Battle of Arnhem 1944 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Operation Market Garden

The codename was probably based on the association of the Netherlands with market garden produce.

Answer: Urquhart, Taylor, Gavin & Sosabowski

Major General Roy Urquhart (1st British Airborne)
General Maxwell Taylor (101st US Airborne)
Major General James Gavin (82nd US Airborne)
Brigadier General Stanislaw Sosabowski (1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade Group)
Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks was the Commander of the british XXX Corps the ground forces.
Major General Richard Gale was the commander of the british 6th Airborne which didnt take part in that Operation.

Answer: 9 SS Panzerdivison "Hohenstauffen" & 10th SS Panzerdivision "Frundsberg"

Together, the 9th and 10th SS Panzerdivision formed the IInd SS Panzerkorps which was in action at Operation Market Garden.

Answer: Lieutenant Colonel Frost

Lieutenant Colonel Dobie was commander of the 1st battalion.
Brigadier Lathbury was commander of the 1st Parachute Brigade.
Major Gough was in charge of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron.

Answer: Guards' Armoured Division

The 43rd Wessex Division was part of the XXX Corps to but was not the leading element later in the operation the division was put forward to support the Guards Armoured as they were stopped by a German blocking line north of Nijmegen.
The 7th Armoured Division better known as "Desert Rats" didn't take part in the operation, like the Guards Division.

Answer: a bridge had been destroyed

The crucial bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal at Son had been destroyed by the Germans. And it took nearly 24 hours to build a bailey bridge.

Answer: False

He set up his headquarters in Nijmegen.

Answer: False

The 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers never reached the bridge. They set up a defensive perimeter at Oosterbeek together with the main part of the 1st Airborne.

Answer: True

The 2nd Airlanding Anti Tank Battery normally had four groups with four 6 pounder AT guns each. But shortly before the battle they were reorganized now they consisted of five groups. Three groups kept their 6 pounders but two groups were equipped with the heavy 17 pounder AT gun.

The Germans thought that these guns were too big to be carried by a glider and so they were surprised when they faced the guns in the battle. The guns could only be carried by the huge Hamilcar glider.

Answer: 8 miles

British intelligence overestimated the strength of the German AA defence in the Arnhem area. So they opted for a LZ 8 miles away from Arnhem Bridge.

Answer: False

The Polish brigade arrived with the third lift which was delayed by bad weather on Tuesday 19th September.

Answer: Obergruppenfuehrer Bittrich

SS Obergruppenfuehrer Bittrich was the commander of II SS Panzerkorps. Oberstgruppenfueher Sepp Dietrich was commander of 1st SS Panzerdivision and later commander of 6th SS Panzerarmee.
SS Major General Kurt Meyer known as Panzermeyer was commander of 12th SS Panzerdivision in Normandy. Field Marshal Walter Model was commander of Heeresgruppe B (Army Group B).

Answer: False

In terms of quantity, Operation Varsity, the Rhine crossing in 1945 was the largest single airborne operation in history.

Answer: Monday 25th September

The evacuation took place on Monday 25th September after several attempts of the British 43rd Wessex Divison and of the polish paratroopers to cross the Rhine and reinforce the 1st Airborne had failed amid heavy casualties.

Answer: 2,398

Only 2,398 man returned to the Allied lines. 1,485 had died and 6,414 were taken prisoner, of whom about one-third were wounded.
Official German figures record that they suffered 3,300 casualties in the Arnhem area, with 1,300 of that number killed.