How many soldiers died at Arnhem?

Remembering Arnhem In all, 1,485 British and Polish airborne troops were killed or died of wounds and 6,525 more became prisoners of war. Though a costly failure, the Battle for Arnhem today stands as a heroic feat of arms.

How many Dutch civilians died at Arnhem?

450 Dutch civilians
About 450 Dutch civilians were killed and many more injured as a consequence of the MARKET-GARDEN Operation. When fighting ceased there were still about 400 airborne soldiers and airmen hiding in the woods and houses around Arnhem, Ede and Apeldoorn.

Could Operation Market Garden have worked?

Thus, high on casualties and low on everything required to sustain themselves, some four thousand British and Polish troops were evacuated across the Lower Rhine the night of September 25–26. Market Garden had come to an end. There is no doubt that Operation Market Garden failed.

Was the Battle of Arnhem a success?

Though Operation Market Garden liberated much of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation, established a foothold from which the Allies could make later offensives into Germany and showed the courage and determination of the Allied forces in Arnhem, it remained a costly failure, with lasting consequences.

How long did the Battle of Arnhem last?

The Battle of Arnhem lasted from September 17 to the early morning of September 26, 1944. A heroic battle of nine days ended in a major Allied defeat. The desired jump over the Rhine was not made and the Allies had to find another way in the direction of the Ruhr.

Why was the Battle of Arnhem codenamed Operation Market Garden?

But the bridge at Arnhem was never captured – the plan ended in failure just a week later, resulting in thousands of casualties. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, it was the largest airborne operation in history and one of the biggest disasters of the Allied war effort.

What did the 1 St Airborne Division do at Arnhem?

The radio problems suffered by the 1 st Airborne Division at Arnhem are well-known. The radios may have worked sufficiently in carefully controlled exercises on Salisbury Plain, but they did not function well in the tree-lined suburbs, woods and polder of Holland [lowland reclaimed from a body of water by building dikes and drainage canals].

Who was the Waffen SS commander at Arnhem?

At the Arnhem bridge, the senior Waffen SS commander thought he could persuade Lt Col John Frost, commander of the British force, to surrender by sending a captured Airborne soldier to tell him resistance was useless. They best give up or die! Frost decided such a tactic was evidence of enemy desperation.