Guards Memorial Plaque, Nijmegen Bridge, Holland

The Cornelius Ryan book, A Bridge Too Far has at its centre the final struggle at the bridge at Arnhem, which was indeed a Bridge Too Far'. The expression is variously attributed to General Boy Browning and/or the Polish General Sosabowski. The ultimate Allied air target was the bridge at Arnhem, the last step in a step-ladder of bridges spanning successive rivers over which a key road, The Corridor, ran from Belgium to the German border. The penultimate bridge in Operation Market Garden was the one here at Nijmegen and was the task of the American 82nd Airborne Division. Some confusion about the precise orders that the American paratroopers were given, and the quick reaction of German Field-Marshal Model to send troops of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Division to the city, meant that when the land forces of the British XXX Corps arrived they could not cross. British and American forces led joint attacks on the Germans at the southern end of the bridge until around 1830 on 20 September Sergeant Peter Robinson led his troop of Grenadiers across the River Waal. The delay here was one of the critical factors which led to the failure of the Operation

82nd Airborne Arnhem Attacks Attributed Browning Confusion Cornelius Corridor Critical Delay Factors Failed Failure Field-marshal Grenadiers Indeed Joint Meant Nijmegen Panzer Paratroopers Penultimate Plaque Precise Quick Send Spanning Successive Target Task Ultimate Variously Waal

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