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By September 1944 the war against the Nazi's looked won. France had been liberated after the D-Day landing in June 1944 and Belgium was being liberated to a line at Antwerp by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The Allies had important ports such as Antwerp, but the Nazi's still held important ports like Dunkirk. Since D-Day supply lines from Normandy were being stretched. The main leaders on the realised that a new attack was needed on the regrouping Nazi's and Montgomery had an idea. Operation Market Garden. Market - meaning the airbourne forces of General Brereton's 1st airbourne to seize the bridge and other key terrain under the command of General Browning and Garden - Ground Forces from the British 2nd army XXX Corps under the command of Lt Gen Brian Horrocks to move North. |
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The idea was simple to drop airbourne troops by parachute around the Key Bridges are Arnhem, Son, Best, Nijmegan, Eindhoven, Grave and the rail bridge at Oosterbeek. These bridges formed the basis for the NMBS trip. The capture of these bridges would make the war end by December 1944, the failure of Market Garden kept the war going to May 1945 in Europe. What happened in Holland is basically the biggest balls up since the Somme. But unlike the Somme and the waste and stupidity of war, the Allies face bad luck, planning, information and weather. Otherwise Market Garden would have been an amazing victory. |
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The NMBS visited Holland in October 2005. Staying around the area of Berg en dal in Holland. We flew to Cologne (Koln) and stayed in Cologne on the first night and the last night and Cologne is a wonderful German city on the banks of the River rhine. The place where we stayed in holland at Berg en Dal (we nicknamed the gaff "The Ponderosa" on the account it looked like a cowboy homestead) was small but nice - well nice when we got out newest member something for his feet. With more members of the NMBS joining - the trips gain fun and at night the seriousness of the days eased away. Indeed so much so we got barred from a pub in Koln for giggling and a certain bench will never be the same..... |
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 GENERAL CEMETERY 3.JPG)
