Day 2 Operation Market Garden

Day 2: Monday, 18 September

Allied weather forecasters correctly predicted that England would be covered in fog on the morning of September 18th. The Second Lift was postponed three hours as a result, and thick low clouds began to develop over the southern part of the battle zone that spread during the day over the entire area, hampering both resupply and air support missions. (Seven of the next eight days had poor weather, and all air operations were cancelled on September 22 and September 24.)

1st Airborne zone

British landings in Arnhem
The 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions pushed towards the Arnhem bridge during the early hours of 18 September and made good progress, but they were frequently halted in skirmishes as soon as it became light. With their long and unwieldy columns having to halt to beat off attacks whilst the troops in front carried on unaware, the Germans would delay segments of the two battalions, fragment them, and mop up the remnants.
Early in the day the 9th SS Reconnaissance Battalion, sent south the day before, concluded it was not needed in Nijmegen and returned to Arnhem. Though aware of the British troops at the bridge, it attempted to cross by force and was beaten back with heavy losses, including its commanding officer, SS-Hauptsturmführer Paul Gräbner.
By the end of the day the 1st and 3rd Parachute Battalions had entered Arnhem, and were within 2 km (1 mile) of the bridge with approximately 200 men, one-sixth their original strength. Most of the officers and non-commissioned officers had been killed, wounded, or captured. The Second Lift, delayed by fog and jumping onto a landing zone under heavy attack, landed at full strength (the 4th Parachute Brigade, consisting of the 10th, 11th and 156th Battalions of the Parachute Regiment, commanded by Brigadier General Sir John Winthrop Hackett) and C and D Companies of the 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment.

82nd Airborne zone

Grave proved to be well defended, and German forces continued to press on the 82nd deployed on the Groesbeek heights to the east of Nijmegen. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment defended successfully against German attacks in Horst, Grafwegen, and Riethorst. Early in the day, German counterattacks seized one of the Allied landing zones, where the Second Lift was scheduled to arrive at 13:00. The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked at 13:10 and cleared the LZ by 14:00, capturing 16 German flak pieces and 149 prisoners. Delayed by weather in Britain, the Second Lift did not arrive until 15:30. This lift brought in elements of the 319th and 320th Glider Field Artillery battalions, the 456th Parachute Field Artillery battalion, and medical support elements. Twenty minutes later, 135 B-24 bombers dropped supplies from low level (100 ), 80% of which were recovered.

101st Airborne zone

Map of US landings near Eindhoven

Faced with the loss of the bridge at Son, the 101st unsuccessfully attempted to capture a similar bridge a few kilometers away at Best, finding the approach blocked. Other units continued moving to the south and eventually reached the northern end of Eindhoven.

At about noon they were met by reconnaissance units from XXX Corps. At 16:00 they made radio contact with the main force to the south and told them about the Son bridge, asking for a Bailey bridge to be brought forward. XXX Corps passed through Eindhoven and bivouacked south of Son, where they waited for the Royal Engineers to erect the Bailey bridge.

At the end of two days the XXX Corps advance was behind schedule, and the Nijmegen and Arnhem bridges were still in German hands.