- 526 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
Arnhem - it was the last major battle lost by the British Army, lost not by the men who fought there but by the overconfidence of generals, faulty planning and the failure of a relieving force given too great a task. If the operation of which Arnhem formed a part had been successful, the outcome of the war and the history of post-war Europe would have been greatly altered. Yet is it worth another book? I had fulfilled all my literary ambitions by researching and writing thirteen full-length books and was ready to retire from that laborious craft when Peter van Gorsel, head of Penguin's Dutch office, asked me to write a book on Arnhem for the fiftieth anniversary in 1994. It was the first time that my publishers had requested a book; all previous subjects had been my choice. I eventually agreed for several reasons. I had not previously researched and written about the British Army in the Second World War and had not previously done any work in Holland; so two fresh fields were opened up to me. I also felt that the fighting in and around Arnhem had still not been described in the detail that it merited.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- List of Photographs
- List of Maps
- Introduction
- 1 The Path to Arnhem
- 2 'First Airborne' and Friends
- 3 The Arnhem Area
- 4 Preparations for Battle
- 5 The Air Armada
- 6 The Morning in Holland
- 7 The Landings
- 8 The Vital Hours
- 9 The Battle in the Town - Monday
- 10 The Battle in the Town - Tuesday
- 11 Waiting for the Second Lift
- 12 The Second Lift
- 13 The Battle in the Woods
- 14 The Battle at the Bridge
- 15 The Formation of the Oosterbeek Perimeter
- 16 The Battle at Oosterbeek
- 17 The Resupply Flights
- 18 The Polish Brigade
- 19 The Sacrifice of the Dorsets
- 20 Evacuation
- 21 The Reckoning
- 22 The Years That Followed
- Appendix 1 Order of Battle and Operational Details, 1st British Airborne Division and Attached Units
- Appendix 2 Order of Battle, Polish Independent Parachute Brigade Group
- Appendix 3 Order of Battle, 38 and 46 Groups RAF and RASC Air Despatch Units
- Appendix 4 Order of Battle, US Air Units Carrying British and Polish Parachute Troops on Operation 'Market'
- Appendix 5 Arnhem Today
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliography
- Index