September 1944

On 17 September 1944 thousands of paratroopers descended from the sky by parachute or glider up to 150 km behind enemy lines. Their goal was to secure two bridges across the rivers in Holland so that the Allied Army could advance rapidly northwards and turn into the lowlands of Germany, hereby skirting around the German defense line. If all would be carried out as planned it should have ended the war by Christmas 1944. Unfortunately this plan, named Operation Market Garden, didn't have the expected outcome. The bridge at Arnhem proved to be 'a bridge too far'. After 10 days of fighting, the operation ended with the evacuation of the remainder of the 1st British Airborne Division from the Arnhem area. Holland was eventually liberated on the 5th May 1945.