Thursday, June 9, 2011

Arnhem, Holland

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> The British 1st Airborne Division jumped the farthest into Holland to capture and hold the Arnhem Bridge over the Rhine until British 30 Corps could relieve them and gain a toe hold into Germany. It was a legendary heroic stand by the Pegasus Division but were ordered to withdrawal when British 30 Corps could not make it past Nijmegen before 1st Division ran out of ammo, food, water. Of the 10,000 airborne and gliderborne troopers who went in, only 2,400 escaped without being killed or captured. Thus, the Arnhem Bridge was a bridge too far. There is a wonderful airborne museum in Arnhem telling the story of this legendary battle; here's a picture at the entrance. While there we talked to a docent who was a 14 year old Dutch lad at the time of the battle and remembers it well. It was a real special experience to talk to him!
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