Second Army (United Kingdom) of the country. Its captures included the capital Brussels and the port city of Antwerp. Second Army's highest profile operation in 1944, apart from Operation Overlord, was providing the main force for Operation Market Garden. During the operation, American (82nd and 101st), British (1st) and Polish (1st Polish Parachute Brigade) airborne troops, outside the control of Second Army, were landed to capture vital bridges over several rivers in the east of the Netherlands, in order to allow Second Army's XXX Corps to cross the Rhine and advance into Germany, relieving the parachute troops en route. However, the single road XXX
First Allied Airborne Army to secure several bridges over the River Rhine to aid the Allied advance into the North German Plain. The divisional headquarters for the 1st Airborne Division, along the 1st Airlanding Brigade and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were to land at Nijmegen, 1st Parachute Brigade was to land at Arnhem, and 4th Parachute Brigade was to land at Grave. The driving force behind the creation of Comet was Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who disagreed with the 'broad front' strategy favoured by Eisenhower, in which all Allied armies in North-West Europe advanced simultaneously. Montgomery, however, believed that a single thrust