Trip Info
Operation Market Garden
Duration
- 1 day
Group size
- 2-8 persons
Prices
- € 99 p.p. info *
- Transport from Amsterdam to Arnhem v.v. (car or minibus)
(Contact us to discuss the possibility of other pick-up points if so required)
- A qualified historian as your personal guide throughout the day.
- Visit to the main sites of the battle.
- Entry to museums.
Departure
- Subject to availibity:
Every day of the week except for Mondays
Booking
( but you can always give it a try )
Operation Market Garden
It was spring 1944: the European theatre of WW II was at the brink of great changes. In Eastern-Europe the Soviet ally nearly had driven back the German army from their own territory. The frontline led from Gulf of Finland in the north up to Odessa in the south and the Russians were making up for sweeping the Germans out of Poland. A counterweight on the western front was necessary to give the final blow to the Third Reich and assure the western sphere of influence.
On the 6th of June the joint western allies started off with operation Overlord, the well known invasion on the beaches of Normandy.
Although the invasion was a success, things did not develop as wished. It was not until July 26th that Paris was liberated and it lasted until the beginnings of September before allied troops cleaned the North of France and Belgium.
Here we come to the point of operation Market Garden. Compared to D-Day, Market Garden was a smaller operation. All the same it was the largest airborne actions in military history until that moment.
The consequences in terms of losses reflect the intensity of the battle: in 7 days 17,000 allied soldiers lost their lives in the whole operation (1500 at Arnhem).
The aim of the 1944-operation was to conquer a bridge over the river Rhine to gain access to Nazi- Germany. Market Garden would prove to be “a bridge too far” for the joint forces of the English, American and Polish troops.
With a qualified historian as your personal guide you will gain insight into the causes and consequences of the operation and you will also get an idea of what life was like for the soldiers involved in the combat. Arnhem is near the German border and about 100kms. from Amsterdam. In a one-day excursion History Trips takes you for a visit to the Airborne museum and we will retrace the tragic events on the main battleground.