Operation Varsity a veteran division; it had taken part in Operation Overlord, the assault on Normandy in June the previous year. However, the U.S. 17th Airborne Division, under Major General William Miley, had been activated only in April 1943 and had arrived in Britain in August 1944, too late to participate in Operation Overlord. The division did not participate in Operation Market Garden. It did, however, participate in the Ardennes campaign but had yet to take part in a combat drop. The U.S. 13th Airborne Division, under Major General Eldridge Chapman, had been activated in August 1943 and was transferred to France
Moerdijk bridges 1940, bridges were captured during paratroopers operation and held 4 days, until German forward forces arrived. In 1944, both the road and railway bridge were destroyed by the Germans, to prevent the Allied Forces from reaching South Holland. Moerdijk bridges The Moerdijk bridges in the Netherlands are bridges that connect the Island of Dordrecht with the Dutch province of North Brabant ("Noord Brabant") across the "Hollands Diep". The first bridge was built at the end of the 19th century, and was a railway bridge. The second bridge was built in the 1930s for road traffic, and is currently part of