Ten miles - the distance from Nijmegen to Arnhem where the British 1st Airborne Division was running out of ammunition and fighting for its life. They'd been ordered to capture the bridge over the Rhine and hold it for two days until relieved. A week later they were still waiting.

On paper Field Marshal Montgomery's plan had seemed simple - a daring airborne operation behind enemy lines to open a route along which an Allied army could advance rapidly north through Holland, outflank the Germans, and push straight into the heart of northern Germany. Codenamed Operation Market Garden the plan involved the U.S. 101st Airborne Division seizing crossings around Eindhoven, whilst the 82nd would do the same at Grave and Nijmegen. Ten miles further north the British 1st Airborne was to secure the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. Simultaneously the ground forces of the British XXX Corps would race northwards to link up with the airborne divisions.

But there were flaws. Parts of the road chosen for XXX Corps' advance were narrow, little more than a causeway across low-lying marshes; breakdowns and blockages would lead to appalling congestion and delay. And then there was greater than expected German resistance; Allied intelligence had failed to spot two elite SS Panzer Divisions refitting nearby. By the time XXX Corps fought their way into Nijmegen it had taken twice as long as planned, and they were still ten miles short of Arnhem where by now the Germans had recaptured the bridge.

It was all too late to save what little remained of 1st Airborne. Only just over 2,000 men out of the 10,000 involved managed to make the perilous withdrawal back across the Rhine; in nine days the rest had either been killed or captured.