80th Anniversary – The Battle of Arnhem

On the 80^th anniversary of Operation  Market Garden, join retired soldier Andy Middlemiss as he discusses The  Battle of Arnhem.

September 2024 marks the 80^th anniversary of the Battle  of Arnhem.  1^st (UK) Airborne Division was the most northerly of the  three Allied airborne divisions to be dropped as part of Operation Market  Garden, a bold attempt to ‘bounce’ German western defenses.

‘The Battle of Arnhem’ is perhaps a misnomer; the  vast majority of those who took part never saw the Arnhem Road Bridge,  becoming involved in the battle to hold the Oosterbeek Perimeter,  some  miles to the west of the bridge. Seven days later, roughly a fifth of the 1^st Airborne Division  withdrew across the Rhine, having doggedly defended a shrinking part of the  northern side of the Oosterbeek Perimeter which, at its largest, was only  1200 metres long and 800 metres wide.  

‍