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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 30 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Operation Market Garden
Cornelius Ryan. The book was later made into a movie.
John Frost. Frost's men fought for 88 hours before capitulating to the Germans.
Hell's Highway. German units made numerous attacks against the road, causing paratroopers to name it Hell's Highway.
9th SS and 10th SS. The troops were there refitting and were the primary reason for the operation's failure.
Arnhem. The landing zone was miles away from Arnhem bridge, which meant the paratroopers had to fight their way through armored divisions to capture the bridge.
September 17. The operation was finished on the 27th.
7. The bridges were at Son, St. Oedenrode, two at Veghel, Grave, Nijmegen and Arhnem. When the paratroopers were told they were headed to Grave (graf), one said 'We know that General, but what bridge will we take?'
| What Corps, commanded by Brian Horrocks, was intended to link up with the Airborne divisions? | Operation Market-Garden
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30 Corps. 30 Corps had fought with Bernard Montgomery in North Africa prior to fighting under him in Europe.
John Frost Bridge. The Arnhem Bridge has been renamed the John Frost Bridge in honor of the commander and his men who attempted to hold the southern half of the bridge during Market Garden.
| What was the code name of the operation to rescue the entrapped British paratroopers at Arnhem and Oosterbeek? | Operation Market Garden
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Operation Berlin. The code name to rescue the remaining British troops from Arnhem and Oosterbeek was called Operation Berlin. Market Garden cost the 1st British Airborne Division almost 8,000 men. Field Marshal Montgomery called the operation a 90% success.
| The fighting in and around Arnhem was intense. What did the Germans call the encircled pocket of British paratroopers? | Operation Market Garden
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the witch's cauldron. With so many burning buildings and close contact with British paratroopers using armour, the Germans called the ever shrinking pocket the witch's cauldron.
| The terrain around Hells Highway was perfect for skirmishing German troops fighting the armour of XXXth Corps. What did they probably use to stop tanks? | Operation Market Garden
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panzerfaust and mines. Skirmishing German infantry more than likely used panzerfaust and anti-tank mines to impede the armour of XXX Corps. A lead vehicle being disabled and infantry being used to engage the Germans cost time that the armoured spearhead did not have.
Eindhoven. The Eindhoven Bridge was the key bridge that was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. The other objectives were important as well, but the Eindhoven bridge was key.
the bridge at Nijmegen. The 508th missed a golden opportunity to take the 2,000 foot bridge at Nijmegen. If it had secured the bridge early, it would have faced perhaps a dozen German soldiers. When an assualt was finally mounted, it faced resistance from the 9th SS Reconnaissance Battalion.
Guards Armoured Division. The Guards Armoured Division was to spearhead the drive up Route 69 which became known as Hells Highway. The 43rd Wessex and 50th Northumbrian were to be in reserve.
they lacked anti-tank weapons. Major Generals James Gavin and Stanislas Sosabowski both had misgivings about the operation, but the primary reason the airborne thought three days was too long was because airborne divisions lacked anti-tank weapons.
| The planners of Market Garden were aware of the presence of the II SS Panzer Corps. Why did they not consider it a threat? | Operation Market Garden
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it was under strength. The presence of the II SS Panzer Corps was dismissed because the planners of Market Garden knew it to be under strength (about 7,000 men). They were so confident that XXX Corps would be able to reach the airborne element in time that the presence of this German formation would play no part in the operation.
| Market Garden was to be the largest airborne operation of the war. How were the majority of the men to land? | Operation Market Garden
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by parachute. The British 1st Airborne Division along with the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were to be deployed by parachute and glider, with the majority of the troopers going in by parachute.
9 days. They were supposed to be relieved by XXX Corps in 3 days, but this never happened. Contrary to belief, the 1st didn't actually surrender after 4 days of fighting. However, John Frost's 2nd Battalion did surrender after 4 days after it had suffered severely at the hands of the Germans. It sent out a final message over its radio, 'Out of ammo, God Save the King', which was only heard by the Germans. The rest of the division held out at Oosterbeek for another 5 days before being evacuated across the Rhine.
