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Showing posts with the label Band of Brothers

Operation Market Garden Anniversary 2016

The John Frost Bridge at Arnhem (from my visit in 2013) 72 years ago today, Allied troops set off on what could be one of the boldest missions of World War 2, Operation Market Garden. Developed by Field Marshall Montgomery, the plan was to advance into Nazi occupied Holland and develop a bridgehead over the River Rhine into Germany. There were two parts to the operation: Market (Airborne) Garden (Ground Forces) In what was the largest airborne operation of the war, paratroopers and glider troops had the job of securing bridges at Eindhoven (US 101st Airborne), Nijmegen (US 82nd Airborne) and Arnhem (British 1st Airborne). The ground forces, made up of the British XXX Corp had to advance up a single highway through Holland, linking up with the airborne forces as they went. In honour of the anniversary of Operation Market Garden we look back at some of the movies and TV Shows that tell the story of the Allies ill-fated attempt to end the war by Christmas 1944. A Bridge Too Far

D-Day Anniversary 2016

Today is the 72nd Anniversary of Operation Overlord - the Allied invasion of Nazi occupied France. On the night of 5th June 1944 the operation began with multiple parachute and glider drops behind Hitler's Atlantic wall all along the Normandy coastline. At 5:45 am the naval bombardment preceded waves of landing craft carrying Allied troops to the beaches codenamed: Sword (British and French) Juno (Canadian) Gold (British) Omaha (US) Utah (US) and the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc where at the top the Germans had built a large gun battery that threatened the Allied forces at Utah and Omaha beaches. In honour of those who served during World War 2 I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of my favourite movies and TV shows relating to Operation Overlord. The Longest Day The Longest Day tells the story of Operation Overlord from the perspective of the Allies and the Germans.   Based on the book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, this was the most expensive bla