Diorama Operation Market Garden “Hastenstein” Hotel 1/72 Italeri-6107

After the Normandy landings in June 1944, the Allies planned to invade German territory to end the war as quickly as possible. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery devised Operation Market Garden, which involved encircling the German defenses using British, American and Polish airborne troops. The paratroopers were to take control of several key bridges in the Netherlands, between Eindhoven and Arnhem, to secure supply routes and facilitate the entry of Allied forces into Germany. However, strong German resistance and the impossibility of crossing the Rhine River thwarted the operation, making it a failure. As a result, the war dragged on, and it took several more months of fighting before the Allies finally entered German territory. During the operation, Hartenstein became the nerve center of operations and served as the headquarters of the 1st British Airborne Division.