THE AMERICAN 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION AND

THE BRIDGE AT SON- OPERATION MARKET GARDEN

A Bridge Too Far

 

In September 1944 the small town of Son in Holland and its bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal played a major part in the conduct of Operation Market Garden, Field Marshal Montgomery's audacious plan to drive deep into Holland and thence to Germany and perhaps end the war by Christmas. The US 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles, dropped north of the Canal around Son intending to capture the bridge and then to drive south into the major city of Eindhoven. However the bridge had been blown by the Germans and it was not until the 18th of September, the day after the drop that they were able to enter Eindhoven where they were joined by the tanks of the Irish Guards of General Brian Horrock's 30 Corps. There are museums and memorials to see in an area that has changed a great deal in recent years, but the route of the 'Corridor' along which the tanks were supposed to roll north into Germany can still be seen and is covered in detail in our book Operation Market Garden - Arnhem which lists more than 200  memorials.

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