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[[File:82nd_Grave.jpg|thumbnail|350px250px|left|82nd Airborne Division dropped near Grave]]

====Background==Why were the Allied advances grinding to half before Market Garden? ==[[File: Montgomery E010786478-v8.jpg|thumbnail|200px250px|left|General Bernard Montgomery (1944)]]The Allies had landed in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944. After establishing several beachheads in Normandy, the Allies managed to push forward into the Normandy countryside.<ref>Harclerode, Peter, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0297846825/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0297846825&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4d838669f1b185bdbb1d8898e27add71 Wings Of War: Airborne Warfare 1918–1945]'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2005), p. 45</ref> The Germans initially managed to slow the Allies advance. However, a brilliant piece of Allied strategy resulted in the encirclement of a large part of the German army in the Falaise Pocket.  The combined Anglo-American divisions inflicted huge losses on the Germans. The German army was forced into a headlong retreat. Paris was soon retaken by the Allies.<ref>Harcerode, p. 46</ref> The German army was practically forced out of France and retreated towards Alsace-Lorraine and Belgium. It seemed to many that the Allies were on the verge of invading German, and some even spoke optimistically of ending the war by Christmas.

However, in truth, the Allied successes had brought its their own problems. The Allies' supply lines were overstretched, slowing down the Americans and British in particular. The shortage of oil meant that Patton’s armored divisions had to halt their advance. This was to prove crucial, and it allowed the Germans to regroup in the west when it appeared that they would disintegrate, leading to the end of the war.<ref> Burgett, Donald. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440236339/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0440236339&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=bc9650521b3cdf40b8caa8cfdffa4396 The Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland]''. (Dell Publishing, NY, 2001), p. 9</ref>

====Reasons What was the rationale for Market Garden==? ==

By the Autumn of 1944, it was apparent to the Allied High Command that the Germans had managed to retrieve the situation and would offer stiff resistance to any future offensive. In August 1944, a British assault failed to take Antwerp's deep water deepwater port and had allowed some 80,000 German troops from Scheldt Estuary. This became known as the ‘Great Mistake’ and was perhaps one of the biggest in the entire war.<ref> Burgett, p. 37</ref> The Allied high command was reluctant to attack the Germans from eastern France, as the German government had constructed a massive line of defenses, consisting of fortresses, to protect their western border. This was known as the Siegfried Line. The British and the Americans had to go through the Low Countries to invade Germany and end the war.<ref> Ryan, Cornelius, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684803305/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684803305&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a59f073c4b3bf60e27b95e4efd51292c A Bridge Too Far]'' (Wordsworth Editions, London, 1999), p. 78</ref>

The Allies believed that they would need an innovative plan Allied high command was reluctant to break attack the Germans from eastern France, as the Low Countries and Alsace-Lorraine's German frontlinegovernment had constructed a massive line of defenses, consisting of fortresses, to protect their western border. This was known as the Siegfried Line. General Eisenhower The British and other leaders turned their attention the Americans had to go through the Low Countries. It offered them ports that could be used to re-supply the Allied divisions, who still were reliant on the Normandy ports for their supplies. The more forward-thinking of invade Germany and end the allied strategists became concerned about the Rhinewar.<ref>Ryan, pCornelius, ''[https://www.amazon. 46<com/gp/product/0684803305/ref> This river would form a formidable natural barrier to any Allied advance=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684803305&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a59f073c4b3bf60e27b95e4efd51292c A Bridge Too Far]'' (Wordsworth Editions, but if they liberated the Low CountriesLondon, it would allow them to cross the Rhine and then to cross into Northern Germany and then onto Berlin. The American and British governments became increasingly eager to end the War in Europe and wanted to turn their attention to the Pacific War. Then the western allies believed that they were in a race to Berlin with the Soviet Army1999), and they did not want the Red Army to capture all Germany and turn it into a client state of Moscowp.78</ref>

The Allies believed that they would need an innovative plan to break the Low Countries and Alsace-Lorraine's German frontline. General Eisenhower and other leaders turned their attention to the Low Countries. It offered them ports that could be used to re-supply the Allied divisions, who still were reliant on the Normandy ports for their supplies. The more forward-thinking of the allied strategists became concerned about the Rhine.<ref>Ryan, p. 46</ref> This river would form a formidable natural barrier to any Allied advance, but if they liberated the Low Countries, it would allow them to cross the Rhine and then to cross into Northern Germany and then onto Berlin.  The American and British governments became increasingly eager to end the war in Europe and wanted to turn their attention to the Pacific Theater. The western allies believed that they were in a race to Berlin with the Soviet Army, and they did not want the Red Army to capture all Germany and turn it into a client state of Moscow. ===What was Montgomery's Strategy=for Operation Market Garden? ==[[File:British paratroopers in Oosterbeek.jpg|thumbnail|350px250px|left|British paratroopers at Arnhem (1944) during Operation Market Garden]]

===The Battle=What Happened during Operation Market Garden? == [[File:Sherman_tanks_of_the_Irish_Guards_Group.jpg|thumbnail|left|275px250px|Irish Guard Sherman tanks advance on September 17, 1944, during Operation Market Garden]]