War, firsthand

Check out these fascinating firsthand accounts of life on both sides during a campaign in World War II.

The campaign in question is Operation Market-Garden, which is interesting for many reasons but most of all because it was the last German strategic victory (in the sense that they prevented the Allies from accomplishing their main goal, seizing a bridge on the Rhine river) on the Western Front in WWII. Yes, we were the losers on this one; an entire British airborne division was annihilated in the Dutch city of Arnhem after holding out for 4 days against an SS force many times its size. Out of roughly 10,000 men, only ~2,300 escaped across the Rhine river back to Allied lines--the rest were all killed or taken prisoner.

You may have heard of the book and subsequent movie, A Bridge Too Far, based on this campaign. I myself have several video games based on the campaign, as well.

Yesterday I somehow stumbled upon a quote by the commanding officer of the German forces at Arnhem, SS (!) General Wilhelm Bittrich, lamenting his own victory, saying it was his biggest regret of the entire war as it needlessly prolonged a clearly losing conflict. I'll try to find it again.

Market-Garden, explained quickly:
The main line of defense for Germany is based around the Rhine river, which runs from Germany's south up along its border and into Holland (difficult to see, thin blue line running through Arnhem on this map). Securing a bridge over the Rhine would bypass this defense and allow the western Allies to make a quick, deep thrust into the heart of Germany, bringing the war to a rapid close--no later than Christmas 1944, while in actuality the war in Europe dragged on until May 1945. Arnhem, a Dutch city, has such a bridge.

Allied tanks (XXX Corps) break through the German front lines at Eindhoven (A), final destination Arnhem (C). American and British (and, eventually, Polish) paratroopers drop in along the planned route. The Americans drop in to secure bridges just north of Eindhoven and in the city of Nijmegen (B), while the British drop in to secure the bridge at Arnhem (C). The original plan is for XXX Corps to reach Arnhem in two days. In reality, due to blown bridges and heavier than expected German resistance, after five days XXX Corps has only just taken the bridge at Nijmegen (B), and the British in Arnhem (C) are finally crushed, despite a Polish drop just south of Arnhem in an attempt to reinforce the British there.

(ignore the white dots along the route; the intervening 60+ years have seen the construction of several highways altering the fastest route)

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