Editing Battle of Arnhem (section)

===British plan===
{{further|Operation Market Garden order of battle}}
[[File:Arnhem Map 1.jpg|thumb|400px|The planned British landings and defence at Arnhem]]
With the British [[6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|6th Airborne Division]] still refitting after [[Operation Tonga]] and the [[6th Airborne Division advance to the River Seine|fighting in Normandy]], the task of securing the Rhine bridgehead fell to the 1st Airborne Division under the command of [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] [[Roy Urquhart]]. The division was made up of three brigades of infantry (two [[Paratrooper|parachute]], one [[Glider infantry|glider-borne]]), supporting artillery of the [[1st Airlanding Light Regiment]] and anti-tank batteries and [[Royal Engineers|Royal Engineer]] units, as well as supporting elements such as the [[Royal Army Service Corps]] and [[Royal Army Medical Corps]].<ref>Middlebrook, pp. 20–58</ref> Most of the division had seen action in [[British airborne operations in North Africa|North Africa]] and [[Allied invasion of Sicily#Campaign|Sicily]], particularly the [[1st Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Parachute Brigade]] and [[1st Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Airlanding Brigade]].<ref name=Middlebrook20>Middlebrook, p. 20</ref> This was the first time the division had fought as a complete formation.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 39</ref> Urquhart also had the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade under his command.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 42</ref> His force was also substantially reinforced by some 1,200 men of the [[Glider Pilot Regiment]], who would fly the glider-borne infantry and vehicles into Arnhem, providing the equivalent of two battalions of infantry for the operation.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 41</ref> Smaller additions included a Dutch commando unit and American communications teams.<ref name="Middlebrook68"/>

The division was required to secure the road, rail and [[pontoon bridge|pontoon]] bridges over the Nederrijn at Arnhem and hold them for two to three days until relieved by XXX Corps.<ref>Waddy, p. 26</ref> From the beginning Urquhart was severely constrained in his planning for the operation. The US [[IX Troop Carrier Command]] (Major General Williams) could not land all the airborne troops in one go. Williams decided that it would only be possible to fly one air lift per day, meaning it would take three days to deliver the division and Polish Brigade.<ref>Ryan, p. 113</ref> Few areas were suitable for glider landings and Williams was reluctant to send his aircraft too close to Arnhem and into the [[flak]] from [[Deelen Air Base|Deelen airfield]] after the drop.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 55</ref> Urquhart was forced to pick [[drop zone]]s (DZ) and [[landing zone]]s (LZ) up to {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on}} from Arnhem, on the north side of the river.<ref name="Waddy, p42">Waddy, p. 42</ref> With the need to secure the bridges, towns and drop zones for subsequent supply drops, the 1st Airborne would need to defend a perimeter {{convert|18|mi|km|abbr=on}} long whilst waiting for XXX Corps.<ref name="Waddy, p42"/>

[[File:Urquhart outside his headquarters.jpg|thumb|alt=Men standing in front of building next to a small flag pole|left|Major General [[Roy Urquhart]] shortly after returning to his Divisional HQ at the [[Hotel Hartenstein]], 19 September]]

Urquhart decided to land the 1st Parachute Brigade ([[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] [[Gerald Lathbury]]) and the 1st Airlanding Brigade (Brigadier [[Philip Hugh Whitby Hicks|Philip "Pip" Hicks']]) on the first day of the operation, along with Divisional HQ, the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment, Royal Artillery and attached Royal Engineer and medical units.<ref name="Waddy, p42"/> The Airlanding Brigade would land on LZs 'S' and 'Z' and move to secure the drop zones and landing zones for the following days' drops, whilst the three battalions of the parachute brigade would arrive at DZ 'X' and follow separate routes to the Arnhem bridges.<ref name= Waddy47>Waddy, p. 47</ref> The [[2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|2nd Battalion]] ([[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[John Frost (British Army officer)|John Frost]]) would follow the riverside roads to the centre of Arnhem (''Lion'' route) and secure the main road and railway bridges, as well as a pontoon bridge between them. The [[3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment|3rd Battalion]] (Lieutenant Colonel Fitch) would head through Oosterbeek to Arnhem (''Tiger'' route), assist in the capture of the road bridge and take up positions in the east of the town.<ref name=Waddy47/> The [[1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment|1st Battalion]] (Lieutenant Colonel Dobie) would follow ''Leopard'' route north of the railway line to occupy high ground north and north west of Arnhem.<ref name=Waddy47/>

The advance into Arnhem would be led by a troop of jeeps from the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron ([[Major (United Kingdom)|Major]] [[Frederick Gough (MP for Horsham)|Frederick Gough]]) on ''Leopard'' route, who would attempt a {{lang|fr|[[coup de main]]}} on the road bridge.<ref>Waddy, pp. 46–47</ref> On the second day, the [[4th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Parachute Brigade]] (Brigadier [[John Hackett (British Army officer)|John "Shan" Hackett]]) would arrive at DZ 'Y', accompanied by extra artillery units and the rest of the Airlanding Brigade on LZ 'X'. Hackett's three battalions would then reinforce the positions north and north west of Arnhem.<ref name="Waddy, p42" /> On the third day, the 1st Independent Polish Parachute Brigade would be dropped south of the river at DZ 'K'.<ref name="Waddy, p42"/> Using the road bridge, they would reinforce the perimeter east of Arnhem, linking with their artillery which would be flown in by glider to LZ 'L'. The 1st Airlanding Brigade would fall back to cover Oosterbeek on the western side of the perimeter and 1st Parachute Brigade would fall back to cover the southern side of the bridges.<ref name="Waddy, p42"/> The remaining units of the division would follow XXX Corps on land in what was known as the ''sea tail''.<ref name="Waddy, p42"/> Once XXX Corps had arrived and advanced beyond the bridgehead, the [[52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division]] would land at Deelen airfield to support the ground forces north of the Rhine.<ref>Middlebrook, pp. 53–54</ref> The operation would be supplied by daily flights by 38 Group and 46 Group RAF who would make the first drop on LZ 'L' on day 2 and subsequent drops on DZ 'V'.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 386</ref><ref name="Middlebrook, p246">Middlebrook, p. 246</ref>