Operation Market Garden was the largest airborne operation in history. Intended to bypass the German West Wall defensive line, the Allies hoped to end the war before Christmas 1944. The air operation involved more than 34,600 men of the British 1st Airborne, U.S. Army 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and the Polish Parachute Brigade. The men were dropped in key locations in The Netherlands to secure several bridges along roads leading into the heart of Germany. The whole plan proved to be too optimistic, and the Allies failed to achieve their goal.