$39.99 WOW! 1944-1994 WWII Commemorative Battle of Arnhem Union in Kingston, Ontario for sale

(from the BBC website) The Battle of Arnhem was part of Operation Market-Garden (17-26 September), a joint land-airborne operation devised by British General Sir Bernard Montgomery. It was designed to outflank German defences by crossing the River Rhine, opening the way for an Allied thrust towards the Ruhr and an early end to the war. It was intended that the ground forces would link up with the airborne forces that had captured the bridges. The total amount of men in the initial drop was more than 16,500 paratroops along with 3,500 troops in gliders. The Allies believed that German defences in the area were relatively poor. In fact, 2 divisions of first SS Panzer Corps were in the area and had been practising how to tackle an airborne attack. The American landings were a success, but the British were dropped too far from their bridges, losing the element of surprise. The British paratroops succeeded in capturing the north end of only 1 bridge at Arnhem and were soon pinned down under a fierce attack. Bad weather and German attacks delayed the arrival of vital reinforcements and on 25 September Montgomery gave the order to withdraw from Arnhem. On the night of 25 September, about a quarter of the 10,000 airborne troops who had landed managed to withdraw across the river. In total 1,130 paratroops were killed and 6,450 were captured. The Germans estimated their dead and wounded at 3,300. In March 1945 the Allies mounted another bigger and successful airborne invasion, Operation Varsity, into the industrial heartland of Germany. This flag measures approx 38" by 57". It is in outstanding condition although there is a black mark in the top-most blue field straight up from the letter "M" which appears to be a manufacturing flaw.See images. Powered by eBay Turbo Lister