The Gamble That Could Have Ended the War

By late summer of 1944, the Allies’ push through France was beginning to slow. Supply lines were being stretched, and the Allies would soon approach the Siegfried Line, the Germans’ heavy defensive line stretching across Germany’s border with France, which would be no small feat to break through. With this in mind, British general Bernard Law Montgomery will approach Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower with a plan that had the potential to “end the war by Christmas.” The name of this plan would be named Operation Market Garden.

It was a daring plan. It required British and American Airborne troops to jump into German controlled Holland and seize nine vital bridges. Ground based troops would push along the areas that connected these bridges, creating a single continuous road for the Allies to flood into Northern Germany. If successful, the Allies would completely bypass the Siegfried line and thrust into the heart of Germany

German resistance in Holland was expected to be light, and Market Garden hinged on this. The plan required the land-based troops to finish their 64 mile push up Highway 69 and connecting all the taken bridges within 48 hours. However, there would be over 100,000 German troops stationed in Holland. The operation immediately ran into much stiffer resistance than the intelligence had suggested.

Many of the airborne objectives were secured without issue, but the bridge in Arnhem was unable to be taken by British Airborne forces because of the much heavier than expected German resistance. Land based troops had a very difficult time moving up Highway 69, which would be nicknamed “The Highway to Hell.” German resistance was just too much. The Land based troops would be unable to connect all the bridgeheads together. Many of the airborne units would be trapped without the ground base relief coming their way. Market Garden failed, and the Allies’ plan to win the war by Christmas would not come to be. The Allies would be forced to look elsewhere to defeat Germany.