(Ede) Hundreds of parachutists jumped near the Dutch town of Ede on Saturday to mark the 80th anniversary of thee anniversary of Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in history, which was a failure of the Allies against the Nazis.
The infamous episode saw casualties of nearly 15,000 Allied soldiers, while another 6,600 were captured in the ill-fated plan to seize bridges in the Netherlands in mid-September 1944.
“These soldiers sacrificed their lives so that we can live in freedom today,” said Ede Mayor René Verhulst in front of thousands of people, including Dutch King Willem-Alexander and World War II veterans.
“Thank you for what you have done for our country,” Willem-Alexander told one of the veterans after a moving wreath-laying ceremony.
Allied commanders hoped the operation would give them a quick way to end the war in Europe, opening an invasion route to Berlin.
But thousands of paratroopers (American, British and Polish) were pushed back by strong German opposition in Arnhem and surrounding towns, including Ede, which were almost completely destroyed in the fighting.
The battle was immortalized by the Hollywood action film A Bridge Too Far (1977) by Richard Attenborough, with Sean Connery, James Caan, Gene Hackman and Robert Redford.
The Arnhem Bridge is now named after British Lieutenant Colonel John Frost, who with 600 men held it for four days before being dislodged.