Operation Market Garden – Arnhem

(17–25 September 1944)

Men of the 1st Airborne in 1944, Urquhart is in the centre on the

bottom row.

17 September – The Landing

Urquhart landed with the 1st Airborne Division near Arnhem on 17

September, and almost immediately the scale of the challenge became

clear. German resistance was stronger than intelligence had predicted, and

while a small part of the division reached the crucial bridge over the Lower

Rhine, much of the force was scattered across the Dutch countryside.

With communications unreliable, Urquhart once again climbed into a jeep

to assess the progress of the 1st Airlanding Brigade. Finding Brigadier

Hicks’ headquarters was a challenge in itself, and when he nally arrived

he was mistakenly told that the Reconnaissance Jeep Squadron—

planned to spearhead a mobile assault on the Arnhem bridge—had

failed to arrive. Though this was incorrect, the misinformation forced

Urquhart to rethink his approach, and he decided instead to task one

of Brigadier Gerald Lathbury’s battalions with seizing the bridge.

Returning to his headquarters but still unable to establish wireless contact