SECOND WORLD WAR - Arnhem
Operation Market Garden
Market Garden was the largest airborne operation in history and Field Marshal
Montgomery's daring plan to end the war within weeks. Lieutenant General
Frederick ‘Boy' Browning, the Deputy Commander of the First Allied Airborne
Army that was to carry out the mission to capture the series of bridges
across Holland over which the British XXX Corps would race in order to then
swing East into the heart of Germany, warned that capturing the final bridge at Arnhem ‘might be going a bridge too far'.
Market Garden was a high risk operation that, if successful, could end a war. However, as with all airborne operations, if Market-Garden failed, the results would be spectacularly disastrous. However, in the heady weeks following the pursuit of the remnants of the German army across France after the Allied Breakout from Normandy, the chance of failure was something that no-one, not least Montgomery, would contemplate.
Dates
April Tour 19th - 23rd
May Tour10th - 14th
June Tour May 31st - 4th June
July Tour 29th June - 3rd July
August Tour 2nd - 6th
September Tour Aug 30th - 3rd September
Day One: Arrive in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport *
Travel to Nijmegen and move into the hotel before visiting the Liberation Museum at Groesbeek. This excellent museum covers not only Operation Market Garden but also what life was like for the Dutch under Nazi Occupation. The after dinner talk will cover the situation leading up to September 1944 and the conception of Operation Market Garden.
Day Two: XXX Corps and 101st Airborne Operations
We travel towards Leopoldsburg and ‘Joe's Bridge' where Lieutenant Colonel ‘Joe' Vandeleur's Irish Guards Group crossed into Holland on the first day of Market Garden. We then follow their route towards Eindhoven.
Next we head towards the landing zones of the American 101st Airborne and their objectives - the bridges at Best, Son and Veghel. We will also take the opportunity to visit Neunen where the Germans launched one of their counter attacks to break ‘The Corridor' up through which XXX Corps were moving. Neunen was the home of Vincent Van Gough from 1883 -1885 and he painted over 200 oils while here, Captain Dick Winters' ‘Easy' Company of the 101st Airborne Division spent a rather shorter period of time here when this quiet village became a battleground for his men. In fact, this was the site of the first tactical withdrawal Captain Winters' men had been forced to make since landing in Normandy.
We will continue north to the Grave Bridge, captured by the American 82nd Airborne, and view the battle damage caused on the nearby bunker and flak tower by the platoon of Lieutenant JS Thompson.
Day Three: 82nd Airborne Operations
We travel to the bridges over the Mass-Waal Canal and the vital (and picturesque) high ground around the village of Groesbeek where the majority of the 82nd Airborne landed as did the British overall operational commander, Lieutenant General ‘Boy' Browning.
Descending back into Nijmegen, we explore the Valkhof that guards the road bridge before picking up the coach to see the same view that the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment had before they crossed the Waal River. We also cross the Waal River via the road bridge and visit the memorial to the men of Major Julian Cook who died during the crossing of the Waal. Lieutenant General Browning, who witnessed the assault from the nearby power station, said ‘I have never seen a more gallant action'.
Day Four: 1st Airborne and Polish Parachute Brigade Operations
We start the day at the British Landing Zones on Renkum Heath before following Route Lion; the road followed by Lieutenant Colonel Frost's 2nd Parachute Battalion taking in the sites of the ferry that was overlooked with tragic consequences and the railway bridge that was destroyed as Frost's men approached it.
The rest of the morning is spent exploring the area around the Arnhem bridge and the city centre while in the afternoon we will explore the areas fought over by the Airborne troops in their vain struggle to reach the bridge, including the house used to hide in by Major General Urquhart, before being pushed back by the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions.
We then visit the Hartenstein Hotel in the heart of the Oosterbeek Perimeter that is now the Airborne Museum. Allowing plenty of time to appreciate this excellent museum, we shall then visit some of the sites associated with the fighting around Oosterbeek including Major Caine's VC winning tank hunting exploits, the house of Kate Van Ter Horst that was turned into a field hospital, and the heroic part played by the Polish Parachute Brigade.
The day ends with a reflective visit to the Oosterbeek Military Cemetery and where we will view the graves of the Gronert twins, (one brother died trying to save the life of his twin brother) and the grave of Flight Lieutenant Lord VC who, despite his plane being badly damaged, continued to fly the plane in order to drop desperately needed supplies to the beleaguered airborne troops below before the plane crashed. Just two selfless acts of bravery amongst many that represent the heroism that is Arnhem.
Day Five: Return to Schiphol Airport
Depart Arnhem for Amsterdam Schiphol Airport after a visit to a memorial to the Dutch who suffered at the hands of Nazis. Liberating Europe from the vicious heel of Nazism was the reason why the war was fought in the first place and this quiet, understated corner of Arnhem brings this message home.
5 DAY TOUR
Price - £990 per person
£1450 per couple sharing
The tour begins on a Monday and ends on the Friday at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport.
Spaces are limited to 12 so we would advise to enquire and book early to avoid missing out.
* As you can see, this tour begins at Schiphol Aiport and the price does not include flights. We choose to not be ATOL bonded as we believe that you the customer can source cheaper flights that won't be subjected to handling fees by other agents if we were to book them.
We fully comply with the provisions of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (EEC Directive 90/314). In accordance with these regulations, all payments made to us, either as deposit or final settlement (including all credit card payments), are held in a separate trust account (HSBC Bank PLC, 76 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1EL. Account Number: 93672638) and as such your payment cannot be released to us until the relevant Tour has taken place. This regulation guarantees a full refund of all monies paid in the most unlikely event of us failing to provide the Tour booked.