1. Operation Market Garden
By: Lawrence, Calvin, Kai, Johann

2. Thesis
Operation Market Garden was an effort to follow up on the breakout from Normandy, and France on the whole. The objective was to capture key bridges in Holland and enter Germany from the North, promising an Allied victory by the end of The failure of Operation Market Garden led to a loss of momentum on the Western Front, and delayed the end of the war by several months. German retaliation led to the mass starvation of the Dutch people in the winter of , referred to as the Dutch Hunger Winter.

3. Background D-Day took place June 6 1944
The Allies had conquered France by the end of August
Arrived at formidable Siegfried Line
Unable to smash into central or south Deutschland
All supplies still coming from Normandy
The infamous English Channel storms were setting in
Difficult to unload supplies
Allies captured Antwerp two weeks earlier
Port however still under fire, and completely ruined
Allies were low on fuel
Forced to halt major armored movements
Market Garden planned by General Bernard Montgomery
Designed to maximize airpower and be fuel efficient
Budget way to end the war

4. Strategy
Market: Paratroopers of the 101st and 82nd US Airborne Divisions, and 1st British Airborne Division would land in the Netherlands and capture key bridges over the Meuse, Rhine, and Nederrijn Rivers, as well as several canals
Eindhoven
Veghul
Grave
Nijmegen
Arnhem
Garden: British XXX Corps would drive through the Netherlands, connect with paratroopers, and continue on, eventually crossing into Germany
Due to the supply issues, this was considered more feasible than a standard assault
Objective was to flank the Siegfried Line defending Germany’s western border, drive from the Netherlands into the Ruhr
Take out the industrial heart of Germany, finish the war

5. Maps

6. The Battle September 17: 101st Airborne dropped near Eindhoven
Took Eindhoven fairly easily, little resistance
Ambushed in town of Nuenen September 18
German tanks and infantry
Taken by Allies next day
Narrow roads made advance difficult for the XXX corps

7. The Battle The XXX corps arrived at Nijmegen on the third day
82nd Airborne still fighting for control of the bridge
Crossed river in boats
50% of initial wave lost
Managed to take the bridge
German resistance delayed advance
Put a strain on fragile Allied time table
Troops holding onto bridges forced to hold on longer than usual

8. The Battle: A Bridge Too Far
Arnhem was last key bridge, crossed the Rhine River
About 65 miles into German-occupied land
10,000 British and Polish soldiers dropped in September 17
Number of issues
The paratroopers landed 7 miles away
Problems with gliders delayed reinforcements
Malfunctioning radios
Only one battalion got to Arnhem--the the rest stuck at Oosterbeek

9. The Battle: A Bridge Too Far
Paratroopers unprepared for presence of Tiger tanks of two SS Panzer divisions
Tigers were the most feared tank on the battlefield
Allied TANKS no match at this time
Troops had only PIATs and mortars
Few artillery pieces
The paratroopers were unable to secure the bridgehead
The XXX corps (ground troops) arrived too late due to holdups at previous bridges
The air troops were pinned in and surrounded
In the end orders given for the troops to break out
Around 2,500 paratroopers escaped

10. Robert Cain
Cain’s unit was supposed to jump into Arnhem on September 17, 1940
An accident with the glider forced them to launch a day later
Lost element of surprise
Allied forces spread out, cut off from one another
Attempts to gain ground failed, surrounded
Amidst this, Cain was responsible for the destruction of five German armored vehicles
In the process, briefly blinded for half an hour
Came back after that half hour
Stuffed bandages into ears to stop bleeding

11. Robert Cain Used PIAT guns primarily
Helped use a 6-pounder artillery piece to destroy a Panzer VI tank
After PIAT ammo was expended, switched to mortars
British finally evacuated September 25-26
Was last man to cross back across Rhine
British command recorded six tank kills
Four listed as Panzer VI ‘Tiger’ tanks
Several self-propelled guns
Awarded Victoria Cross
One of four recipients from this battle

12. Overall summary
Designed for Allies to sweep through Netherlands from Belgium and cross into Germany
Paratroopers would capture bridges
Followed up with armor
Heavy fighting slowed down tanks
The last bridge that the Allies had planned to capture was at Arnhem
Holdups at previous bridges meant tanks came too late
Paratroopers surrendered
Potentially prolonged the war by months
German retribution led to Dutch Hunger Winter

13. Results
A successful Market Garden would have given the Allies an earlier victory
No longer possible to secure the war by the end of 1944
Failure also gave the Germans a chance to organize their counterattack
This would become the Battle of the Bulge
Potentially massive ramifications for post - WWII
Western Allies would have entered Germany six months earlier

14. Dutch Hunger Winter
In the aftermath of Market Garden, the Nazi’s cracked down
Food was already somewhat scarce in Netherlands
Dutch had attempted to strike, hinder Germans during Market Garden
Germans stopped food supplies to the Netherlands as retribution
The Allies initially afraid airdrops would be stolen by the Germans
Winter of saw a mass starvation of the Dutch people
Over 20,000 people starved to death from about November ‘44 to May ‘45
April and May 1945, Germans and Allies brokered a deal
Germans wouldn’t shoot down Allied airdrop planes or steal airdrops
Allies wouldn’t bomb Germans
May 1945, Allies finally liberated Netherlands on the whole
More infamously, the Dutch Hunger Winter became something of a natural experiment
The average nutritional intake in this period was similar to the amount eaten by those in the camps
Stress felt by mothers during the Hunger Winter translated into poor health of children
More prone to illness
Developed more medical conditions

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