Operation Market Garden was one of the largest Allied operations of World War II. The operation took place in September 1944 in northern Belgium and the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Gelderland. During this bike tour, you will learn more about local history and how the residents of Son & Breugel experienced the airborne landings and the fighting during Operation Market Garden.
The operation was very ambitious, but failed due to poor weather conditions and fierce German resistance. Fighting was particularly hard at the narrow passageway near Son en Breugel, 'Hell's Highway', and the Arnhem bridge.
The US 101st Airborne Division was ordered to secure nine bridges over 22 kilometres between Eindhoven and Veghel and fought in the area of Son and Breugel. The British 30th Army Corps could then carry out the advance towards Nijmegen and Arnhem.
There were multiple reasons for the failure of the operation: the distances between the air landing zones and the bridges at Arnhem and Nijmegen were too big, there were communication problems, the difficult advance of ground troops and mistakes by the supreme command. The Allies ultimately failed to capture the last bridge at Arnhem; it became the proverbial 'bridge too far'.
