These were the most important days in the life of John Dutton Frost. These four days, 17th to 20th of September 1944, would shape this Briton’s whole life. The then lieutenant-colonel and his men were the only troops to reach the bridge at Arnhem.
Bridge too far
This was the ‘bridge too far’ of and operation whose only success, in the end, was on the drawing boards of the strategic planners. When Frost and about 500 of his men reached the north side of the bridge at about 8 o’clock in the evening of September 17, they had food and ammunition for two days. This was not enough for their hopeless battle against German superior forces.
Prisoners of the Germans
On September 20, Frost and 200 of his wounded men were taken prisoner by the Germans. He was freed in March, 1945. The bridge only stayed in Allied hands until September 21. However, this was long enough to block the Germans from advancing to the Waal bridge in Nijmegen.
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