ABSTRACT
One of the most neglected aspects of the Battle of Arnhem is the story of the resupply operations. In the absence of swift relief by ground forces or the seizure of a nearby airfield, an airborne force required substantial supplies to be delivered by parachute drops. The number of aircraft taking part in the resupply to Arnhem was 101 Stirlings and 63 Dakotas. A 575 Squadron aircraft crashed on a German military cemetery on the northern outskirts of Arnhem. A German flak unit had arrived only that morning and set up four 20-millimetre guns between the trees lining the road running alongside the dropping zone. The Germans used a different tactic, putting up a general flak barrage across the approach path rather than engaging individual aircraft. The resupply flights from England were abandoned, the cost too high, the effectiveness too little.
