by Ron Kilber (rpknet@aztec.asu.edu)
          & Roland Korst (korst_ro@euronet.nl)

I n summary, more than 39,000 fighting troops were involved in the airborne operation, of which roughly 21,000 were delivered by parachute and about 18,000 by glider. Of this number, the majority were American, 10,300 were British, and about 750 were Polish. These figures do not count support personnel in England and elsewhere.

About 5,000 troop-carrying and supply aircraft were used in Operation Market Garden, of which roughly 1,300 were paratrooper transport, about 2,300 were gliders for troop and equipment transport, and almost 1,300 were used for re-supply missions. The airborne operation included aircraft such as the US C-53 Skytrooper, the C-47 Skytrain, and B-17 Flying Fortress, and the British Halifax and Stirling bombers, which were used as glider tugs and for supply missions, as well as the British Albemarles used as tugs and paratrooper transport. More than 6,000 sorties were flown in support of the operation by fighters and bombers, and approximately 5,000 tons of stores were flown in.

Market Garden fell far short of it's objectives. The Allies never managed to create a new base of operation north of the Rhine, nor did they manage to isolate the Germans in Western Holland. The Arnhem bridge turned out to be "A Bridge Too Far", and the paratroopers in the Oosterbeek pocket after nine days retreated south across the Rhine.

While the US 101st and the US 82nd successfully captured their bridges and controlled Hells Highway, Market Garden effectively created more front line, which had to be defended and protected with already scarce resources. The Nazis in the West retaliated against the Dutch people with starvation tactics, which, together with one of Europe's worst winters, resulted in the death of more than 20,000 civilians.

After Market Garden, the statistics paint a grim picture of the huge price that was paid in an effort to only partially liberate Holland. Of the 39,000-plus fighting men, the fatalities were grave. The US 82nd lost 1,432 troops, the US 101st Airborne 2,110, the 1st British Airborne Division 1,300, and 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade 378. These fatality figures are made worse by the many thousands who were wounded in action, as well. Next to the losses in men, a total of 164 aircraft were shot down or damaged beyond repair while 132 gliders were lost during the flight into the Market Garden battlefield.

The Allied effort was mostly stalled until January of 1945, when things began moving in favor of the Allies again. Of course, the end of WWII brought total liberty and freedom for The Netherlands and total defeat for the Nazis.

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