Liberation Route Marker 130: Fortress Best

Fortress Best
On the 17th, 18th and 19th of September, massive airdrops took place in the area between Best and Son. Thousands of American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division and hundreds of gliders with military equipment landed there on their drop zones. The operation, known as Market Garden, aimed to capture a strip of land, called a corridor and seize and hold the roads and bridges. This would allow the XXXth British Corps to use it to advance to Arnhem.

An American company attempted to capture the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal, but failed. German soldiers blew up the bridge. But on the 19th of September, the Americans, with the help of British tanks, still achieved a victory. Then the 15th Scottish Division was tasked to secure the western part of the landing zone. Best also had to be liberated.

It turned out not to be easy. The occupier had constructed heavy defences in Best. From the 21st of September, the troops of the Scottish Division were involved in continuous fighting in the city centre, near the railway line and the Vleut. Eventually, they managed to liberate Best on the 24th of October.

Audiospot - Fortress Best

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: Lennard Bolijn