It was the largest airborne operation conducted by the Allies until 1944. The paradrop in the occupied Netherlands meant to bypass German fortifications on the Siegfried Line. This manoeuvre would have allowed the occupation of the Ruhr industrial area, which might have ended the Second World War as early as 1944. Unfortunately, the Allied operation resulted in a complete failure. The key bridge at Arnhem was not captured. The Germans mounted fierce resistance and destroyed the 1st Airborne Division of the British Army; the survivors were rescued by Polish paratroopers from the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade commanded by General Stanisław Sosabowski. And it was General Sosabowski who was condemned for the operation’s failure. In reality, however, General Montgomery and his staff had planned the entire landing poorly, leading to Allied losses of 80,000 people (wounded and killed).
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