I have always been fascinated with WWII and especially with battles that included the 82nd since my father fought with them. This book well written and full of information looks at the plan of Market Garden from the beginning and the British side. First after reading this, I felt that Eisenhower and his staff on down dropped the ball big time. Not preparing and going over the final plans like they did for other invasions was ludicrous and then Montgomery who is said to have planned this to not be over is just as bad. To have a man with no airborne experience come up with the plan and execute it is crazy but they did. I had always thought that the British Airbourne was dropped at the same time and got left behind, but now their people have come up with a plan to not drop them all at the same time as they did with the 101st and the 82nd. People can say all they want about the 52nd but my father told me they spent the night in the river the entire group including General Gavin, and the next morning when they crossed the river enlisted and officers alike were fighting together and when they got across was when Gavin decided to displace the Germans on the hill overlooking them. As for the British, they were left out to dry by their people, and by the lack of scouting, they would have seen German SS troops around along with Panzers taking leave only to be called into action quickly. The Polish Paratroopers sadly fought gallantly while they were landing in the middle of the Germans with a few escaping. The day when it was decided for everyone to pull out Monty’s tanks stayed out of the action which by all of the other books I have read must be fact. They could not even try to fight for their men. For the British Paratroopers who fought out and even the ones that were captured, I look at them as warriors let down by Montgomery and of course, Eisenhower for he was the Supreme Commander who did not command. A very good book about the men who fought in this battle.

SYNOPSIS
Arnhem is an in-depth look into the lives of the soldiers and civilians during Operation Market Garden. In September 1944, the British launched an intensive foray behind enemy lines to capture key bridge crossings in and around Arnhem.

A massive night-time insertion by paratroopers and gliders well behind enemy lines put around 10,000 British troops on the ground. Things never go as planned in war, and almost immediately this was the case here. Lack of communication, troops spread far and wide, gliders that were off course, and lost equipment in crashes and due to enemy fire only made the situation worse.

This story details the fighting on both sides for control of the bridges and the terrain. It depicts the struggle of not only the soldiers but the civilians that were involved as well. The first hand accounts and the stories told by the survivors are depicted in gruesome detail. The struggle for survival and the devotion to duty are laid out bare in this book.

Read the full review at Litercurious.com

Author & historian Iain Ballantyne http://iainballantyne.com published the book “Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron” in 2019. Mr. Ballantyne has published a dozen books.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence.

This book details the events in Arnhem, Netherlands, from 17 September thru 25 September 1944. This was the daring Operation Market Garden that was to end the war. The British 1st Airborne Division was tasked with capturing the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. It became known as the Bridge Too Far when they were unable to capture and hold the bridge.

This book begins with a look at the D-Day airborne operations. Operation Market Garden was an even larger drop that on D-Day. The book gives a day-by-day description of the airborne drop around Arnhem and their battle with German forces.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 7 hours I spent reading this 375-page WWII history. I have read other accounts of Markey Garden and the Battle for Arnhem. This is by far the most detailed. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 4.5 (rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

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Ian Ballantyne's Arnhem is an easy to read but thought provoking description of one of World War 2's most well known battles.

The story is told from both the soldiers and civilian sides and whilst maybe not as in depth as other more weighty books is still a great read

Recommended

Ever since my dad took me to see A Bridge Too Far I have been fascinated by Montgomery's plan to shorten the war in Europe by seizing a bridge over the Rhine and striking directly at the heart of German industry in the Rhur valley.
The plan was for British and American airborne forces to capture select bridges in Holland and hold until relieved by armored forces. Unfortunately everything that could go wrong did. Arnhem is a detailed look at the heroic stand of units of the 6th Airborne, the famed "Red Devils" gallant but doomed defense of the pocket in and around the small Dutch town of Arnhem.
I highly recommend this book to any and all readers who enjoy reading of WW2 History