Maj. Gen. Robert Urquhart, the British commander at the heroic but ill-fated Battle of Arnhem who tried to capture a bridge over the Rhine River, has died, his family said. He was 87.
Urquhart died Tuesday at his home at Port of Menteith, near Stirling in his native Scotland. No cause of death was stated.As commander of the First Airborne Division, Urquhart was at the forefront of the battle in September 1944 to capture a bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem, the Netherlands.
He survived many narrow escapes and was portrayed by Sean Connery in the 1977 movie "A Bridge Too Far," which was based on the battle.
The battle was the climax of a U.S.-British operation to exploit German disorganization following their retreat from Normandy, France, after the Allied invasion.