The Battle of Arnhem was a major World War II battle at the vanguard of
the Allied Operation Market Garden, the dramatic but unsuccessful
campaign fought by the British Army in the Netherlands from 17 to 25
September 1944. This was the first-time airborne troops were used by the
Allies on such a scale, and the objective was a series of nine bridges
that might have provided an Allied invasion route into Germany. Airborne
and Land Forces successfully liberated Eindhoven and Nijmegen but were
thwarted by the Nazis at the Battle of Arnhem, in their efforts to
secure the last bridge over the River Rhine. Only a small British force
was able to reach the Arnhem Road Bridge but was overwhelmed by Nazi
defenders and, after nine days of fighting, the shattered remains of the
Division were withdrawn. The British 1st Airborne Division lost most of
its strength and didn't see combat again. What is less well known in
this famous saga, however, is the vital contribution of hundreds of
Irish soldiers from a host of backgrounds, with a mixture of experience
and range of ranks. Men from the north of Ireland and men from the south
gave their all to this Allied campaign, and in A Bloody Week, their
dramatic story is finally being told.
