In early September 1944, after weeks of retreat, German troops offered fierce resistance at the canals around Leopoldsburg. Allied hopes for a quick end to the war were fading. British Marshal Montgomery therefore pushed through a new plan: Operation Market Garden, a lightning attack from a bridgehead in Lommel towards Arnhem on the Rhine in the Netherlands. This would allow the Siegfried Line, Germany's strong defensive line, to be bypassed. On September 16, 1944, the commanders were summoned to Leopoldsburg. A large military police presence was present. The officers gathered in Cinema Splendid. Tension hung in the air. General Brian Horrocks entered the room. He was a living legend and the man tasked with leading the ground troops to Arnhem. He unveiled the daring plan. The officers trusted Horrocks. But there were also doubts. The road to Arnhem was long and precarious. Will the ground troops reach the paratroopers at the Rhine Bridge in Arnhem in time?
a lightning attack from a bridgehead in Lommel towards Arnhem on the Rhine in the Netherlands
Brian Horrocks was one of the great British generals of the Second World War. Yet, at the beginning of his career, he didn't seem destined for success. During his officer training, he received poor marks. But everything changed when Horrocks participated in the First World War. At the front in France, he displayed great courage. He was seriously wounded a few months later. When Hitler attacked in May 1940, Horrocks again demonstrated his courage and skill in France. Montgomery was immediately convinced that Horrocks was the right man. He quickly appointed him commander of a corps, a force of tens of thousands of soldiers.
Horrocks is much loved by his soldiers. But on the eve of Operation Market Garden, he is no longer the man he once was. As a corps commander, Horrocks helps inflict their first crushing defeat on the Germans in North Africa. Shortly thereafter, disaster strikes. In Tunisia, a German fighter plane appears out of nowhere. It fires its machine guns at Horrocks. Bullets pierce his lungs, stomach, and intestines. Horrocks undergoes surgery after surgery. He spends more than a year in hospitals. In August 1944, Horrocks has still not fully recovered. But the Battle of Normandy rages on in all its fury. And Montgomery desperately needs capable commanders. He brings Horrocks to Normandy in his private plane. The 48-year-old Horrocks is once again successful. With his XXX Corps, he contributes to the rapid advance through France and Belgium. But Horrocks frequently falls ill and is confined to bed with a fever. When he addressed his officers about Operation Market Garden at the Cinema Splendid in Leopoldsburg on September 16, 1944, he knew this mission was the most dangerous of his career. But on stage in Leopoldsburg, he exuded nothing but confidence and suppressed the pain of his wounds.
