Worse still, less than two hours after the Allied air assault, the commander of the German Airborne 1st Army, Stutt Dent, obtained an Allied order from a downed glider. ()() .. He immediately took this order to the headquarters of Army Group B to meet with Commander-in-Chief Moder and plan a German counteroffensive.

Among the German generals, Stuart knew the Netherlands better than anyone else, and was aware of the great shortcomings of the Airborne Forces, such as lack of maneuverability on the ground and lack of heavy weapons. In the end, Moder chose Anheng as the training area of the SS Panzer Division, and they tried to prevent the Allied airborne troops and tank units from joining forces.

The British Field Marshal Montgomery planned to use airborne troops, and the objective was to seize a series of German-controlled bridges over the main rivers of the Netherlands from Belgium via Arnhem to the Ruhr area; The strategic goal was to gain control of these bridges, and to allow the Allies to cross the Rhine, the last natural barrier on the German border, while the German army was still on its footing, in order to stagnate German industry and prepare for the subsequent advance to the capital Berlin.

The defending Germans consisted mainly of Army Group B under the command of General Modell, with the 15th Army and the 1st Parachute Corps under its command.

Between the British 0th Army's garrison and the northern bank of the Rhine, the destination of the assault, eight obstacles had to be crossed, including several major rivers and three canals. The goal of Operation Market Gardens was to capture the bridges across these waters at the same time. If some bridges across larger rivers could not be captured, the engineer units of the British 0th Army could build temporary bridges to pass through. But the main rivers, such as the Vaal near Nijmegen. Or the Rhine near Arnhem, which could not be crossed in this way.

Route 69 (later known as the "Hell Highway"), which was intended to be used as a marching route, had two lanes, usually higher than the low-lying areas of the Netherlands, and the ground on either side of the road was too soft for military vehicles to pass.

After aviation fire preparations, the British 1st Parachute Division and the U.S. 101st and 8th Parachute Divisions landed at Österbeck, Soon and Grossbeck, respectively. Their goal was to quickly seize bridges across canals and rivers and pave the way for British ground forces advancing from the south. This "corridor" runs from Rio Potdaburg in Belgium to Arnhem via Vulkensward, Eindhoven, Fehel, Hlavo and Nijmegen.

The U.S. 101st Division made good progress, and in the process of seizing the planned five bridges, it encountered strong resistance from the Germans relying on 88-mm anti-aircraft guns and machine guns on only one bridge. But the 101st Division still completed its mission. The 8th Division seized a bridge over the Meuse-Val Canal, while the main force was stationed on the Grossbeck Road to block German reinforcements.

The British 1st Parachute Division was unlucky, and a large number of jeeps and other heavy equipment were lost due to the crash of the glider. Most communication devices are also unusable. What was even more unfortunate was that Arnhem happened to have nearly 10,000 German troops resting here. After the offensive began, the 1st Battalion and Battalion of the 1st Brigade were blocked by the German troops, and only the battalion reached the north of the Arnhem Bridge to defend the bridge, but both attempts to seize the bridge were repulsed by the Germans. At nightfall. The British army was already largely encircled.

Due to poor synergy. Until 5 p.m. The 0th Army moved to the offensive only after a short preparation of aviation fire and artillery fire. Panzer divisions in the first echelon of the corps broke through enemy defenses. An infantry division followed. By the end of the first day, the Allies had advanced 6-8 kilometers in depth, but were unable to enter Eindhoven as scheduled to join the 101st Division.

In Arnhem. The German 9th Panzer Division launched a surprise attack on the British troops defending the north of the bridge, but was repulsed by the British and the German battalion commander was killed. The second group of the British 4th Brigade was paralyzed by dense fog and met with intense German anti-aircraft fire, and although three battalions remained, they suffered heavy losses. By night, the remnants of the 1st Brigade 1 Battalion and Battalion of less than 00 men arrived in Arnhem, and most of the officers and enlisted men had already been captured.

The operation on the southern front did not go well, and the 505th Regiment of the 8th Division held the airborne landing of the second batch of paratrooper units, and successfully protected the safe arrival of the second batch of airborne troops (an infantry battalion, a field artillery battalion and a medical battalion) and collected airdropped supplies. The Soon Bridge, controlled by the 101st Division, was recaptured by the Germans, and at noon the troops of the 30th Army reached north of Eindhoven to join up with the 101st Airborne Division. Sappers then erected a pontoon bridge to ensure access to Eindhoven, but two days had passed since the plan.

The British at Arnhem launched a third attack on the south bank, but were quickly repulsed by German artillery fire and blocking forces, and only 500 men remained in the four battalions except for the second battalion, which retreated to the village of Österbeck. The 600 men of the second battalion were stationed in the buildings of the city on the north bank, and although the Germans demolished room by house, the battalion held out. The 4th Brigade of the British Army was also in a dilemma at the village of Olsterbeck.

In Nijmegen, the 0th Army joined up with the U.S. 504th Regiment in the morning and entered Nijmegen in the afternoon, but still failed to capture the Waal River bridge in Nijmegen, and most of the airdropped supplies were lost. The 101st Division was held back by reinforced German troops and could not withdraw as planned.

The advance of the follow-up units of the 0th Army was also not smooth, and the 0th Army had difficulty in the face of continued fierce resistance from the Germans, and the Germans destroyed some of the bridges there. In addition, more than 20,000 vehicles, including bulky tracked vehicles, struggled to pass through these narrow roads from Vankensward to Nijmegen. Transportation is very difficult. Americans call it "Hell's Highway."

The 504th Regiment of the 8th Division, unable to conquer the bridge, forced its way across the Waal River by kayak, but because it was not accustomed to the paddles of the British landing craft and moved slowly, it conquered the Waal River Bridge after paying considerable losses, and the battle was also called the "Omaha Landing" because it was as tragic as the Omaha Beach landing. The 8th Division and the rest of the 101st Division struggled to defend against German attacks that were trying to cut off the highway.

By this time, the situation in Arnhem was completely out of the control of the Allies. After the 2nd Battalion held on to the north of the bridge for nearly two days, on the morning of the 1st, the radio sent a final telegram: "The ammunition is exhausted, God bless the king." A white-knuckle battle ensued with the Germans, and the entire army was annihilated. The village of Österbeck, where the division headquarters was located, was also surrounded, while the other battalions broke through the German encirclement and joined the main forces with less than 100 men.

At the village of Ousterbeck, 3,500 British troops relied on light anti-tank guns, and the British used captured French Spitfire tanks to defend a high ground in the southwest overlooking the Hoofddorp crossing on the south bank, but this high ground was quickly lost to the German onslaught. The British had to continue the defense in the narrow village, but the British refused to surrender.

The Polish troops, which had planned to enter the battle at the time of the second airdrop, were postponed until the 1st due to weather conditions and landed at Driel on the south bank. However, due to a misdispatch and the German air force, supplies were airdropped 15 kilometers away. The Poles, who had intended to cross the river to support the British, could not find the ferry at its intended location, but by the time they found it downstream, it was so badly damaged that it was unusable. The Poles had no choice but to retreat to the village of Driel to defend.

…… (To be continued.) )