Operation Market Garden was the largest airborne operation of World War 2. It was originally intended to secure bridges along the paths from Eindhoven to Arnhem, establishing a bridgehead across the Rhine River to allow for Allied forces to cross into Germany and potentially end the war in 1944. However, things did not go well for the Allies, and they encountered heavier than expected German resistance, and the paratroopers became besieged as they desperately awaited relief. The operation lasted from the 17th to the 25th of September, until eventually the British paratroopers at Arnhem were forced to withdraw, marking Market Garden's failure. This video chronicles the German and Allied preparation, the course of the battle and its aftermath.
Sources:
Max Hastings - Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-45
John C. Warren - Airborne Operations in World War II , European Theater
David Bennett - Airborne Communications in Operation Market Garden
Major John W. Greenacre - Assessing the Reasons for Failure: 1st British Airborne Division Signal Communications during Operation ‘Market Garden’
Robert J. Kershaw - It Never Snows in September
