Eindhoven

Eindhoven.

Montgomery's plan for advancing over the Lower Rhine called for airborne divisions to drop into Holland to secure bridges over a series of rivers. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, the 101st Airborne and 82nd Airborne were assigned the bridges at Eindhoven and Nijmegen, while the British 1st Airborne was tasked with taking the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. The plan called for the airborne to hold the bridges while British troops advanced north to relieve them. If the plan succeeded, there was a chance the war could be ended by Christmas.

Dropping on September 17, 1944, American airborne divisions met with success, though the advance of the British armor was slower than expected. At Arnhem, the 1st Airborne lost most of its heavy equipment in glider crashes and encountered much heavier resistance than expected. Fighting their way into the town, they succeeded in capturing the bridge, but were unable to hold it against increasingly heavy opposition. Having captured a copy of the Allied battle plan, the Germans were able to crush the 1st Airborne, inflicting 77% casualties. The survivors retreated south and linked up with their American compatriots.