnhem, while the Polish General Staff was compelled to dismiss him as the commander of the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. He then served as commander of guard troops until 1948 when he was demobilized.
Unlike Urquhart and Frost who enjoyed respect and admiration after the end of World War II for their role in the Battle of Arnhem, Sosabowski lived anonymously in West London and worked in an electronics assembly factory as a worker. He died in London in 1967, while most of his English friends and associates learned about his military history only on his funeral.
In 2006, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands awarded him posthumously the Bronze Lion and his Parachute Brigade the Military Order of William for playing a much more important role in the Operation Market Garden than being credited.
Walter Model
Roy Urquhart's opponent in the Battle of Arnhem was the Wehrmacht's best defensive tactician Walter Model whom Hitler sent to the most desperate situations. After failing to repulse the invading Allies in Normandy, Model established a headquarters at Arnhem in order to rebuild the Army Group B. He initially thought that the Allies are trying to capture him and his staff but when he realized what was the Allies' goal, he sent the II SS Panzer Division to deal with the threat.
The success at Arnhem restored his self-confidence and Hitler's respect for him, especially when he repulsed another attempt of the Allies to break through the German lines at Hürtgen Forest. Hitler made him the commander of the Ardennes Offensive with an aim to split the Allied forces and capture Antwerp, hoping that this would force the Western Allies into peace negotiations and allow Hitler to deal with the advancing Red Army. This time, however, Hitler demanded too much from one of his favorite generals and field marshals. The Ardennes Offensive failed and the Nazi Germany was left without sufficient reserves to defend itself from both the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. Model who realized that the war is lost, shot himself in the head on April 21, 1945.
Wilhelm Bittrich
Wilhelm Bittrich was the man who was ordered to crush the 1st Airborne Division in Arnhem. It was his speed and tactical decisions which are considered to be among the main reasons for the failed Allied action. Besides contributing to the Allied defeat as the commander of the II SS Panzer Division, Bittrich and his II SS Panzer Corps also played the key role during the Vienna Offensive. This time, however, he was forced to withdraw to avoid encirclement by the Soviet forces.
After the war, he was tried by France for ordering execution of 17 members of the Resistance in Nimes but the defense proved that he never gave the order for the crime. He was sentenced to five years in prison as the commander of the troops that committed the crime. However, his penalty was considered as served due to the long pretrial detention. He was on trial again in the 1950s but he was acquitted.
