 1st Airborne landed some distance from its objectives and was quickly hampered by unexpected resistance , especially from elements of the 9th SS and 10th SS panzer divisions . Only a small force was able to reach the Arnhem road bridge , while the main body of the division was halted on the outskirts of the city . Meanwhile , XXX Corps was unable to advance north as quickly as anticipated and failed to relieve the airborne troops . After four days , the small British force at the bridge was overwhelmed and the rest of the division became trapped in a pocket north of the river , where they could not be sufficiently reinforced by the Poles , or by XXX Corps when it arrived on the southern bank . After nine days of fighting , the shattered remains of the airborne forces were eventually withdrawn south of the Rhine . 1st Airborne lost 8 @,@ 000 men during the battle and never saw combat again . 
