World War 2 Battlefield Tour:  The Liberation of Arnhem

Germany controlled most of Europe during the Second World War, including the Low Countries. On 17 September 1944 thousands of paratroopers descended from the sky behind enemy lines. Their goal: to secure bridges across the Dutch rivers in an attempt to liberate northwest Europe. Unfortunately, the bridge at Arnhem proved to be 'a bridge too far'. This tour will take you through Belgium and Holland, following the mighty struggle that would finally bring WWII to an end. Relive the drama that befell the British 1st and the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and the 1st Canadian Army.

Tour Inclusions:
• 3 nights in traditional & unique accommodation
• Specialist Battlefield Guide/Driver
• All mini-coach transportation
• European breakfast daily
• Evening meals x 2

Entrance fees as listed:

• Airborne Museum Hartenstein
• Liberty Park Overloon
• Liberation Museum Groesbeek

2011 dates to be released soon

Itinerary:

Day 1 Antwerp
From Lille, follow the troops from the French border into Belgium. Join the Canadian Army in their struggle to push the German occupiers off the islands in the river delta, freeing the way into port. Experience the local sentiments for the liberators in Woensdrecht. Share the glory of the British and Polish forces when they liberated the city of Antwerp. Enjoy free time in this bustling city where we spend the night.
(D)

Day 2 Arnhem/Nijmegen
The U.S. 101st Airborne Division had its drop zone near Eindhoven and captured the bridges in Son and Veghel. Start your own Operation Market Garden along the corridor known as Hell's Highway, with Arnhem the main target. At the CWGC cemetery, we pay our respects to mainly Canadians, who took part in the drive southwards from Nijmegen to clear the territory between the Maas and the Rhine.
(B)

Day 3 Arnhem/Nijmegen
Relive the heart-wrenching disappointment that was the failure of Operation Market Garden. Discover the ongoing gratitude of the local population for the Canadians in Arnhem and beyond, when II Corps advanced into northern Germany, liberating Dutch cities on the way and putting an end to the starvation of the Hunger Winter of 1945.
(B/D)

Day 4 Lille
"War belongs in the museum" according to the National War and Resistance Museum in Overloon. In the museum we see a German Panther tank. Near the eastern border of Brabant, the German defense, equipped with the latest armored technology, had created a seemingly impregnable line. When the 7th American Armored Division rushed in, they were decimated. British replacements, the 11th British Armored Division, took the area inch by inch, and man-to-man. To the south of Venray, the village of Ysselsteyn is the location of the largest German war cemetery in the Netherlands. We end our tour in Lille.
(B)

 

This tour may be taken independently or combined with Forging of a Nation or the Battle for France Tour.

Price

Pick-up/Drop-off Information:
This tour starts at 10.30am from 'The Meeting Point' at Lille Europe Rail station (Eurostar terminal)
Make your own way to the pick-up point at 10:30 am at the 'Meeting Point' inside the Lille Europe station. If you are staying in Paris you may catch SNCF operated train service from Paris Nord to Lille Flanders (approx 1 hr 20 mins). From Lille Flanders make your way to Lille Europe for the 10.30am pick up at 'The Meeting Point' inside the rail terminal. Please note that transfers from Paris are not included in the price of your tour. The tour will return to Lille on Day 4.

If you require teransfers from London, please ask for our Eurostar prices.