ARNHEM BRIDGE
By Ewan
WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT ?
The battle of Arnhem was the largest airborne operation in history, also being a massive disaster on the Allies end. It was an effort by the Allies at pushing the Germans further back, after their major success at storming the beaches. Their plan was to capture multiple bridges, providing access to highways which led to all of the Netherlands and eventually into Germany as well. But it all went wildly wrong and led to many Allied casualties. This battle is known by "A bridge too far" , signifying had they not tried to take Arnhem bridge, they could've succeeded.
OPERATION MARKET GARDEN
The original plan was for the Allies to drop around 30,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines to capture eight bridges which crossed rivers on the Dutch/German border. There was also supposed to be ground forces pushing up to reinforce the paratroopers, successfully taking the bridges and making the Germans flee back to Germany. This would've given the Allies more leverage and could've been a crucial turning point to end the war a few weeks later.
WHAT WENT WRONG ?
To start, they lacked intel, knowing there were 2 SS Panzer divisions nearby, but not knowing their numbers, they dove blindly in without further intel. Because of this, Allies overestimated how many air defenses' the Germans had, so the paratroopers had to land around 13km away, instead of landing directly on their target, making them land in the forests was a tactical error, losing radio communications as well as the march. Then to add to this disaster, they brought too little planes for all the men, so they staggered their deployments throughout multiple days. Next, the Germans blew up bridges to further delay the Allies push. One battalion successfully made it across the Arnhem Bridge, fortifying in homes nearby, just to be left stranded by their reinforcements, who were pinned down a few kilometers away. This caused the German forces to rush the battalion, completely surrounding them and lugging massive amounts of gunfire, bombs and artillery. In the end, it led to about 17,000 Allied troops being dead, wounded or taken prisoner, and 8000 German casualties.
Britain's Worst Airborne Disaster: Battle of Arnhem | Animated History (youtube.com)
HOW DID IT CHANGE THE WAR ?
Despite this failure, it ended up backing German forces up and making way for the Allies to storm into Germany, on their second attempt months later. It could've ended the war months earlier than it did or led to the Germans taking much bigger risks to try and fight back. It also could've changed history, having the Allied forces marching into Berlin, and not the Soviets.
SOURCES
OOSTERBEEK AIRBORNE MUSEUM
By Ewan
WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT ?
This museum contains artifacts from the battle of Arnhem, being a key spot to learn more on the subject and really connect with the battle. It contains weapons and equipment used in the battle, as well as pictures and films. The films contain interviews with soldiers who actually fought in the battle, really showing what it was like. It was also used as headquarters for British Forces in 1944.
WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL ?
The reason we're visiting is to really see what the war was like, on both sides. This museum contains weapons, equipment, uniforms and more from both sides of the war ; German, Polish, Dutch, American, British and even Canadian. It really captures experiences held from both sides and shows what the Allied forces had to bear, being surrounded by the enemy. It's also very special considering the history and stories the museum is keeping alive, otherwise they'd be lost forever.
SOURCES
Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein' - Wikipedia
Family Experiences at the Museum.