Of the 10,500 troops sent into Arnhem, only 2,500 came back. 6,5000 were taken prisoner and another 1,500 were killed. The 1st Airborne Division never saw action again, apart from a brief spell of rounding up Germans in Norway at the end of the war. As soon as it returned from Norway, the division was immediately disbanded.
| What did the 2nd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment receive two of during the battle of Arnhem that no other Regiment recived in the whole war? | Operation Market Garden
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Victoria Cross. The 2nd Battlaion South Staffordshire Regiment was the only regiment in the entire war to receive two Victoria Crosses for one engagement.
Major Cain received one for encouraging his men to fight on and knocking out 6 tanks and numerous self-propelled guns during which he was suffering from a perforated ear-drum and multiple wounds.
The other recipient was Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield who was an anti-tank gunner. He refused to be taken to an aid station when seriously wounded in the leg and fought on on his anti-tank gun alone to improve morale. When that gun was knocked out he crawled over to another one and continued the process before he was finally killed in action.
| What did the British lose control of on the 3rd day which dampened any hopes of future aid relief? | Operation Market Garden
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They lost control of the landing ground.. The battalions defending the landing ground came under stiff assaults from the Germans and eventually lost control of the landing. Sadly, glider elements from the Polish, carrying anti-tank guns and jeeps, who had been cleared to go to Arnhem without the rest of the Brigade, landed on the landing zone just as the British were retreating across it. As a result, many of the gliders were shot down as they landed.
The radios were broken.. Although warned of the problems with the crystals in the radios, nothing was done about it and the British soon learnt when they arrived that they didn't work. This greatly restricted their operation as the different battalions couldn't contact each other and, more importantly, they couldn't contact HQ in Britain. The Dutch did offer them the use of the telephones, which did have a connection to Britain. However, the British refused and continued to try to use the radio's. The reason for this is not entirely clear but it is known that the British officers were told not to trust the Dutch, as they hadn't been 'cleared'. As a result, Britain got most of it's information second-hand through the Dutch Resistance.
There was fog over Britain, predicted to move over Holland.. Allied weather forecasters had rightly predicted that fog would merge over Britain. Low cloud also merged over the battlefields stopping all droppings. The initial postponement of two-three hours turned into two-three days.
XXX Corps. XXX Corps was tasked with getting to Arnhem, having linked up with the other airborne divisions in three days.
XII and VIII Corps were tasked with covering XXX Corps flanks. Unfortunately, they started a little later than XXX Corps which caused serious problems later on.
| Which Airborne Divison was tasked with taking the bridge at Arnhem and the railway bridge at Oosterbeek? | Operation Market Garden
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British 1st Airborne Divison (with the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade). Despite their high spirits on their first mission, the drop went very badly for the 1st. Due to a lack of transport, only half of the 1st were dropped on the first day. Half of those dropped had to stay and defend the drop zone, a good 8 miles from their objective. The other half raced to the bridge however they were greatly slowed down by the Dutch, who were happy to be liberated. The advancing jeeps, who were supposed to quickly capture the bridge, met unexpectedly stiff German resistance. The delay allowed the 9th SS Reconnaissance Battalion to go and capture the Nijmegen bridge. Out of the three battalions that headed for the bridge, only one got through the German lines.
82nd Airborne Divison. Due to landing during the day, 89% of the 82nd troops landed on or within 1000m of the drop zone, compared to a mis-drop of up to nearly 19km during night operations. The 82nd were successful in obtaining most of their bridges bar the main one in Nijmegen which was being defended by the 9th SS Reconnaissance Battalion.
101st Airborne Divison. The 101st Airborne Division was tasked with capturing the bridges northwest of Eindhoven, namely the bridges over the Son and Veghel. On the actual day, the 101st were able to hold 4 of the 5 bridges they were tasked with, the 5th one being blown as they approached the bridge.
Just to use the British 1st Airborne Division and just capture 3 bridges. Montgomery's Operation Comet was to take place on the 2nd September to make use of the British 1st Airborne Division that hadn't been used in Normandy. He planned to drop the 1st Parachute Brigade at Arnhem, the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade at Nijmegen and the 4th Parachute Brigade at Grave. Poor weather and increased German resistance forced Montgomery to postpone and then later revise his operation.
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