The REAL Operation Market Garden | BATTLESTORM Documentary | All Episodes

Looking for the most in-depth look at Operation Market Garden? Using animations and detailed maps, let's find out what happened and who was to blame for the failure at Arnhem, Nijmegen and Eindhoven. Was the plan really doomed to fail from the start? Was it really "A Bridge Too Far"? Let's find out.

I originally created this series as 8 separate videos. This video is all episodes of my series in one video for your viewing pleasure.

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Sources:
John Frost, A Drop Too Many. 2009.
Max Hastings, Armageddon. London, 2004.
Robert J. Kershaw, It Never Snows in September. Surry, 2007.
Martin Middlebrook, Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle, 17-29 September. 2009.
Robert Neillands, The Battle for the Rhine 1944. UK, 2014.
Poulussen, R.G. Lost at Nijmegen. 2011.
Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far. USA, 1974
Major General R E Urquhart, Arnhem. 1958.
Major General S Sosabowski, Freely I Served. Great Britain, 1982.

Music used:

[micmorris]

I'm from Poland and I bought a house here in Driel where my brothers from Poland landed, I always go to the Polish monument on Sundays which is in the center of Driel in the Polish square, be brave, my hero, be brave, for our freedom and yours

[jimsmith]

I’m a retired US Army infantry officer. I have driven and walked this historic ground. This battle analysis and presentation was exceptionally well done! Thank you!!!

[princetonburchill]

I was working with an Arnhem veteran as an electrician in 1972. We were working on a roof when he called me over to him. I found him standing on a parapet shaking like a leaf. He begged me to grab him and pull back from the edge because he was going to jump. He had parachuted into Arnhem, seen nearly all his mates killed or badly wounded but he managed to swim across the river and survived the battle without a scratch. I think he had survivor guilt.

[tcl]

I’m 68 years old and my dad was a paratrooper with the 101st / 502 in ww2. He earned two bronze stars and two Purple Hearts among a host of other medals throughout the war.

As for operation Market/Garden he described it as being “sent to hell” before it was over. He said the plan from the beginning was “a goddamn disaster” in his opinion.

He later served 4 tours in Vietnam and somehow survived that mess as well. He retired as a Master Sergeant in 1974.

[piotrnowakowski]

I am tired of simple short-sighted documents of big companies that treat people like fools.
You do such a good job ... One of the best documents on the yt

[neilpiper]

The weather was awful. Strong winds blowing the gliders off course. My father survived which is why I am here.
I was born 8/8/45.

[sanctusexitium]

My Uncle Ray was was there in the main battle of Market Garden, he was with the 82 Airborne 505th Company C, commanded by General Gavin. He fought in the store fronts in Market Garden, he was falling back when a mortally wounded Soldier called out for help. When my Uncle Ray went to help him he knew there was nothing he could do because the Soldier was so badly wounded, the Soldier asked my Uncle Ray not to leave him. This wasn't the first time my Uncle Ray had disobeyed orders when told to fall back, they were told to leave the wounded for the Medics. In Holland he was told that a good friend had been hit, he was told to fall back, instead, he threw his knapsack down and under heavy machine gun and sniper fire went to find his friend, after he found his buddy he flagged a Jeep down, put his buddy on the Jeep and was heading back, on his way back he came across another buddy. Uncle Ray put him over his shoulder and was carrying him back when he came across another wounded Soldier, he picked him up also and went aways until he fell down and couldn't go any farther. Uncle Ray went back and got help for the two Soldiers. Uncle Ray stayed with the wounded Soldier all night in the store front in Market Garden, helping the Soldier to undress and then helping him to dress again after using the toilet, he stayed with the Soldier until he passed, then made his way back to his company.

[passionfly]

Your presentation is the first that actually recaps the mistakes made and accurately depicts why it went so badly. I have never seen anything like this before in a documentary so boldly and brilliantly stated! Thank you!

[crypto]

Just wanted to say, at the very least, that I am very impressed by your presentation. I am fairly knowledgeable about Market Garden and it's clear that you are too. Your graphics do a great job at showing the progress of the engagement without relying on worn-out footage. I just wish our History Channel would produce documentaries half this good. I salute you sir - keep up the good work!

[francisebbecke]

Bay of Pigs (1962), Entibe (1976) or Desert One (1980) "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan."

