British 1st Airborne Division
The 1st and 3rd battalion, the South Staffords and the KOSB tried to reach the isolated 2nd battalion at the bridge. Heavy fights took place between the British and the Germans. The British troops suffered severe losses. Their remaining forces were pressed more and more by the advancing German tanks. The British were forced to retreat towards Oosterbeek. It was getting harder for the 2nd battalion to hold their position at the bridge. By now, they had been on their own for two days. Every day casualties increased while the number of effective soldiers decreased.

The advance by the 4th Parachute Brigade’s 10th and 156th Battalions was stopped by the German defence line in the north of Oosterbeek. Around 1700, the British withdrew towards Wolfheze. During this withdrawal, they had to cross the open terrain near Johannahoeve covered by heavy German fire. Many soldiers were killed. At that moment, gliders carrying the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade’s equipment started landing on this Landing Zone Y’s open terrain. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, German Messerschmitt fighters appeared and shot up the gliders. Thanks to the Messerschmitts and German ground shelling most of the gliders and equipment were destroyed. The German forces were still increasing in number. Then the British were attacked from the west by Lt. Gen. H. von Tettau’s Westgruppe.
Supply was another problem. Drop Zone V where the supplies were dropped was in German hands. As a result, the British ended up with only 10% of the supplies dropped.

U.S. 82nd Airborne Division
In the morning, the first contact was made with the XXX Corps by the 504th Regiment. Around 0900 the vanguard of the Guards Armoured Division arrived at Grave. The main force of the XXX Corps arrived three hours later. Browning and Gavin met at Overasselt and decided that an assault on the bridge should be carried out today. The 504th Regiment left some men behind to defend the secured bridges. The rest went to Nijmegen with the Grenadier Guards and launched an attack on the bridge. The Germans defending the bridge were reinforced by elements of the 10th SS Panzer Division which had crossed the canal at Pannerden. The attack was stopped by heavy German resistance. Gavin came up with a plan because the bridge had to be taken as soon as possible, especially since the XXX Corps had arrived. The following day men of the 504th Regiment would cross the Waal river and attack the bridge from the rear. The 505th Regiment and the Guards Armoured Division would simultaneously attack the south ramp of the bridge This plan could not be carried out until the next day because the boats needed for the crossing were still in the rear of the slowly advancing British XXX Corps and had to be brought to Nijmegen first.

The 505th Regiment defended the area Groesbeek-Mook. They withstood several German attacks and still retained control over the area. The third lift practically didn't arrive. Because of the bad weather in England the airborne forces couldn't take off. Only the C-47's carrying the supplies were able to fly to the Netherlands, but almost none of the supplies were recovered.

U.S. 101st Airborne Division
Near Veghel the 501st Regiment was attacked by German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers). They were forced to retreat, but they were able to withstand the assault. More infantry arrived at the landing zone. These reinforcements were used to defend the landing zone and to support the troops at Best where the men of the 502nd Regiment had been fighting since early morning. With these new reinforcements and the support of British tanks, the Germans were defeated late in the afternoon. Fifteen 88-mm guns were destroyed and approximately 1,000 German soldiers were captured.

The 506th Regiment had taken positions west and east of Eindhoven and with the British they patrolled in the area. Suddenly, Panther tanks approached Son and opened fire at the town, including the Bailey bridge. This was a serious threat to the corridor. Luckily, a 57-mm anti-tank gun, just moved from the landing zone, eliminated some of the tanks before they caused any real damage. The other tanks retreated and the corridor was saved again. That night the Luftwaffe bombed Eindhoven. The Germans killed more than 200 and injured 800 of its inhabitants. The exuberant mood turned to grief and mourning. The attack delayed XXX Corps for several hours.

British XXX Corps
During the night the Royal Engineers worked continuously on the Bailey bridge across the Wilhelmina canal. Early in the morning the job was done. The Grenadier Guards’ Sherman tanks leading the XXX Corps were the first to cross this bridge. They advanced directly towards Veghel where they linked up with the U.S. 101st Airborne Division’s 501st Regiment. Although the Americans took the bridge across the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal intact some tanks had to cross the canal by a temporary wooden bridge (constructed by Airborne engineers) because the secured drawbridge was too narrow. At 0900, the second link up was made. Scout cars reached the 82nd U.S. Airborne Division at Grave. An hour later, British XXX Corps tanks crossed the Grave bridge and headed for Nijmegen.

Now that Nijmegen was reached, a constant flow of vehicles of XXX Corps came through the corridor south of Nijmegen until September 22nd. The shortest way from Grave to Nijmegen was over the Maas-Waal canal bridge known as the Honinghutjes bridge. It was badly damaged in earlier fights between the American paratroopers and the Germans and the British found it unsuitable for their tanks. Nijmegen was reached by a detour. The XXX Corps had to cross the Maas-Waal canal at Heumen and continue to Nijmegen. When the Grenadier Guards reached Nijmegen an Anglo-American assault was launched to gain control over the bridges at Nijmegen but it failed.

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