place

Battle of Arnhem

1944 in the NetherlandsBattles and operations of World War II involving the NetherlandsConflicts in 1944Encirclements in World War IIEvents in Arnhem
Glider Pilot Regiment operationsHistory of ArnhemHistory of GelderlandHistory of RenkumLand battles of World War II involving the United KingdomLast standsMilitary history of the Netherlands during World War IIOperation Market GardenOverbetuweParachute Regiment (United Kingdom)Portal templates with redlinked portalsSeptember 1944 eventsUse British English from July 2011Western European Campaign (1944–1945)
Aerial view of the bridge over the Neder Rijn, Arnhem
Aerial view of the bridge over the Neder Rijn, Arnhem

The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Allies were poised to enter the Netherlands after sweeping through France and Belgium in the summer of 1944, after the Battle of Normandy. Operation Market Garden was proposed by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, who favoured a single push northwards over the branches of the Lower Rhine River, allowing the British Second Army to bypass the Siegfried Line and attack the Ruhr. US Airborne troops were dropped in the Netherlands to secure bridges and towns along the line of the Allied advance. Farthest north, the British 1st Airborne Division landed at Arnhem to capture bridges across the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine), supported by men of the Glider Pilot Regiment and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade. The British XXX Corps were expected to reach the British airborne forces in two to three days. The 1st Airborne Division landed some distance from its objectives and was hampered by unexpected resistance, especially from elements of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions. Only a small force was able to reach the Arnhem road bridge while the advance of the main body of the division was stopped on the outskirts of the town. XXX Corps was unable to advance north from Nijmegen in the Battle of Nijmegen as quickly as planned and the British airborne troops were not relieved according to schedule. After four days, the small British force at the bridge was overwhelmed and the rest of the division trapped in a small pocket north of the river. The paratroops could not be sufficiently reinforced by the Poles or XXX Corps when they arrived on the southern bank, nor by Royal Air Force supply flights. After nine days of fighting, the remnants of the division were withdrawn in Operation Berlin. The Allies were unable to advance further with no secure bridges over the Nederrijn and the front line stabilised south of Arnhem. The 1st Airborne Division lost nearly three quarters of its strength and did not see combat again.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Battle of Arnhem (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Battle of Arnhem
Rijnkade, Arnhem

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Battle of ArnhemContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.980277777778 ° E 5.9002777777778 °
placeShow on map

Address

Rijnkade

Rijnkade
6812 CZ Arnhem
Gelderland, Netherlands
mapOpen on Google Maps

Aerial view of the bridge over the Neder Rijn, Arnhem
Aerial view of the bridge over the Neder Rijn, Arnhem
Share experience

Nearby Places

Liberation of Arnhem
Liberation of Arnhem

Operation Anger (sometimes known as Operation Quick Anger) was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is also known as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation of Arnhem. The operation was part of the Canadian First Army's liberation of the Netherlands and was led by the 49th British Infantry Division, supported by armour of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, Royal Air Force air strikes and boats of the Royal Navy. The Western Allies first tried to liberate Arnhem in September 1944 during Operation Market Garden. Poor planning, the unexpected presence of German armoured units and a delayed advance by ground forces meant that the 1st British Airborne Division were defeated and a new front stabilised south of the city. Fresh planning to take Arnhem began in the new year as the Canadian First Army sought ways to link up its units advancing into the Netherlands. However it was not until April that the liberation of the city became a distinct possibility. After II Canadian Corps secured the eastern bank of the IJssel river and advanced north, I Canadian Corps prepared to assault Arnhem. The operation began on 12 April 1945 and proceeded to plan, as the three infantry brigades of the 49th Division leapfrogged each other through the city. Within four days Arnhem was totally under Allied control, allowing the Canadians to advance further into the Netherlands. Less than two weeks after the battle a general truce brought major combat operations in the country to an end and on 5 May the German commander in chief in the Netherlands surrendered to the Canadian Army. Three days later Germany unconditionally surrendered, bringing the war in Europe to a close.