[alansharples]

Another scandal about this operation is that the Dutch military-in-exile in London were not consulted during the planning - they had already done studies on operations in the Nijmegen area and were furious that they had been left out

[dan_mer]

Gene Hackman's Polish accent from this movie was a war crime. In my nightmares I hear him yelling something like shnur, shnur.... I wake up covered in sweat. Horrible.

[joseywales]

To think all these years I've been blaming Sean Connery!

Seriously great insight into the battle. I've not seen anything quite so well put together as this. Good job.

[fakkajohan]

I live in Arnhem, I visited the airborne museum countless of times, I visit the dropping each year and I walk the 'Airborne Wandeltocht' each year. But still I learned stuff from this video!

[hughmnyks]

Best overall presentation I've found so far. Excellent stuff. My uncle Hugh seems to have been part of the 45-man unit of the 3rd BN. A radio operator, Private by choice because he wanted to do that job and not command others, he was shot in the foot while out and about trying to get fellow soldiers to safety. He was taken prisoner, ending up at Stalag IV D. He died in hospital at Wittenberg on Jan 21 '45 with gangrene, aged 22. The honour, in my humble opinion, goes to men like him of all nationalities.

[andrewrdoughty]

Thanks for your documentary. My father William Sydney Doughty was in 30th Corps. He survived war and wasn't demobbed from Germany until 1946. He felt a terrible guilt and shame over Market Garden and eventually suffered mental breakdown, destroying his medals and uniform on a bonfire in the back garden He died aged 55 after insulin shock therapy at the Kingsmill Hospital, Mansfield in an endeavour to wipe out his wartime memories. He would now be 107 if still alive, but I guess he would be relieved to know, that it was Gavin 's 82nd fault and not 30 Corps that Operation Market Garden failed. It a pity that your documentary arrived to late to save him from the NHS psychiatrists. Thank you restoring the honour of 30 Corp with the truth. I am sure he did his best to get to the bridge too far.

[Rachotilko]

Good plan: each suboperation is backed up by at least one alternative variant in case of partial failure.

Bad plan: each suboperation must succeed as originally planned in order for the overall plan to succeed.

[RangaTurk]

16:40 Considering the fact that the element of surprise worked in the allies favour and most objectives were achieved within the first few hours confirms that it was a sound enough plan from the get-go. It was just the intel and follow-up that fell short. In addition to this landing the British 1st Airborne west of Arnhem in the clearings at Wolfheze was a stroke of genius in itself and by using the woods as visual cover from the city the results paid off early with the Arnhem city commandant ambushed and killed (General Freidrich Kussin). Keeping Browning's 376th HQ element of British 1st Airborne back at Nijmegen proved to be a sensible move. Arnhem is too big a city to land directly in front of regardless of the flat terrain but landing the Polish First Independent Airborne Brigade far further south at Elst or just south of it between Valburg and Bemmel might have paid dividends early in the battle before SS Captain Viktor Graebner's Recce battalion sped south. As it is the body of land between the Nedderijn and the Waal that is of prime importance because the Pennerden Canal (Nedderijn) can be bridged with Bailey Bridges in multiple places as is stated as possible later in the video. Given this fact, the real concern is the proximity of the German border which isn't shown here and in reality just how marshy this land truly is once one gets offroad. The German elements in this region are nevertheless surprisingly small considering the size of the force that became trapped in Courland after the first week of October 1944 where there were five Panzer Divisions plus much more in the form of security detachments. 24th Panzer Division "The Leaping Horsemen" in Stalingrad got worn down to around 839 men with 25 tanks around the start of October 1942 so if you stumbled on a Panzer Division this size during 'rest and refit' in this area and you had PIATs anti-tank guns at your disposal you wouldn't look as panicked as Sean Connery did when he learned of the size of the forces surrounding him (Frost) in the movie, A Bridge Too Far.

[Annerley]

My grandfather was part of the 2nd Battalion at Arnhem Bridge and I'm currently researching his military career. What he went through at Arnhem altered his entire life. Thank you so much for making and sharing this video - very useful information and very well explained.

[NickRatnieks]

Having read the odd book and seen a few documentaries, this exposition of the operation is a very good production. With just graphics and photographs we are not sidetracked by footage from all manner of WW2 battles- so, no distractions.A very good overview that takes you directly into what Market Garden was all about. Well done.