Valkenswaard

At 2:35 September 17, Lieutenant Keith Heathcote, commander of the leading tank troop, ordered his tanks forward. The objective, just a short three hours drive down the southernmost stretch of road soon to become know as Hell's Highway, was Eindhoven. …

1944-09-17

3724

At 2:35 September 17, Lieutenant Keith Heathcote, commander of the leading tank troop, ordered his tanks forward. The objective, just a short three hours drive down the southernmost stretch of road soon to become know as Hell's Highway, was Eindhoven. The lead squadron was just a few thousand yards from the jumping off point of Joe's Bridge, when German infantry and anti-tank guns opened fire on the Irish Guards. Kampfgruppe Walther had set up a strong network of Resistance across the Dutch frontier. In retaliation, the tanks targeted every hedgerow and woodland but their opponents were old hands at fighting ambushes. Tank movement was limited to elevated ground along the roadways in the area because of innumerable ditches and marshy terrain. Yet with infantry co-operating in a series of small actions, the narrow corridor was forced open. The 30th Corps accelerated and reached Valkenswaard, an advance of only six miles, by nightfall. Somewhat short of the original objective the command was ordered to rest, for it had become clear that on such a narrow front, against a determined enemy, Eindhoven was not feasible.

Valkenswaard, Holland

Operation Market Garden was a failed World War II military operation fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. It was the brainchild of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery and strongly supported by Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. The airborne part of the operation was undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps of the British Second Army. The objective was to create a 64 mi (103 km) salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by seizing a series of nine bridges by Airborne forces with land forces swiftly following over the bridges. The operation succeeded in liberating the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen along with many towns, creating a 60 mi (97 km) salient into German-held territory limiting V-2 rocket launching sites. It failed, however, to secure a bridgehead over the Rhine, with the advance being halted at the river.

Wikipedia: Operation Market Garden

German

British

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Classified