Liberation Route Marker 124: The forgotten airfield

The forgotten airfield
The planners of Operation Market Garden unfortunately overlook a usable airfield here, in particular, because it is very close to the advance route to Arnhem. The first Allied planes only land here on September 25, 1944. A day later, the Americans fly in a huge amount of war material and personnel from England. Unfortunately, it comes too late for the success of Market Garden.

The Allies had the opportunity to use a small airfield near the road to Arnhem for Operation Market Garden. But this airfield was overlooked in the planning. Only when, on the first day of Market Garden, it was discovered by a U.S. patrol, was the machinery set in motion to actually put it to use. This lasted a few days. On September 26 1944, reinforcements and supplies were landed at this small airfield. In a short time, 209 Skytrains landed with 900 men and 380 tons of cargo on board. Unfortunately, this was too late for the success of Market Garden.

The airfield then became the scene of a tug-of-war between the Americans and British. The latter drew the longest straw, and thus Keent airfield became a fighter base called the B-82 Grave Airstrip.

Audiospot - The forgotten airfield

Liberation Route Europe is a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. With hundreds of sites and stories in nine European countries, the route links the main regions along the advance of the Allied Forces in 1943-1945.
The entire route consists of themed routes that can be travelled by by hiking, walking, cycling and car. These routes pass numerous historical and interesting sites and tell stories from a multitude of perspectives that were important in the final phase of World War II.
Many routes feature listening spots, offering the opportunity to listen to a historical story at a location. In addition, many ‘Vectors of Memory’ have been placed, indicating that the passer-by is on one of the Liberation Routes.
The routes can be found on the Liberation Route Europe website or in the app through which many stories can also be listened to.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Liberation Route Europe
• Photos: Joop van Summeren