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Myth

Myth: “The goal of operation Market Garden was to liberate the Netherlands“

in Myths
Allied airborne landings during Operation Market Garden.

There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem for so many decades afterwards. One of those myths is that Operation Market Garden aimed to liberate (the north of) the Netherlands. In reality, the liberation of the Netherlands played no role whatsoever in drawing up the plans for Market Garden. The British field…

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Myth: “Operation Market Garden was betrayed by King Kong”

in Myths
Photo of Christiaan Lindemans (King kong) after his arrest. (Photo: Wikipedia.)

There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem for so many decades afterwards. One of those myths is the “betrayal” by King Kong. King Kong was the nickname of Christiaan Lindemans, a Dutch double agent. Immediately after the loss of the Battle of Arnhem, it was rumored that the plans for Operation…

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Myth: “The Allies could have reached Arnhem on Wednesday evening, September 20, without opposition.”

in Myths/Nijmegen
A British tank drives over the Waal Bridge during Operation Market Garden.

There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem for so many decades afterwards. One of those myths is that Allied tanks could have driven undisturbed to the Rhine Bridge in Arnhem on Wednesday evening, September 20, without major opposition. If the Allies had done that, they would have been able to relieve…

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Myth: Deelen Air Base played no role in the plans for Market Garden

in Arnhem/Myths
The badly damaged "Fliegerhorst Deelen" after the Allied bombing in 1944. (Photo: Gelders Archive.)

There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem for so many decades afterwards. One of those myths is that the plans for Operation Market Garden had no role whatsoever for the German airbase Deelen, just north of Arnhem. Fliegerhorst Deelen was built by the Germans in 1940 as part of Germany’s air…

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Myth: Arnhem was destroyed during operation Market Garden

in Arnhem/Myths
War devastation in Steenstraat in 1945.

There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem for so many decades afterwards. One of those myths is that Arnhem suffered the greatest war damage during the fighting between the English and Germans in September 1944. The myth that the fights during the Battle of Arnhem were responsible for the destruction arose…

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Myth: “The Germans had dozens of tanks in Arnhem”

in Myths
Broken German column near Falaise.

There are still many myths circulating about the Battle of Arnhem. One of those myths is that on the first day Operation Market Garden, the Germans had dozens of tanks near Arnhem. The lightly armed British troops were no match for that. On Sunday September 17 1944, the first day of Operation Market Garden, two…

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