Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery the number of people interred in the cemetery continues to grow. In September 1944 the Allies launched Operation Market Garden, an attempt by the British 2nd Army to bypass the Siegfried Line and advance into the Ruhr, Germany's industrial heartland. The operation required the 1st Airborne Corps to seize several bridges over rivers and canals in the Netherlands, allowing ground forces to advance rapidly through the Netherlands and cross the River Rhine. The British 1st Airborne Division was tasked with securing the most distant objectives; bridges over the Lower Rhine at Arnhem. The division dropped onto the area on 17
Night of the Bridges disguised as lovers enjoying nature or as geography excursions. Originally, the operation should have taken place in May, but due to political reasons it was postponed. The political leadership forbade an attack on four targets: the railway bridge between the Ras an-Nakura tunnels, and the three bridges over the Jordan and Yarmuk Rivers leading to the Naharayim power plant. The planners knew that the operation could not cause heavy damage, and that it would only take some weeks for the connections to be restored. The real targets were: The objectives were fully accomplished. The Haganah could hit strategic targets at