A bridge to far

Bridge over the Rhine after 9 days of fighting

 
On the 17th of September 1944 the Allies started a big offensive to capture multiple bridges in The Netherlands under the name Operation Market Garden.

In Arnhem the bridge over the Rhine had to be captured by the British 1st Airborne Division, under command of Major-General Urquhart. He, and 10.000 other soldiers, jumped in the first lift out of the planes and landed at 13:30 just outside Arnhem. The landing went smooth, but because the huge size of the operation, they could only send half of the original Division size in the first lift.

The whole situation changed not long after the landing. It turns out that, and the Dutch resistance already told this but wasn't believed by the English, 2 German SS Panzer Corps were placed near Arnhem to rest and regroup. The British had to fight their way to the bridge, and only Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost's 2nd Battalion reached the bridge. They knew they couldn't control or capture the bridge so they hide in the houses around the bridge and tried to hold the bridge until the XXX Corps came to support them.

The plan failed, and the XXX Corps couldn't make it to Arnhem in time. They thought they needed three days to reach the bridge, but the British had to retreat after 9 days of fighting without support and resupplying.

From the original 11,000 soldiers who landed near Arnhem, only 2300 could make it back. The others were wounded, killed or captured.

Destroying the Bridge

Although the bridge survived the heavy fighting during Operation Market Garden, it was bombed and destroyed by the RAF and the USAAF on 7 October 1944. The Allies wanted to prevent the Germans to send reinforcements over the bridge.

Destroyed bridge over the Rhine

 John Frostbridge

After the war was over and the bridge was rebuild, they named the bridge to Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost. From then on the new bridge was called the "John Frostbridge".
Around the bridge you can still find the traces of the hard and long fight. Next to the bridge stand two concrete bunkers, and you can still find a lot of bullets.

Facts:

Total killed British (and Polish): 1894
Total killed German:  1725 (estimated)
Total killed civilians: 1000 (estimated)

The war didn't ended until 5 may 1945 for the part of The Netherlands above the Rhine. They had to survive a very coldest and tough winter without almost any food. A lot of civilians died during this winter of starvation.  

If you want to know more about the fight near Arnhem, then you can visit www.airbornemuseum.nl