Operation Market Garden Timeline

During resupply flights over Arnhem, Flight Lieutenant David Lord continued flying his burning Dakota to deliver supplies to the surrounded paratroopers; he was killed when his aircraft crashed. Following the release of King from prison camp, full details became known.

According to historian Rick Atkinson, this German bombing raid was 'the only large, long-range air strike by German bombers during the fall of 1944', targeting Allied positions during the battle.

A squadron of Cromwells and two battalions of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment reinforced the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment and defeated the Germans defending the Best bridge site and the Zonsche Forest, taking 1,100–1,400 prisoners and counting 300–600 German dead.

Operation Market Garden, an Allied military operation fought in the German-occupied Netherlands, began on 17 September 1944, combining a massive airborne landing ('Market') with a ground offensive by XXX Corps ('Garden').

At one drop zone, 1,003 men arrived and casualties during the drop and later that day amounted to five killed and 25 wounded, illustrating the relatively light losses suffered during the initial landings.

On September 20, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division famously crossed the river Waal at Nijmegen in canvas boats under heavy fire as part of Market Garden, securing the bridge.

Operation Market Garden ended on 25 September 1944 without achieving all its objectives; the Allies failed to secure the final bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem, and the remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division were withdrawn.

The Germans rounded up most of those left behind after the withdrawal, but some British and Polish paratroopers managed to avoid capture and were sheltered by the Dutch underground until they could be rescued.

Lindemans (known as 'King Kong'), suspected of betraying the operation's plans to the Germans, was arrested in October 1944 but committed suicide in his cell in 1946 while awaiting trial.

Image source: Christiaan Lindemans

On 22 October 1944, Operation Pegasus rescued the British and Polish paratroopers who had been sheltered by the Dutch underground, bringing them back across the Rhine to Allied lines.

Image source: Operation Pegasus

A consequence of the operation's failure was the Dutch famine of 1944–45, also known as the 'Hunger Winter', which caused great suffering among the civilian population of the occupied western Netherlands.

Image source: Dutch famine of 1944–1945

In February 1945, Allied forces in Operation Veritable advanced from the Groesbeek heights which had been taken during Market Garden, and into Germany, crossing the Rhine in March during Operation Plunder.

Image source: Operation Veritable

As a result of Operation Plunder, the city of Arnhem was finally liberated by I Canadian Corps on 14 April 1945 after two days of fighting, nearly seven months after the failure of Market Garden.

In 1948, Eisenhower wrote that 'The attack began well and unquestionably would have been successful except for the intervention of bad weather.' He had been isolated at SHAEF HQ at Granville, which lacked radio or telephone links, so his staff were largely ignorant of details of the operation.

In 1969, the French journalist and historian Anne Laurens concluded that Lindemans had been a double agent, adding weight to the theory that intelligence leaks contributed to the failure at Arnhem.

On 8 October 1945, the US 82nd Airborne Division was awarded the Knights 4th class honour by HM Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and the division was also allowed to add 'Nijmegen 1944' to her battle honors.

Image source: 82nd Airborne Division

Following the release of King from prison camp, full details of the action became known and David Lord received a posthumous Victoria Cross on 13 November 1945, the only VC awarded to any member of Transport Command during the Second World War.

The first film about the battle, Theirs Is the Glory, was made in 1946, and mixed original footage from the battle with reenactments shot on location in Arnhem, using many veterans of the actual battle.

The original Arnhem road bridge was destroyed in the battle and replaced with a bridge of similar appearance in 1948; it was renamed John Frost Bridge (John Frostbrug) on 17 December 1977, honoring the commander of the defenders at the bridge.

Image source: John Frost Bridge

In May 1949, the Dutch Government awarded Harry King, who survived Lord's crash and captivity, the Netherlands Bronze Cross for his part in the resupply actions over Arnhem.

The second major film about the operation, A Bridge Too Far, was released in 1977 based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, bringing the story of Operation Market Garden to a worldwide audience.

Image source: A Bridge Too Far (film)

On 16 September 1994, 101st Airborne veterans unveiled a 'Monument for the Dutch' in Sint-Oedenrode, honoring the Dutch civilians who supported the American paratroopers.

It was officially opened in September 2004, during the festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the Liberation, serving as a memorial to the Battle of Arnhem.

Image source: Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein'

On 31 May 2006, HM Queen Beatrix awarded the Knights 4th class honour to the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, recognizing the brigade's sacrifice at Driel and Oosterbeek during the battle.

Image source: 1st Independent Parachute Brigade

A Commemorative Project plaque was unveiled on 23 June 2009, to commemorate the unique military and historical ties between Canada and the Netherlands forged during the liberation of the country.

Image source: Canada–Netherlands relations

A hole, a par five, on the south course (Hylands Golf Course Uplands) in Ottawa, Ontario was named 'Arnhem', in honour of the Royal Canadian Artillery squadrons that took part in the allied airborne operation from 17 to 25 September 1944.

In 2013 the city of Nijmegen completed construction of a city bridge exactly where the 82nd Division crossed the river Waal on September 20, 1944. The bridge and road bear the name 'De Oversteek' (The Crossing), in memory of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment's crossing.

Image source: De Oversteek

Each day since October 19, 2014, as a daily tribute, a veteran walks the so-called Sunset March across the bridge at sunset while the 48 lights are lit one by one, commemorating the crossing of the Waal.