September 17, 1944 — 76 years ago today — Allied paratroopers and tankers initiated Operation Market-Garden in the Netherlands during World War II. Operation Market-Garden was a two-part operation designed to seize a bridgehead over the Rhine River, enable the Allies to attack across northern Germany, and end the war in Europe quicker. Market was the airborne portion of the operation which had British paratroopers from the 1st Airborne Division jumping near Arnhem to seize bridges, American paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division parachuting to seize bridges near Nijmegen, and paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division jumping to seize bridges at Son and Eindhoven. Garden was the ground portion of the operation which called for the British XXX Corps to attack northward along a narrow road network, link up with each group of paratroopers, and eventually seize the bridgehead across the Rhine River. Stiff German resistance and unexpected German units increased the challenges of the operation. Unfortunately, the XXX Corps was unable to fight its way to Arnhem, the British paratroopers were forced to abandon the city, and the operation ended inconclusively.

If you want to learn more about the operation, the US Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps is doing a multiple day twitter story on Market Garden (https://twitter.com/18airbornecorps?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor ) It is an innovative way to present information — the first few days of the story have been excellent. The operation was featured in the book and movie A Bridge Too Far, as well.

In World War II, T. Moffatt Burris commanded I Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (a predecessor of C Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment which I was fortunate to lead from 2000-2001). I was privileged to meet Moffatt at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 2000. Moffatt fought with I Company during the invasion of Sicily, at Anzio, Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge. During Operation Market Garden, I Company conducted a perfect parachute jump on September 17, 1944 and seized the Grave bridge intact. As Moffat said, “Within one hour, my company was assembled with all equipment and no injuries, and we had captured our objective. None of our practice jumps had ever gone so well.”

After a brief pause, Burris and I Company spearheaded the Waal River crossing in tiny assault boats, under intense German fire, which captured the Nijmegen bridge intact on September 20. The heroic leadership that Moffatt Burris exhibited that day was extraordinary — as one of his peers wrote in a letter home, the battalion and the company “had accomplished the impossible. We had crossed the Waal. We had attacked across two miles of heavily defended open terrain. We had seized the two vital Nijmegen bridges. We had opened up the lifeline to Arnhem. And it had cost the krauts plenty.” The company occupied defensive positions east of Nijmegen until November 15, when it was relieved and sent to recover in Sissonne, France. Less than half the company that made the jump went to refit at Sissonne. Moffatt wrote about his wartime experience in the wonderful book Strike And Hold.

In my opinion, I Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was an exceptional organization. You can read more about what I think about exceptional organizations here — https://www.thefivecoatconsultinggroup.com/the-coronavirus-crisis . I Company had all four components — leadership, great teams, superb culture, and processes:

• Leadership — the heroic leadership of Moffatt Burris and his battalion commander, Major Julian Cook, were critical in getting the company to row across the Waal River, while under an incredible amount of German fire, and seize a heavily defended bridge. As a peer said, “When we ran into strong enemy opposition, he [Burris] didn’t say ‘You go there. He said, ‘Follow me.’ And his men did, because they respected him so highly.”

• Great teams — I Company was a great team in combat because it would “strike hard and fast when least expected, keep the enemy off balance, take calculated risks when circumstances seem to justify them, and expect officers to set a good example by leading their men in combat.” From this quote and experience in Holland, I Company’s five critical elements of a great team are evident:

  • A goal - seize the Grave bridge

  • A roadmap of how to get there — tough training and then speed and surprise in combat

  • A scoreboard that tracks the progress — training objectives and combat objectives

  • A culture that provides the guardrails for the team to operate between — the airborne had high standards; they thought they were better than the conventional soldiers.

  • Trust in the team that developed through shared experiences and hardships — the combat veterans from Sicily and Italy knew they could trust each other. They rapidly brought the replacements up to speed during training and during operations.

• Superb Culture — I Company had forged a great culture during training in the United States, combat in Sicily and Italy, and then during the train-up for Operation Market Garden. The Company had a strong purpose; values and behaviors; and a safe, connected, and engaged environment which they used to get better after every operation.

• Processes — I Company had many processes that made it effective and efficient in combat. One such process was the Field Order, the predecessor of the Operations Order or OPORD. You can read more about the OPORD here (https://www.thefivecoatconsultinggroup.com/the-coronavirus-crisis/the-opord ). For the jump into Holland, the 82nd Airborne Division’s mission statement was “will land by Prcht and Glider commencing D Day S of NIJMEGEN; seize and hold the hwy bridges across the MAAS River at GRAVES and the WAAL River at NIJMEGEN; seize, organize, and hold the high ground between NIJMEGEN and GROSSBEEK; deny the roads in the Div area to the enemy; and dominate the area…” See below, paragraph 2:

Hope you enjoyed learning more about Operation Market Garden, as well as Moffatt Burris and I Company, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, an exceptional organization. Strike Hold!