Operation Market Garden - Day 3

Day 3

  

At 06:00 am, U.S paratroopers and British engineers, having worked all through the night, finally waved the British tanks across the bridge at Son. By 07:15 am, the British tanks had reached the midway point of the Highway at Veghel, where some peeled of to support the 501st. At 08:30, the forward British elements were at the Grave Bridge South of Nijmegen, which was still firmly held by the troopers of 504th, 82nd Airborne.

Nijmegen Bridge

The tanks reached Nijmegen soon after and paratroopers and armor battled towards the bridge.

Jan van Hoof

There was hellish street fighting and there paratroopers sustained many casualties.  The SS held a firm grip on the bridge. They had a fine vantage point and could direct accurate fire on the approaching Americans. The Germans had wired the bridge with explosives as a last ditch attempt to stop the advancing Allies. Late in the night on Day 3, a young Dutch patriot, Jan Van Hoof , is reputed to have climbed under the bridge in the dead of night and cut the detonating wires. Jan was caught and executed by the Germans on the morning of the 20th as he lay wounded after a British scout car that he had been traveling on was hit by a German grenade.


The Americans on Hell's Highway  is the 2nd part of 'The American Road to Victory' trilogy, which has been broadcast on PBS stations nationwide. It is available on DVD priced $23.95 or $69.95 for the trilogy.