The Allied infantry units at Arnhem were surrounded by German forces, and involved in heavy fighting for control of bridges over the Rhine.

Delays caused by hastily-organised German reinforcements at Nijmegen ultimately led to the failure of Operation Market Garden.

In addition, fighting at Nijmegen cost hundreds of civilian lives, and caused significant damage to many buildings in the city.

On 10 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands, the Waal Bridge had been demolished by Dutch military engineers to prevent a rapid advance of the Wehrmacht.

Its intended target of opportunity was the railway station area (which the Germans used for weapons transport), but because the attack was carelessly executed, most bombs dropped on residential buildings in the city centre, killing about 800 civilians.

[11] That liberation seemed imminent when in late August Heeresgruppe B collapsed in Normandy and made a rushed, chaotic retreat to Germany, leaving the Allies to capture Northern France and Belgium in a matter of days.

This gave rise to a euphoric ambiance throughout the Netherlands on the next day, later known as Mad Tuesday, when one exaggerated rumour after another fed the hope that liberation would occur in a matter of hours.

British general Montgomery then designed the ambitious plan Market Garden, to surprise the Germans by the deployment of airborne forces.

These would quickly seize several crucial bridges across major rivers, after which the heavy armour could advance straight through the Netherlands, along Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, and reach the Ruhr, where a vital part of Germany's war industry was located.

[13] The success of Market Garden depended on the timely and intact capture of a number of bridges in the southeastern Netherlands by American, British, Polish and Canadian airborne forces.

The 82nd Airborne Division – comprising the 504th, 505th and 508th Parachute Infantry Regiments (PIRs)– commanded by Brigadier General James Gavin, was tasked with taking all of the bridges between Grave and Arnhem.

On 17 September at 12:30, Companies D, E and F of the 504th PIR (placed under the 82nd Division for the operation) were dropped near the Grave Bridge, which was seized and defended successfully against German counterattacks after a two to three hour firefight.

They relinquished the Keizer Karelplein, and tried a more eastern route, systematically cleaning up every German guard post underway, and almost reaching the bridge.

[6] These reinforcements enabled the SS to regroup under the command of Sturmbannführer Leo Reinhold, who set up his headquarters on the north Waal bank.

The British tanks and armour exchanged fire with the German anti-tank cannons and infantry entrenched at the Valkhof fortress, while the American paratroopers fortified themselves in residential buildings on the square's south side.

[28] To make the river crossing a success, a renewed attack on the bridge's south sides was needed to divert the enemy's attention and firepower.

[29] The planned crossing at 8:00 had to be delayed time and again because of logistical problems: the supply of canvas boats by truck from Belgium was difficult, since Hell's Highway was narrow, and constantly blocked by burnt-out vehicles.

[3] The men of the 3/504th were fired on by German tanks, artillery and small arms, suffering heavy losses (48 paratroopers were killed with several dozens more were wounded).

This and unforeseen delays in supply logistics presented a long-term problem, because of the munitions required by XXX Corps to complete its advance to the Rhine.

[33] In the battle for the Waal Bridge in the Hunnerpark and on the Keizer Lodewijkplein, over 300 of Kampfgruppe Euling's 500 soldiers lost their lives, 60 were taken prisoner, and the rest were able to escape.

A rapid advance from Nijmegen to Arnhem to retake the bridge, was blocked by a combination of factors, including sunset, unfamiliarity with the terrain ahead (the Betuwe), German reinforcements near Ressen coming from Arnhem (three Tiger tanks and two infantry companies), ongoing firefights and chaos in Nijmegen, and continuous logistical problems on "Hell's Highway", due to events such as the German counterattacks near Veghel.

The march of XXX Corps was delayed for another 18 hours after the Waal Bridge's conquest,[34] but eventually it was so worn out after five days of combat, that the offensive could not be resumed.

The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division played an important role on 22 September by creating a side corridor to Oosterbeek (where the British parachutists under Roy Urquhart had fortified themselves against a superior German enemy that vastly outnumbered them) via Driel (just liberated by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade under Stanisław Sosabowski).

On 24 September, the XXX Corps' generals decided in the Valburg Conference to abandon Market Garden, pull the troops out of Arnhem, and let the frontline fall back to Nijmegen.

This aroused a lot of criticism from the Nijmegeners, because during his previous tenure as burgemeester (1 May 1942 – 24 February 1943) he had complied more with the commands of the German occupiers than his predecessor.

[40] Besides, although Nijmegen already lay in liberated territory, most judges who were fired by the Zuivering-Decree were still in occupied areas, leading to a complex legal situation.

[43] Historian Joost Rosendaal found out that the Bombing of Nijmegen of 22 February 1944 has been registered in collective memory much more clearly than the liberation and the five months as a front line city, even though these caused roughly the same number of casualties.