Rent Operation Market Garden: Hell's Highway (2011)
3.0 of 5 from 3 ratings
1h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
"Operation Market Garden" was designed to end the war by Christmas 1944 and clear away Hitler's V weapons from the North Sea Coast. Following the collapse of the German Army in Normandy, it seemed that a bold move to seize the three major and numerous other waterways across Holland would place the Second British Army beyond the Rhine, putting the Allies on the North German Plain and on the road to Berlin. The Allies had, however, outrun their supplies and the Germans were staging an amazing strategic recovery. On 17 September 1944 the 101st US Airborne Division parachuted into a drop zone, north of Eindhoven in a bid to avoid 'unnecessary casualties from flak', denying them a coup de main against the first significant canal bridge at Son. With plenty of warning of the approach the Germans blew the bridge, arguably dealing Market Garden a potentially mortal blow from the very outset. Meanwhile, the British XXX Corps were also facing an arduous uphill struggle. A mixture of SS and Fallschirmjagertioops halted the breakout of the Guards Armoured Division in its tracks. However, by nightfall the Irish Guards were through the German defences and had reached Valkenswaard 10 miles along the 60 mile route to Arnhem. With the bridging operation complete the Grenadier Guards Group covered the next 30 miles to Nijmegen in little over three hours. Market Garden looked as if it were back on schedule despite the setbacks and Arnhem was only 10 miles further on. It was one thing to reach Nijmegen in forty hours but for the American Paratroopers holding the route open the situation was bleak. The road north across Holland quickly earned the well deserved nickname 'Hell's Highway' as the Paratroopers fought to fend off a seemingly endless torrent of enemy troops from the east and west. The Germans only had to get within firing range of the road to effectively close the vital highway and starve the troops of all kinds of vital combat supplies. With the help of military experts, the BHTV team will examine the successes and failures on Hell's Highway to paint a true picture of the bitter fighting that took place there almost seventy years ago. - Actors:
- Mike Peters, Jo Hook, John Greenacre, Richard Hone, Tom Dormer, Tim Sounders, Bob Darby
- Narrated By:
- Mike Peters, Jo Hook, John Greenacre, Richard Hone, Tom Dormer, Tim Sounders, Bob Darby
- Studio:
- Pen and Sword
- Genres:
- British TV, TV Documentaries
