A Bridge Too Far

German forces continued evacuating the Fifteenth Army from the Pas de Calais to the Netherlands via the Schelde estuary, a high-risk maneuver executed mostly at night to avoid Allied air attacks. Although the evacuation route passed within a few miles of Allied lines near Antwerp, no serious attempt was made to cut it off. As thousands of German troops escaped, reinforcements—including the battle-worn but still effective 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions—were ordered to rest and refit near Arnhem. Field Marshal Model, unaware of the area’s impending strategic significance, also chose Arnhem as the new headquarters for Army Group B. His staff selected Oosterbeek, just a few miles from the planned British drop zones, for its tranquility and amenities. By September 15, the German command was fully established in the very sector where British forces would soon land.

SS Major Sepp Krafft, commander of a small Panzer Grenadier Training and Reserve Battalion, was unexpectedly ordered to vacate his position in the village of Oosterbeek. Though his unit was awaiting 1,000 SS recruits and was already split between Oosterbeek and Arnhem, Krafft resisted the order, which came not from an SS superior but a