Holland & Bastogne 1944–45
Band of Brothers sites in Holland
On 17 September 1944, the first day of Operation Market Garden, Easy Company parachuted onto the heath near Son, north of Eindhoven. Their job was to help open the road north for British tanks, the corridor that soldiers soon called "Hell's Highway".
In October the company moved up to "the Island", the flat land between the Waal and the Lower Rhine, where on 5 October Winters led a bayonet charge against a much larger German force at a dyke near a crossroads. Below are the places from our free Holland & Bastogne guide along the corridor and on the Island.
Hell's Highway — Eindhoven to UdenNijmegen, the Island & Arnhem
Hell's Highway — Eindhoven to Uden
Airborne Memorial, Eindhoven (Woensel)
Memorial · allow 20 min
On Airbornelaan, the road the 506th used to enter the city on 18 September. Placed by 101st veterans in 1969.
Drop Zone B — Sonse Heide
allow 20 min
The heath where the 506th came down on 17 September in near-perfect order. Nothing marks the exact spot; the flat open ground is the point.
Eindhoven — 18 Septemberplein
Town · allow 45 min
The square named for liberation day. Easy marched through cheering crowds here; that night the Luftwaffe bombed the city and the celebrations ended.
Joe Mann memorial, Best
502nd PIR · allow 20 min
Pvt. Joe Mann of the 502nd threw himself on a grenade at the Best bridge fight on 19 September; Medal of Honor. The pelican memorial stands in the woods where the 502nd fought.
Koevering
Hamlet · allow 15 min
The last cut of Hell's Highway, 24–25 September, on the straight road between Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel. Burnt-out convoys lined the road here while Arnhem fell.
Nuenen — 101st Airborne memorial
Memorial · allow 30 min
Beside the village liberation monument, a plaque naming nine Easy Company men who fell in Holland between 19 September and 5 October. The ambush of 19–20 September happened on the road east of here.
Overloon War Museum
Market Garden aftermath · allow 1 h
Site of the October 1944 tank battle east of the corridor; one of the largest vehicle collections in Europe.
Sint-Oedenrode
Town · Hell's Highway · allow 20 min
The 502nd's town on the corridor; the highway through it is the original road. A good place to feel how narrow the whole operation was.
Son bridge & 101st Airborne memorial
Memorial · allow 30 min
The Wilhelmina Canal crossing the Germans blew as the 506th arrived; the memorial stands on 17 Septemberplein beside the modern bridge. Engineers bridged the gap overnight; Easy crossed on the footbridge.
Uden
Town · allow 20 min
Where Winters and a handful of Easy men were cut off on 22 September, bluffing a defence of the town until the road was reopened.
Veghel — canal bridges
Town · allow 30 min
Four bridges over the canal and the river made Veghel the corridor's most vulnerable point; the Germans attacked it on 22 September and the 101st fought for two days to keep the road open.
Wings of Liberation Museum, Best
Museum · beside the 101st landing zone · allow 1 h 45 min
Vehicles, aircraft, a Waco glider and the story of the Brabant liberation, on the edge of the ground the 101st landed on. The right start: it explains the plan before you drive the road.
Nijmegen, the Island & Arnhem
506th PIR memorial, Elst
the Island · allow 15 min
Memorial to the 506th on the Island, in the town the regiment held in October–November 1944.
Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek
Museum · allow 1 h 30 min
Urquhart's headquarters hotel, now the museum of the Arnhem battle: nine days in the perimeter, then Operation Berlin's night evacuation.
Airborne War Cemetery, Oosterbeek
Cemetery · allow 30 min
1,700 graves, mostly of the 1st Airborne Division. Local schoolchildren lay flowers here every September.
Crossroads memorial, Heteren
Memorial · allow 45 min
On the Randwijkse Rijndijk, the junction where Winters' attack of 5 October broke a larger SS force. The memorial names Pvt. William Dukeman, Easy's one man killed.
Driel — Polish brigade memorial
Memorial · allow 20 min
Where Sosabowski's Poles landed on 21 September and tried to reach the trapped British across the river. The Island begins here.
Freedom Museum, Groesbeek
Museum · allow 1 h 30 min
The whole Market Garden and Rhineland story, on the 82nd's landing ground above Nijmegen.
Grave bridge (John S. Thompson bridge)
Bridge · 82nd Airborne · allow 20 min
The Maas bridge taken intact by the 504th within minutes of landing on 17 September — the first Market Garden bridge secured.
John Frost Bridge, Arnhem
Bridge · British 1st Airborne · allow 30 min
A bridge too far: Frost's 700 men held the north end for four days and were overrun on 21 September. The rebuilt bridge carries his name.
Nijmegen — Waal crossing & road bridge
Bridge · 82nd Airborne · allow 30 min
On 20 September the 504th crossed the Waal in canvas boats under fire while the Guards' tanks rushed the road bridge. Half the boats were lost; the bridge fell at 19:00. The Waal crossing memorial stands on the south bank.
Operation Pegasus — river bank sector
allow 20 min
The stretch of the Neder-Rijn where about 138 Allied evaders, mostly British, were rowed across on the night of 22–23 October with Easy on the bank.
Questions
How many places are there to visit?
This page lists 22 places from the free Easy Company in Holland & Bastogne guide, each with its story, what you can see today, how to visit and GPS directions.
How much time do I need?
Allowing the suggested time at each place adds up to about 13 hours on site, plus driving between them. Plan on about 3 days to see everything, or pick the places that matter most to you. The guide's tour planner puts any selection in driving order.
Do I need to book?
Most places can be visited without booking. 1 of them need booking or can only be seen on a guided visit; they are marked “Booking needed” below. For 4 places we checked opening times and prices on official websites in September 2026; open each place to see them. Opening times change, so check before you travel.
Can I visit every site?
Some places, especially open fields, are on private land: view them from the road or a public path. Cemeteries and memorials are places of remembrance first.
Is the guide free, and does it work without signal?
Yes. The Easy Company in Holland & Bastogne guide is free and works on your phone with no signal once it has been opened, with maps, stories and a tour planner. There is nothing to install from an app store.
More trip ideas
- Bastogne & Battle of the Bulge sites to visitBois Jacques foxholes, Foy, Bastogne
- Band of Brothers sites in NormandyDrop zones, Brécourt Manor, Carentan
- Band of Brothers sites in Germany & AustriaLandsberg, Berchtesgaden, the Eagle's Nest
- D-Day sites in NormandyThe five beaches, batteries, museums
- Spanish Civil War sites in MadridCiudad Universitaria, Jarama, Brunete
- Battle of the Ebro & Catalonia sitesGandesa, Corbera, Barcelona shelters
All 48 sites in Holland & Bastogne 1944–45 →
Easy Company in Holland & Bastogne
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