Operation Market Garden By: Zanny, Teddy, Joseph, and Ishaan

Thesis: In an attempt to end the war before Christmas, Allied forces tried to combine air forces and ground troops to secure key bridges on the Rhine River and infiltrate Ruhr, the industrial core of Germany. A lack of coordination between American and British troops coupled with inferior weaponry for the paratroopers caused the operation to fail. In the aftermath of the Allied failure, Germany tightened its grip on the Netherlands, and cut off their food supply--directly leading to the Dutch Winter Hunger. Additionally, it would take time for the Allies to successfully capture the Rhine, extending the war for four more months.

Goals: ●catapult forces over major boundaries in Holland o specifically the Rhine River ●Pass Siegfried line ●infiltrate Ruhr, the industrial heartland of Germany ●secure key bridges on the Rhine River leading to Germany ●use a combination of air and ground troops to accomplish this ●End the war before Christmas

Leaders: Allies: Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery

Leaders: Germany: Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model

Allies 101st took off sunday september 17th, hitting their landing zones and securing four bridges in the area. Timeline 508th battalion was unable to secure their bridge and was met with heavy resistance. British paratroopers are intercepted by the SS, but are successful with securing part of Arnhem bridge. however they are met with heavy resistance. Monday 18th british troopers fight their way through german forces and connect with the 101st airborne. September 17th British are forced to give up the Arnhem bridge to germans. September 22nd, Polish paratroopers drop to reinforce the british forces. September 25th, British and Polish troops retreat across the river and connect with the XXX allied troops. September 25th, 6000 allied troops taken prisoner and 1,000 are dead September 27th, Arnhem is surrendered. South of Arnhem Allies forces hold their ground, and 3,500 more casualties are sustained after the next few months.

Group of German soldiers who were taken prisoner in Nijmegen by American paratroopers of the 82nd US Airborne division

Allied paratroopers during Operation Market Garden

Battle Map

Possible Reasons for Failure: ●Lack of coordination between American and British troops, somewhat due to problems with radios ●Heavily armed German troops stationed in Arnhem that the Allies were unaware of ●Paratroopers were very lightly armed ●German opposition outmanned and outgunned the Allied paratroopers ●Bad weather

Results and Effects ●Complete and utter failure ●Did NOT end the war, it raged on for months after ●Allies: 17,000 casualties ●Germans: 15,000 casualties ●Russia ended up infiltrating Germany first

Dutch ‘Hunger Winter’ ●Dutch railway strikes to make it hard for Germans to do supplies o made problems for Germans, but also food shortages in the Netherlands ●German military take control of railway o cuts off food and supplies to Netherlands ●Known as Hunger Winter, and it lasted until the end of the war o Over 18,000 Dutch died in the winter

Children looking for food during the ‘Hunger Winter’ of 1944.

Civilians standing in line for a soup kitchen during the ‘Hunger Winter’ of 1944.

Works Cited Alex, Dan. "Operation Market Garden Timeline." Operation Market Garden Timeline. Second World War History, 12 May Web. 15 Mar "Bernard Montgomery." Bernard Montgomery. NNBD Tracking the Entire World, n.d. Web. 16 Mar British Flag. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. Chen, Peter C. "Operation Market Garden." Operation Market Garden. World War II Database, n.d. Web. 13 Mar Dunnavent, R. Blake. "Operation Market-Garden." Encyclopedia of American Military History, Vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, History Research Center. Web. 16 Mar Fascism-nazi-swastika-symbol. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.. Fitzpatrick, Dan. "Why Operation Market Garden Failed." Why Operation Market Garden Failed. U.S. European Command, 26 Sept Web. 13 Mar "Gerade Auf LeMO Gesehen: LeMO Bestand: Biografie." LeMO Biografie - walter-model. LEMO Lebendiges Museum Online, n.d. Web. 16 Mar "Ginkelse Heide: Airborne Landings with Airborne Commemoration - Market Garden 70." Market Garden 70. N.p., 20 Sept Web. 16 Mar "The Hunger Winter." Liberation Route Group. Liberation Route Group, n.d. Web. 12 Mar

Works Cited Continued Tigerstripe Camo. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. Waves of Paratroopers Land in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden in September Netherlands. "World War 2 Facts." Operation Market Garden. World War 2 Facts, 30 Oct Web. 16 Mar Chen, C. Peter. "Bernard Montgomery." WW2DB RSS. WW2DB, n.d. Web. 28 Mar Chen, C. Peter. "Walter Model." WW2DB RSS. WW2DB, n.d. Web. 28 Mar