Bridging Operation Market Garden: A Nice Little Problem (Part 1)

What does a Commander Royal Engineers actually do for an armoured division? How much bridging kit did 30 Corps have to line up to cross the rivers and canals of the Netherlands? Why is the Bailey Bridge an offensive weapon?

Join Al Murray and James Holland for part 1 of Hurrah for the CRE, a two-part series on the sappers of Operation Garden, the land-borne half of Market Garden. Meet Brigadier Charles Phibbs Jones, Commander Royal Engineers of Guards Armoured Division, as they tally up the 9,000 engineers, the 2,000-plus vehicles on standby and the stockpiled bridging columns behind the advance, and watch his sappers build a 110-foot Bailey bridge at Son in a single night.

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Produced by James Regan

Editor: Charlie Rodwell

Assistant Producer: Alfie Norris

Exec Producer: Tony Pastor

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