Battle of Arnhem
Arnhem and Oosterbeek, Gelderland, Netherlands
What happened
The British 1st Airborne Division under Major General Roy Urquhart and the Polish Parachute Brigade under Stanisław Sosabowski fought German forces under Field Marshal Walter Model. Operation Market Garden was a bold Allied plan to drop airborne troops to capture a chain of bridges in the Netherlands, so ground forces could advance into Germany. British paratroopers landed far from their goal, the road bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. A small force under Lieutenant Colonel John Frost held one end of the bridge for about four days, but ground forces could not reach them, and the rest of the division was trapped at Oosterbeek before withdrawing across the river.
Why it matters
Why it matters: The failure to hold the Arnhem bridge meant the operation did not reach its goal, and the Allied advance stopped south of the Rhine. The battle is remembered for the courage of the airborne troops.
What came next
The front stayed south of Arnhem through the winter, and the city was liberated in April 1945. The rebuilt road bridge was renamed John Frost Bridge in 1977.
Did you know?
The British division's headquarters was the Hotel Hartenstein in Oosterbeek, at the centre of the defensive ring.
Timeline
- 17 September 1944British airborne troops land near Arnhem.
- 17-21 September 1944Frost's force holds the Arnhem bridge.
- 25-26 September 1944The survivors withdraw across the Rhine.
- April 1945Arnhem is liberated.
- 17 December 1977The bridge is renamed John Frost Bridge.