 By this period of the conflict , the number of German divisions remaining on the Western Front was rapidly declining , both in numbers and quality , a fact in the Allies ' favour . By the night of 23 March , Montgomery had the equivalent of more than 30 divisions under his command , while the Germans fielded around 10 divisions , all weakened from constant fighting . The best German formation the Allied airborne troops would face was the 1st Parachute Army , although even this formation had been weakened from the losses it had sustained in earlier fighting , particularly when it had engaged Allied forces in the <unk> Forest in February . First Parachute Army had three corps stationed along the river ; 2nd Parachute Corps to the north , 86th Corps in the centre , and 63rd Corps in the south . Of these formations , 2nd Parachute Corps and 86th Corps had a shared boundary that ran through the proposed landing zones for the Allied airborne divisions , meaning that the leading formation of each corps — these being 7th Parachute Division and 84th Infantry Division — would face the airborne assault . After their retreat to the Rhine both divisions were under @-@ strength and did not number more than 4 @,@ 000 men each , with 84th Infantry Division supported by only 50 or so medium artillery pieces . 
