What would have happened if Operation Market Garden was successful?

If Operation Market Garden had succeeded, World War II might well have ended in Europe before Christmas of 1944, with the Western Allies marching triumphantly into Berlin. Instead, the conflict would drag on for five more months after that date.

How many planes were in Operation Market Garden?

The combined force had 1,438 C-47/Dakota transports (1,274 USAAF and 164 RAF) and 321 converted RAF bombers. The Allied glider force had been rebuilt after Normandy until by 16 September it numbered 2,160 CG-4A Waco gliders, 916 Airspeed Horsas (812 RAF and 104 U.S. Army) and 64 General Aircraft Hamilcars.

What would have happened if Operation Market Garden had succeeded?

If Operation Market Garden, planned to take place in the area near Arnhem, in Holland, had succeeded, the western Allies could have punched their way across one of the last great natural barriers between them and the German fatherland. Their tanks and troops might have reached Berlin weeks before the Russians,…

Would the Battle of Market Garden have been different?

Historians of the battle have often been tempted into the ‘if-only’ trap. If only this, or if only that, had been different, then it would all have turned out to be a brilliant success. This cherry-picking of faults is a grave distraction from the harsh fact that Market Garden was a perfect example of how not to plan an airborne operation.

Was Market Garden an example of how not to plan an airborne operation?

This cherry-picking of faults is a grave distraction from the harsh fact that Market Garden was a perfect example of how not to plan an airborne operation. Market Garden was one of the greatest Allied disasters of the Second World War – immortalised in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far.

What happened to the paratroopers after Operation Market Garden?

The paratroopers were stranded, divided from their allies and unable to escape. German tanks were moving through Arnhem and torching the houses where paratroopers hid. Of the 10,000 paratroopers who participated in Operation Market Garden, only 2,000 returned to their units.