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All the characters in the film are based on historical figures. Sean Connery played his fellow Scot, Major General Urquhart. Gene Hackman played Polish General Stanislaw Sosabowski. Ryan O Neill had the role of General James Gavin, while Dirk Bogarde played Lt Gen. "Boy" Browning. These characters were key players in Operation Market Garden.<ref> MacKenna, p. 216</ref> The German commanders are all based on those who were involved in the fighting, for example, Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich, the SS commander at Arnhem is shown in the movie. However, General Karl Student was not the commander on the western front when Market Garden commenced it was Von Rundstedt.
In general, the film is very faithful to history with regard to the identity of those involved. However, there was one glaring omission from the movie and that was Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. He was the driving force behind Operation Market Garden and without him, it is unlikely that it would have even proceeded. Yet the film does not include him but there are many references to him throughout the movie. Why Attenborough did this is not really known. In Cornelius Ryan’s book, Montgomery was very prominent. It is believed that Attenborough like many other Britons had too much respect for Monty, the victor of El Alamein to include him as a character.<ref> Ryan, Cornelius. <i>A Bridge Too Far </i> (Pelican, London, 1970), p 67, 89</ref> The movie also shows the diverse nature of the allied forces in Operation Market Garden, including British, American, Canadian, Free Dutch forces and Polish Paratroopers.
===Intelligence disaster===
In one scene in the movie, the Germans are shown as detonating explosives that they had rigged to a bridge. This is what happened. The movie also shows very accurately the ferocity of the German resistance. It shows how the Germans could slow down the advance of the British unit, the Irish Guards, as they tried to move forward along the narrow Dutch roads<ref> Ryan, p. 234</ref>. The geography of Holland helped the German defenders because the British tanks could not drive off the roads because of the many canals. This meant that the Nazis inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing allies and fatefully slowed down their advance. The movie, which is quite long even for a Hollywood blockbuster shows nearly all the key battles, including how the Americans were able to capture the bridge at Nijmegen by rowing across the river and attacking the Germans from behind.
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The movie shows very accurately the importance of the SS 9th and 10th Division and how they helped to pin down the British at Arnhem. Without the intervention of the elite SS troops, the British would have been able to secure their objective at Arnhem, that is to hold the bridge until an armored division arrived. However, the SS with their tanks were too much for the lightly armed paratroopers. The significance of Arnhem to Operation Market Garden is also shown in the film. A Bridge Too Far correctly shows that the British and Americans captured all the bridges except the key one at Arnhem and this is correct.<ref>Badsey, Stephen. <i>Arnhem 1944: Operation Market Garden</i> (London: Osprey Publishing, 1993), p. 267</ref> Indeed, Browning claims in the movie that the operation was 90% successful as a result.
