Nijmegen Bridge

Nijmegen, NL

The road bridge over the Waal river, key objective of the **82nd Airborne Division** during Operation Market Garden. On September 20, 1944, in one of the war's most audacious river crossings, 260 men of the **504th Parachute Infantry Regiment** crossed in canvas assault boats under direct fire, outflanking the bridge's defenders and allowing British **Guards Armoured Division** tanks to cross and continue north — too late to save the 1st Airborne at Arnhem.