11287 Garand Picture of the Day - Operation Market Garden

[Mark in Rochester]

source:http://www.armchairgeneral.com/opera...n-part-2.htm/3

After the Fact
How should Operation Market Garden be classified? In the attaining of all of its objectives, it was a failure. There were, however, many positive contributions. A 65 mile salient had been created in German lines. Many key river crossings, cities and air bases had been taken. German units badly needed in other places, were now tied down in the Netherlands. The German forces around Arnhem, already debilitated from the fighting in Normandy suffered further horrendous losses. They had taken 3,300 casualties, including over 1,000 killed in action.

On the debit side, the beginning of an immediate German collapse was not achieved. Losses for the Allies were extremely high. The air borne units had been used up. The 101st and 82nd would not be able to extricate themselves from the fighting for weeks. The British First Airborne Division had suffered catastrophic losses. Of the original 10,000 man force, it had suffered 1,200 dead and 6,642 missing wounded or captured. It had, in fact, been almost wiped out. So grim had been its suffering that its "number" was retired. The British First Airborne Division was taken from the order of battle table and has never been reconstituted.

Whatever the verdict on the effort, the noble fighting spirit of both sides has been written indelibly into the pages of history. As in all desperate situations, the courage and tenacity of the human will was demonstrated time and again. One Dutch civilian who had been witness to that which transpired in Arnhem wrote of the event, "…at the end of this hopeless war week the battle has made an impression on my soul. Glory to all our dear, brave Tommies and to all the people who gave their lives to help and save others." Any one who had the honor to participate in this operation would never have to be ashamed of his part in the endeavor, or consider his contribution useless.