Captured at Arnhem: Paratroopers behind Bars

Operation Market Garden, conceived by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, represented the Allies' boldest attempt to end the war before Christmas 1944. The plan was breathtaking in its scope and ambition: a massive airborne assault combined with a rapid armored advance through the Netherlands, designed to capture a series of bridges and establish a bridgehead across the Rhine. If successful, it would open a direct route into the industrial heart of Germany and potentially shorten the war by months.

The operation's name reflected its dual nature. "Market" referred to the airborne component, the largest daylight airborne operation in military history, involving three and a half divisions of paratroopers and glider-borne infantry. "Garden" was the ground assault, spearheaded by the British XXX Corps, which would race northward along a single highway to link up with the airborne forces. The plan required the capture of bridges at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, and ultimately Arnhem, each more ambitious than the last.