Operation Market Garden(September 17–25, 1944) wasone of the largest and most ambitious Allied operations of World War II, aimed at ending the war by Christmas 1944. The plan, conceived by British Field MarshalBernard Montgomery, intended to bypass the GermanSiegfried Lineby seizing a series of key bridges in the Netherlands to open a direct route into Germany's industrial heartland, theRuhr Valley.
Core Strategy: Two Simultaneous Operation
The mission was divided into two distinct components that had to work in perfect synchronization:
Market (Airborne):The largest airborne operation in history, involving over41,000 paratroopersfrom the U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, the British 1st Airborne Division, and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade. Their mission was to drop behind enemy lines and secure nine bridges.
Garden (Ground):Led by the BritishXXX Corps, this armored thrust was to advance north from the Belgian border across the captured bridges, reaching the final bridge at Arnhem within 48 to 72 hours.
