In order to turn Operation Market Garden into a success, heavy bombings were carried out shortly beforehand. The aim of these was to demoralise, dislodge and eliminate as many German enemies as possible. The allied forces were aware that there were likely to be civilian casualties as a result of these bombings, but it was an extremely traumatic experience for the local population.
Operation Market Garden
On 17th September 1944, the Allies bombed the German positions in preparation for the airborne landings near Arnhem. On the Sunday morning, American bombers attacked the barracks in Ede. Many of the bombs missed their targets and ended up in Ede South, in the residential area around Parkweg road. Then that afternoon, the British dropped even more bombs on the barracks and on the village. The attack came out of nowhere. Even the air-raid sirens had not had the chance to warn anyone. Fire brigades from Ede, Bennekom and Lunteren fought the fires. The air-raid defence service looked for survivors and the Red Cross took away the wounded and the dead. Field hospitals were set up throughout the village. Ede South was the worst hit, but the damage to other parts of Ede was also serious. 64 civilians were killed and five died later from their injuries. 38 houses were destroyed and 145 seriously damaged. Of the Germans in the area, 25 were killed and 60 wounded.
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