Netherlands: Collector Medals Remember 80th Anniversary Of WW II Era Operation Market Garden

This year marks the 80^th anniversary of what became known as Operation Market Garden, a military maneuverer that would ultimately see a turn for the better and which would end the suffering of occupied Netherlands. The plan to liberate the country took place in September 1944 and consisted of two parts, the airborne operation (Market) and the ground offensive from Belgium (Garden). It was a bold plan by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, which was carried out by 41,628 men from the English, American and Polish airborne troops and three divisions of ground troops. Operation Market Garden was one the largest allied operations from World War II and whose goal was to get hold of the bridges over the Maas, Waal and Rhine in the Netherlands. This way, they bypassed the well-defended Siegfriedline (Westwall), which protected Germany along the Rhine. They hoped or a quick advance to Berlin and perhaps end the war before Christmas of 1944. 

The army of the Third Reich invaded the Netherlands on the 10th May 1940, as part of Operation Fall Gelb, and the Dutch army surrendered within four days after very heavy fighting. As a result, Queen Wilhelmina, the Dutch Head of State since 1890 refused to leave her country but was finally convinced that her capture – or worse her death would result in a huge gain for Nazi propaganda. On the 13^th May, the Queen and senior members of the Dutch government boarded a British warship and sailed for England where King George VI had received her. The family of Crown Princess Juliana had managed to board an earlier ship and would eventually settle in Canada for the duration of the war.

In the summer of 1944, and after four harsh and deadly years of occupation, British General Bernard Montgomery came up with a plan to cross the River Rhine and advance deep into northern Germany to shorten World War II, and named his two-part plan Operation Market Garden. The Market side was the airborne operation employing three divisions such as the U.S. Army’s 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the British 1st Airborne, and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade. This group formed the first Allied Airborne Army, and their objective for this mission was to seize key bridges in the Netherlands after landing by parachute and glider. Once the airborne troops landed, the Garden portion of the operation would be launched with the British XXX Corps advancing over the bridges and cross the Rhine and its tributaries. The bridges were at Eindhoven, around 13 miles from the start line, Nijmegen which was 53 miles away, and Arnhem, a further 62 miles away as well as two smaller bridges at Veghel and Grave that were between Eindhoven and Nijmegen. It was an ambitious plan but regrettably failed due to bad weather and heavier than anticipated German resistance, especially at the bridge near Arnhem. There were additional reasons for failure which came down to a greater amount of a distance between the air landing zones and the bridges near Arnhem and Nijmegen, communication problems, the difficult advance of the ground forces as well as some tactical mistakes made in the supreme command. After the initial success of the Battle for Nijmegen, the Allies did not succeed in conquering the last bridge near Arnhem - it became the proverbial ‘bridge too far’.

Though not the decisive battle to end the fighting and occupation the Allies had hoped for, the invasion did manage to give hope to the Dutch who wanted to see light at the end of the tunnel. As most of the south of the country had been liberated in the second half of 1944, the rest, especially the west and north of the country was still under occupation, suffering from famine towards the end of 1944, known as the Hunger Winter. On the 21^st March 1945, Queen Wilhelmina returned to liberated areas of the Netherlands to visit her countrymen and see for herself, evidence of the deprivation her country had endured, she would ultimately return home to Amsterdam on the 28^th June. Her return was celebrated by a march-past of about 6,000 Canadian troops and thousands of members of the Dutch resistance. It would not be until the 5th May 1945, when the whole country was finally liberated by the total surrender of all German forces and is celebrated today as ‘VE Day’.

In remembrance of the sacrifices of all Allied soldiers, the Politie Sportvereniging Renkum (Police Sports Association, Renkum) organised an Airborne March for the first time in 1947. The idea was to create a commemorative march to honour the soldiers who fought for the liberation of the Netherlands. Around 2,000 people took part in the first March and today, thousands of people take part in the Airborne March. Participants can choose from four routes, of 10, 15, 25 and 40 kilometres. The routes pass important landmarks from those days in September 1944.

The design of the Airborne March Medal specifically focuses on the Allied soldiers. The obverse side depicts a group of soldiers on foot with parachutists landing in the background. Superimposed over the marching soldiers on the silver versions is the text LEST WE FORGET shown in orange colour and above the primary design along the upper rim is the text AIRBORNE WANDELTOCHT – POLITIE SPORT VERENIGING RENKUM (Airborne March – Police Sport Association Renkum). Below and along the lower rim is the text IMMATERIEEL ERFGOED (Intangible Heritage). On the reverse side is the logo of the Inventory Intangible Heritage Netherlands which is centred and surrounded with the text Inventaris Immaterieel Erfgoed Nederland denoting the association.

Available from the 7^th September, the cupro-nickel versions are sealed in a coin-card format with relevant text and illustrations. The silver proof-like medals are encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please visit the Royal Dutch Mint.