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
The Airborne Symphony under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. Orson Welles was narrator; Charles Holland was tenor soloist and Walter Scheff was baritone soloist, with the male section of the Collegiate Chorale led by Robert Shaw. The work was officially dedicated to the Eighth Air Force. "The New York Times" reported that the audience received "The Airborne Symphony" with enthusiasm at its world premiere, and called the performance "remarkably sure, brilliant and dramatically eloquent." Since then, the work has been rarely performed, owing to its massive orchestral forces, topicality, and lack of standing with musicologists. "The Airborne Symphony" has passages of stunning musicality,