Eureka! … Since 1981

Eureka! Classics | The Battle of Arnhem – Operation Market Garden

This absorbing programme examines the dramatic execution, in September 1944, of Field Marshal Montgomery’s plan, code-named “Operation Market Garden”.

In this daring operation, all major river crossings in Holland were to be seized by the Allies in a single blow, to secure a bridgehead across the Rhine. This would lead to a take-over of the German industrial heartland of the Ruhr, and a decisive thrust towards Berlin. It was hoped that the defeat of Germany, and the end of the Third Reich, would soon ensue. However, the plan was only partially successful and there were over 7,500 casualties.

This carefully researched account analyses the events leading up to the battle, the progress of the fighting, and the factors responsible for the Allied defeat. Contemporary film material (including glider landings, parachute drops and movements of men and equipment), photographs and sound recordings from British, German and Dutch sources, and strategic maps, all help to explain the course of this key battle of World War II.