Because of the failure of the capture of the Rhine-bridges the Allied forces had to retreat. A dark page in the story of the liberation of The Netherlands.
Rhine
In 1944, the British and Poles attempted to capture the river bridges in Arnhem. Whoever held the bridges had access to the rest of the country. The Allies hoped to end the Second World War as quickly as possible, with the minimum of casualties. Their plan was therefore for airborne troops to seize the bridges and hold them, to enable ground forces to advance into Germany through the central Netherlands. On paper this was a good plan. In practice, however, its execution failed badly, and the airborne troops had to be evacuated.
Retreat
In the end, around 2,100 men were evacuated from the north bank of the Rhine to the south. But not everyone made it across. The wounded, medical personnel and the army ministers remained behind and were taken captive. Some attempted to swim across the river, but many of them became exhausted and drowned. The retreat of the British Airborne Division was a dark page in the story of the liberation of the Netherlands.
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