Campaigns may move by weeks or months, but airborne operations move by hours and days. No matter how successful may be the outcome, the first few days of an arborne landing determine the success of the operation. It is, tactically speaking, either a success or a failure.
Market Garden was tactically seen a failure. It is true that almost all the targets were captured and reached by the 2nd British Army, with exception of one, the most important main target, the Road Bridge at Arnhem. The 2nd Army never reached the bridge and so there came no large allied bridgehead on the other side of the Rhine river. So the allied didn't achieve in September 1944 what they really wanted: a bridgehead across the Rhine.
Nobody could know then that they would have to wait till the 7th of March 1945, when elements of the 9th US Armoured Division, commanded by Brigadier William Hoge, captured an intact bridge across the Rhine at Remagen. This first successful bridgehead was later followed by bridgeheads near Oppenheim, Nierstein, Boppard, St. Goar (12th US Army Group), Rees, Xanten, Wesel and Rheinberg (21st British Army Group).
Montgomery called Market Garden 90% successful. Even if you would classify Market Garden 90% successful, that doesn't change the fact that 1892 lives were destroyed north of the Rhine river, in an attempt to a bridgehead that was never reinforced in large numbers by the 2nd British Army.
And 48 Americans of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion were killed when they took part in of the most courageous undertakings of World War II: the Waalcrossing, to save their British colleagues at Arnhem by the capture of highly important two bridges across the Waal River and to make it possible for the British Guards Armoured Division to push on to Arnhem.
Unfortunately, as we have seen, the Guards Armoured Division didn't advance right away to Arnhem, and so the Battle of Arnhem was lost and Operation Market Garden wasn't a complete success.
Those young men never returned home. They never got the opportunity start a new life after the war. But not only their lives were destroyed, also the lives of their wifes, children, parents and other relatives who never saw
their beloved ones back. For ever the fallen men of the 1st British Airborne Division, 1st Polish Parachute Brigade, Royal Air Force and units of the British 21st Army Group who reached the Rhine River at Arnhem and were killed when they to relieve their besieged countrymen at Oosterbeek, will remain north of Rhine river.
