HOW THE OUTBOARD HELPED WIN A WAR
September 17th, 1944: The European Theater.
The German Army is defeated and in retreat, and the Allied troops will be home from the war by Christmas, or so they believe. Operation Market Garden is launched to seize and hold key bridges over vital waterways, ending with the Rhine River at Arnhem, that will open access to Germany’s industrial heartland and secure victory. British General Montgomery plans for thousands of troops to land by parachute and glider in what is still the largest airborne operation to date. Once the troops hit the ground, however, they are not graced with the smooth operation they were promised.
“The concept was originally for the men to be dropped on the bridge,” says Larry Stevenson, a collector and historian of antique outboards. “But they were dropped nowhere near the bridge and they had to slog it through the German troops to get there.” Major General John Frost actually made it to the bridge at Arnhem with his men, where they took the bridge, holding one side until running out of ammunition and forced to surrender after four days.
