Description

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This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allied offensive.

In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the September 17, 1944, launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and “bounce” the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war.

However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armored division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions. This new book explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilize so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.

About the Author

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Anthony Tucker-Jones, a former intelligence officer, is a highly prolific writer and military historian with well over 50 books to his name. His work has also been published in an array of magazines and online. He regularly appears on television and radio commenting on current and historical military matters.

Praise For…

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“This is an important and timely operational analysis of the events of September 1944. It is a mark of my respect for Anthony Tucker-Jones's work that I wish I had researched and written The Devil's Bridge. Thus I am more than happy to commend his scholarship to you.” —Professor Peter Caddick-Adams

“A gripping narrative from a less familiar viewpoint - that of Holland's occupiers.” —Dr Graham Goodlad

“A fine sense of detail and character makes this a thrilling and unusual read.” —Tim Newark

“Interestingly examining the actions of the German forces that led to Arnhem.” —Robin Buckland

“This analysis provides a valuable insight into an event which is a signally important event in British military history.” —Trevor James, The Historian

“This little volume provides an easy to read operational narrative of the German side of the battle. The author provides an adequate number of maps and illustrations, along with a nicely detailed order-of-battle for the German forces involved. For students of the battle wanting to know what happened “on the other side of the hill” as the saying goes, this is an excellent account.” —New York Journal of Books