On this day in military history…
The Retreat At Arnhem.
By the evening of 25 September 1944, it was clear that the position was no longer tenable. Ammunition was nearly exhausted, casualties were severe, and relief forces had been unable to reach them. That night, a secret withdrawal plan, known as Operation Berlin, was put into action. As darkness and rain cloaked the ruined town, British engineers prepared a crossing of the river. Under strict silence, soldiers smeared their faces with boot polish and wrapped their boots to muffle noise. An artillery barrage was unleashed to distract the Germans, making them believe that reinforcements were arriving rather than a retreat underway.
Beginning around 9:45 p.m., the withdrawal began. Units slipped away from their positions one by one, heading toward the riverbank. Rubber boats and makeshift rafts were used to ferry men across the cold, fast-flowing Rhine. Despite the poor conditions and German fire that intensified as the night wore on, over 2,000 men made it to the southern bank and were evacuated to safety. At dawn, with daylight making movement impossible, the evacuation was halted. Many troops, especially the wounded, had to be left behind.
In total, approximately 400 men remained trapped north of the river. Some were severely wounded and had been cared for in makeshift hospitals. Medical personnel voluntarily stayed with them, knowing they would be taken prisoner. The Germans, respecting the Red Cross, allowed a temporary ceasefire on 24 September so that wounded men could be evacuated from both sides of the battle lines. Still, hundreds of fit but stranded soldiers were left behind, hiding in the woods and ruined houses.
Many of these men owed their survival to the bravery and kindness of Dutch civilians. Around 500 British and Polish soldiers were hidden by local residents and members of the Dutch Resistance. Farmers, priests, teachers, and ordinary families took great personal risks to shelter these men, providing food, medical care, and cover from German patrols. For weeks, these escapees moved between safe houses, often by night, staying just ahead of discovery.
A daring rescue, known as Operation Pegasus I, was launched on the night of 22 October 1944. Using intelligence provided by the Resistance and carefully coordinated with the trapped troops, Allied forces on the southern bank launched a covert river crossing. Under cover of night, 138 men were successfully ferried back across the Rhine. Further operations and smaller escape attempts continued in the following weeks, allowing dozens more to rejoin Allied lines.
The Battle of Arnhem had not gone as planned. Of the 10,000 airborne troops who had landed, only about 2,000 made it back across the river. The rest were killed, captured, or left in hiding. Yet, amid the defeat, there were moments of extraordinary courage—soldiers who refused to abandon the wounded, engineers who braved gunfire to operate boats, and Dutch civilians who risked everything to protect strangers. Arnhem was a tactical failure, but the human spirit it revealed remains one of the war’s most enduring legacies.
