 The relieving force led by the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division , which was short of transport , found it hard going to reach the parachute brigade and were still 1 mile ( 1 @.@ 6 km ) away when they halted for the night . By this time , with casualties mounting and supplies running short , the brigade commander , Brigadier Gerald Lathbury , had relinquished control of the bridge to the Germans . The following day the British units joined forces , and the 9th Battalion , Durham Light Infantry with armour support attempted to recapture the bridge . It was not finally secured until three days after the start of the operation , when another battalion of the Durham Light Infantry , led by the paratroopers , established a bridgehead on the northern bank of the river . 
