Editing Operation Market Garden (section)

== Geography ==

[[File:Operation Market Garden UcRclr56aF8.webm|thumb|Short US Army video of the overall plan for Operation Market Garden]]
[[A50 motorway (Netherlands)|Highway 69]] (later nicknamed "Hell's Highway") leading through the planned route was two narrow lanes, partly raised above a surrounding flat terrain of [[polder]] or [[floodplain]]. The ground on either side of the highway was in places too soft to support tactical vehicle movement and there were numerous dikes and drainage ditches. Dikes tended to be topped by trees or large bushes, and roads and paths were lined with trees. In early autumn this meant that observation would be seriously restricted.{{sfn|MacDonald|1963|p=131}}

There were six major water obstacles between the XXX Corps' jumping-off point and the objective of the north bank of the Lower Rhine River: the [[Wilhelmina Canal]] at [[Son en Breugel]] {{convert|100|ft|m|-1}} wide; the [[Zuid-Willemsvaart|Zuid-Willems Canal]] at [[Veghel]] {{convert|80|ft|m|-1}}; the [[Meuse River|Maas River]] at [[Grave, Netherlands|Grave]] {{convert|800|ft|m|-1}}; the [[Maas-Waal Canal]] {{convert|200|ft|m|-1}}; the [[Waal River]] at [[Nijmegen]] {{convert|850|ft|m|-1}}; and the Rhine at [[Arnhem]] {{convert|300|ft|m|-1}}.{{sfn|Ellis|Warhurst|2004|p=30}} The plan was for airborne forces to seize bridges across all these obstacles nearly simultaneously&nbsp;– any failure to do so would result in delay or defeat. In case bridges were demolished by the Germans, XXX Corps had plans to rebuild them. To this end, a vast quantity of bridging material was collected, along with 2,300 vehicles to carry it and 9,000 engineers to assemble it.{{sfn|Ellis|Warhurst|2004|p=30}}

Although the area is generally flat with less than {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} of variation in altitude, Lieutenant-General [[Brian Horrocks]], commander of XXX Corps, recalled that "The country was wooded and rather marshy, which made any outflanking operation impossible."{{sfn|Horrocks|1960|p=209}} Two important hill areas, {{convert|300|ft|m|-1}} high, were some of the highest ground in the Netherlands: one northwest of Arnhem and one in the 82nd Airborne Division's zone, the [[Groesbeek]] ridge. Seizure and defence of this elevated terrain was considered vital to holding the highway bridges.{{sfn|MacDonald|1963|p=131}}