In the movie A Bridge Too Far, it can be said that it accurately depicts the tension and strife of war. Depicting Operation Market-Garden, which shows airborne forces being dropped in location to secure enemy controlled bridges. The main objective was to have airborne forces land and take over main bridges to move Allied armor and forces up to the front lines to deal major blows to the Germans. It shows the different sides of the operation from different Allied forces, some more successful than others, but ,mainly portrayed are the airborne forces led by four different commander two Americans, one British, and one Polish. The four commanders are Major General Urquhart, Major General Sosabowski, Brigadier General Gavin, and Major General Maxwell Taylor.                                                                                                                                        All of the four airborne commanders seem to be put in difficult position of them all, one being trapped with no communication and dealt with overwhelming odds. Major General Urquhart is stuck without communication, meaning no reinforcements. Continually being pursued by relentless German forces who begin to surround his position. However, despite all the challenges he faces he stands firm, which seems to be a defining trait in all four of the airborne commanders. He splits of from his men to scout ahead however, he gets stuck in a small town surrounded by a small German force. No communication was the greatest blow to his forces as it took away their supply drops, making them continually run low on ammunition and supplies. Even with that misfortune, he faces German Panzer Divisons and greater German forces but still effectively leads his men not letting their situation break him or his men down. Leading his men by his action and defiance against the Germans, this is also seen in Major General Sosabowski. Major General Sosabowski wants to move his men in order to reinforce allied forces at Arnhem, however he is unable to move due to natural forces, being fog. He knows that Allied forces desperately need his reinforcements, he moves on his own and at night to try and provide reinforcements and supplies as quickly as he can. However, like with most Allied forces in the war he is dealt with serious losses. Both American commanders while not in the same position as the the other commanders were also dealt with blows with destroyed bridges and being consistently halted.                                                                                                            All four commanders are defiant even though they are constantly being delayed, overwhelmed, and stranded. Even as they stand as strong leaders trying not be be defeated, the operation was a failure because of German resistance. These were strong leaders who went in to the operation with their mission in mind, however during the course of the operation it can be seen that their mindset changed to survival with all the defiance of the German army. The airborne forces had strong capable leaders however, even the strongest leaders out of them, could not be able to overcome their confrontations. It can be seen that one of the main traits of military leaders is their defiance against overwhelming odds, which they do in order to inspire their men to not give up and fight till the end. In this way it can be seen that soldiers do take on the attitudes of their commanding officers.

Citation:

Bridge Too Far. Dir. Richard Attenborough. Perf. Sean Connery, Ryan O’Neal, Gene Hackman, and Paul Maxwell. Mgm, 1977. Web.