Hundreds of paratroopers have dropped out of near-cloudless skies over a heath in the central Netherlands to commemorate the 80th anniversary of one of World War II’s most daring — but ultimately unsuccessful — missions,

Hundreds of American and allied military personnel recreated the paratrooper jumps and river crossings of the failed World War II operation.

Parachutists jump Saturday over Ginkel Heath, Netherlands, to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II's Operation Market Garden. Parachutists jump Saturday over Ginkel Heath, Netherlands, to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II's Operation Market Garden.

Hundreds of NATO paratroopers dropped near Arnhem in the Netherlands, commemorating 80 years since one of the most renowned World War II operations. The Allied bid to secure a Rhine crossing proved "A Bridge too Far.

The airdrop is one of several events organised to mark the anniversary of Operation Market Garden, an ambitious military offensive designed to speed up the invasion of Nazi Germany and shorten the war in Europe. Among those who parachuted into the Netherlands were 1,900 allied airborne soldiers from Britain's 4th Parachute Brigade.

Hundreds of Nato troops and veterans of Operation Market Garden commemorated the 80th anniversary of the audacious plan which sought to bring a quick end to World War Two.