British 1st Airborne Division
During the night the fire-fights around the bridge continued and Frost and his men eliminated some German armoured cars that had tried to retake the bridge. Around 0930 a squadron of the 9th SS Panzer Division which left for Nijmegen the previous day came back and made an attempt to cross the bridge from the south. This attempt was crushed by the British troops. Their PIAT's (Projectile Infantry Anti-Tank) and 6-pounder anti-tank guns destroyed the German vehicles. The road was full of burning wrecks and dead soldiers. The Germans started to press the 2nd battalion with mortars and artillery. Frost was still isolated from the rest and ammunition and medication began to run down. A detailed map of the battle at Arnhem bridge is available.
The 3rd battalion had left Urquhart's Hartenstein headquarters (Oosterbeek) in the morning and was heading for the same road the 2nd battalion had followed. Later, the 1st battalion would do the same. Fire from 88-mm guns of Harzer's 10th SS Hohenstaufen Division stranded both units near the St. Elisabeth Gasthuis (a temporary care centre for wounded British soldiers). The British spread out in all directions. Urquhart fled into the small streets of Arnhem and had to hide at Zwarteweg for several hours before he could return to his troops.

The Luftwaffe attached more importance to the Market Garden plans found on 17 September in an abandoned glider than Model did. That’s why they let their fighter planes circle above the Allied flight path, so they could intercept the second airlift. According to the plan that lift was scheduled for 10 o'clock in the morning. The Luftwaffe was very surprised when no Allied planes showed up. The reason that the second airlift didn't arrive on time was bad weather conditions. Unlike the Netherlands, there was fog in England and the planes were forced to stay on the ground. Due to this delay, the landings in Arnhem took place later in the afternoon than planned. This airlift carried Brig. John W. Hackett’s 4th Parachute Brigade. They were dropped on Zones S,Y and Z, defended by the Kings Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) of the 1st Airlanding Brigades. The South Staffords, also of the 1st Airlanding Brigade, had left to join the 1st and 3rd battalion. Directly after landing, Hackett was ordered to send the 11th battalion of his division to assist the 2nd battalion at the bridge. The South Staffords eventually reached the two battalions in the evening. The 11th battalion was heavily attacked by the Germans and forced to retreat. It joined the stranded 1st and 3rd battalions. Frost's 2nd battalion was still alone.

U.S. 82nd Airborne Division
During the night, the 508th Regiment still hadn't made any progress at the bridge. They attempted to seize it several times, but every time their attack got bogged down. A patrol of the 508th went back to the post office after a tip from some civilians. According to the Dutch people the igniter of the explosives on the bridge was located there. They went in and destroyed anything that looked suspicious. But after doing this they found themselves surrounded by the Germans. They were stuck there for three more days. On the first day of Operation Market Garden, the 82nd Division captured all its targets except the Nijmegen bridge. Now they had to prevent the Germans from recapturing those targets. So the 504th Regiment patrolled between Grave and Nijmegen and along the Maas-Waal canal. Together with the 508th Regiment they captured another bridge across the Maas-Waal canal, the one between Grave and Nijmegen.

A German force made up of several army, navy, and air force units, medics and even soldiers recovering from older wounds launched an assault on the landing zones. The 505th Regiment was attacked out of the Reichswald forest, but they regained control of the landing zone around noon. More critical was the situation at landing zone 'T'. The Germans, coming from Wyler, managed to advance as far as the landing zone and had some 20-mm guns at their disposal. Now some 500 German soldiers occupied the vital landing zone. Priority number one was not the bridge at Nijmegen, but the landing zone at Groesbeek because the second lift, bringing more artillery and infantry, would arrive at 1300 in the afternoon. Because the 505th Regiment was tied up in defending Zone 'N' and the greater part of the Groesbeek heights, the 508th was on its own. Reserves were put into action and men had to come all the way back from Nijmegen to support the men in Groesbeek. The Americans were outnumbered but by 1400 the landing zone was back in their hands. Fortunately, the second lift was delayed by fog so Gavin's men arriving around 1430 were able to land on the cleared zones. American “Liberator” bombers, in their only participation in Operation Market Garden, dropped supplies, 80 per cent of which were salvaged.

U.S. 101st Airborne Division
The American positions at Veghel (501st Regiment) and St. Oedenrode (502th Regiment) were attacked several times by German troops, but all attacks were warded off. Now with the Son bridge destroyed, the bridge at Best had become the main target. The 3rd Battalion of the 502nd Regiment was sent to Best. It launched an attack, but the Germans had the upper hand. The 2nd Battalion was also sent to Best, but still the Germans were stronger and the two battalions were forced to take a defensive position. In spite of their stronger positions the Germans must have been afraid of loosing the bridge because around 1100 the bridge was blown up.
The 506th Regiment marched on towards Eindhoven. When they reached the outskirts of Eindhoven they were attacked by Germans armed with 88-mm artillery guns. The Americans approached the city from different sides and the guns were put out of action. Bridges across the Dommel were taken without any fights and road blocks were set up. Around noon some armoured cars of the Household Cavalry entered Eindhoven and the first contact between the U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Market) and the British XXX Corps (Garden) was made. These cars had approached Eindhoven from the west. In the south the main force was held up by German resistance in Aalst. By night fall contact was made between the paratroopers and the main force. Eindhoven was liberated. Reinforcements landed on Zone 'W', bringing in the 327th Glider Regiment. Supplies were dropped by American Liberators, but only half were recovered.

British XXX Corps
The Guards Armoured Division spent the night in Valkenswaard to the astonishment of the soldiers. Why stop during the night when they already were behind schedule? But the soldiers were unaware of the situation in Son. Because the bridge was blown it was pointless to continue the advance during the night. After ten hours delay, the advance continued. Just behind Aalst, a little town between Valkenswaard and Eindhoven, the Irish Guards and the Household Cavalry leading the XXX Corps encountered a German 88-mm gun position. While the battle near Aalst continued, a group of armoured cars of the Household Cavalry drove to Eindhoven via a wide curve west around the city. They reached Woensel, north of Eindhoven, and made the first contact with the paratroopers. After the Germans were defeated at Aalst, the main force of the Guards Armoured Division reached Eindhoven. They continued until the Son bridge where further advance was impossible.

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