The Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek, The Netherlands is dedicated to the Battle of Arnhem in which the Allied Forces attempted to form a bridgehead on the northern banks of the Rhine river in September 1944.

In the museum an extensive and diverse collection is displayed consisting of original weaponry, genuine uniforms and equipment used in the battle.

[1] Historical records from 1728 indicate that an inn called ‘Het Rode Hert’ (‘The Red Deer’) stood at the important crossroad of the 'Utrechtseweg' in Oosterbeek.

To avoid the Siegfried Line, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery had planned an operation in which British and Commonwealth forces would occupy several bridges in the Netherlands between Eindhoven and Arnhem.

Operation Market Garden failed due to a combination of factors: a lack of airlift to transport the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish Brigade on the first day, 1 AAF's choice of poorly chosen drop and landing zones around Arnhem that were too far from the bridge over the Rhine and, intense German opposition by the disregarded presence of SS armored forces in the Arnhem area.

[3] The time table for XXX Corps was ahead of schedule by some 36 hours when it arrived at Nijmegen expecting to cross unhindered.

They arrived to find that the American 82nd Airborne under General Gavin had failed to take the bridge in Nijmegen upon landing as ordered whilst it was lightly defended, this now forced XXX Corps to deploy and clear the town of Nijmegen and then assault across the bridge themselves with the assistance of the 101st Airborne, delaying their advance on Arnhem by 3 days which allowed the German forces to reinforce and seal of Arnhem from relief.

After holding out north of the Rhine for nine days, the division had to be withdrawn, although just over 2,000 of the 10,000 men who had landed reached the Poles south of the river.