A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 war film telling the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden of World War II. This operation was an attempt by the Allied forces to gain control of several bridges in the Netherlands with the main objective being to outflank the German defenses. If this plan were to work as planned, the men believed the war would be over by Christmas. From the beginning this plan, devised by British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, to have 35,000 men flown 300 miles from air bases in England and being dropped as much as 64 miles behind enemy lines seems extremely risky. Even Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning admits that if even one of the groups fail, the entire operation fails, but still has confidence in the overall plan. At the command briefing, others voice their own doubts in the plan. General Gavin worries about parachuting in daylight while General Sosabowski doubts the sanity of the entire plan and even goes so far as to question whose side the briefing officer is on. Though General Urquhart may have his doubts, he tells his troops the plan and trusts in the fact that gliders with reconnaissance Jeeps will arrive shortly after they land in their drop zone about 8 miles from their target location (one of the bridges). Though many people have doubts about the plans and some such as Major Fuller and some of the British officers have actual evidence of difficulties in the plan, nothing is ever done. Major Fuller is even dismissed after showing General Browning reconnaissance photos of German tanks at Arnhem which is one of the crucial targets of the Allies. All of the Generals are not exactly sure how to feel about the operation at first. Of course they know the extensive risks of the plan, but they are all military men. They do not want to question their superiors no matter how impossible the orders may seem. No matter their insecurities, they do the only thing they can which is to determine their method of attack. General Gavin knows that the only way to take the bridge would be to take it from both sides and plans to send troops across the river on a boat. The other generals have their own methods of attack, but are met by German resistance. They are able to secure the Nijmegen bridge as General Sosabowski and his troops attempt to reinforce British troops at Arnhem. With the Germans fully aware, their paratroopers are unable to successfully get through to the men at Arnhem and the operation fails. All of the men experience their own hardships and difficulties throughout the operation. General Gavin seems to go through the motions and though he is nervous, is able to devise a semi-successful plan. General Urquhart is faced with many problems from the reconnaissance Jeeps not arriving, to not being able to have any source of communication. Similarly, Sosabowski and his troops experience immediate resistance as they attempt to parachute to their designated drop zone. Though all of the characters had their doubts about Operation Market Garden from the very beginning, their military training kept them from really voicing these concerns and ultimately the operation failed.

A Bridge Too Far. Perf. Ryan O’Neal, Sean Connery, Dirk Bogarde, Gene Hackman,. Joseph E. Levine Production, 1977. Film.

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