Operation Market Garden and Arnhem

Day 2

We ride southeast, briefly into Belgium, to Geel to examine the immediate precurser to Market Garden and a battle often overlooked, before following a pretty canalside route to Joe's Bridge which was the start point for the Guards Armoured Division and their incursion towards Arnhem. The overall plan was to avoid German Siegfried Line defences and to then sweep south into the industrial Ruhr area, thus knocking out the enemy's ability to manufacture and replace lost equipment; and to force a German surrender before the winter of 1944 set in. They were to be aided by the 82nd and 101st US Airborne, and the 1st British Airbourne who would capture the forward bridges at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, and Arnhem and await relief and reinforcement from the ground forces. As we ride into The Netherlands we will see many places where Horrocks' XXX Corps men fought bravely and created a salient that would be exploited throughout the winter. About 58 miles. Overnight in Eindhoven again. (Meals included: breakfast. Dinner not included - free choice).

Day 4

We start our tour of the Arnhem battlefield by heading to the northwest to the Drop Zone 'Y' on Ginkel Heath, which was the first one used by 4 Parachute Brigade on 18 September 1944. From here they would take the Amsterdamweg towards Arnhem but tragically be repulsed before they got there, being forced to set up defensive positions in Wolfheze and Oosterbeek, which is where we cycle to next, paying our respects at the Airbourne Cemetery at Oosterbeek where 1800 men lie. A visit to the Hartensteyn museum is highly recommended, where we also have lunch, before dropping down to the riverbank via the Oude Kirke and the site of VC actions. We then cross over the river at the same place that the troops were withdrawn when the situation became hopeless on the night of 25 September 1944, towards Driel, where the Polish Airbourne Brigade had landed to assist in relief and securing the south bank; many did not survive the landing however. Coming back into Arnhem we cross the famous bridge once more to bring our cycling to a close. About 35 miles. (Meals included: breakfast, dinner).