THE SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLER The great airborne battle for the bridges in 1944 by Britain's Number One bestselling historian and author of the classic Stalingrad 'Our greatest chronicler of the Second World War' - Robert Fox, Evening Standard ______________ On 17 September 1944, General Kurt Student, the founder of Nazi Germany's parachute forces, heard the growing roar of aeroplane engines. He went out on to his balcony above the flat landscape of southern Holland to watch the air armada of Dakotas and gliders carrying the British 1st Airborne and the American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. He gazed up in envy at this massive demonstration of paratroop power. Operation Market Garden, the plan to end the war by capturing the bridges leading to the Lower Rhine and beyond, was a bold concept: the Americans thought it unusually bold for Field Marshal Montgomery. But could it ever have worked? The cost of failure was horrendous, above all for the Dutch, who risked everything to help. German reprisals were pitiless and cruel, and lasted until the end of the war. The British fascination with heroic failure has clouded the story of Arnhem in myths. Antony Beevor, using often overlooked sources from Dutch, British, American, Polish and German archives, has reconstructed the terrible reality of the fighting, which General Student himself called 'The Last German Victory'. Yet this book, written in Beevor's inimitable and gripping narrative style, is about much more than a single, dramatic battle. It looks into the very heart of war. ______________ 'In Beevor's hands, Arnhem becomes a study of national character' - Ben Macintyre, The Times 'Superb book, tirelessly researched and beautifully written' - Saul David, Daily Telegraph 'Complete mastery of both the story and the sources' - Keith Lowe, Literary Review

Robin Neillands' new history of the Battle of Normandy (Cassell, 2002) was hailed by the SUNDAY TIMES as one of the best military history books of the year. This continues the story from the breakout from Normandy to the arrival of the Allied armies on the Rhine at the beginning of 1945. The story is dominated by two great battles: the Allied airborne offensive into Holland that ended in bitter failure at Arnhem, and Hitler's last great offensive in the Ardennes that December, the 'Battle of the Bulge'. This book ends where Robin's previous book THE CONQUEST OF THE REICH begins, thus forming a trilogy that takes us from the Normandy landings to the fall of Berlin.

An insightful and gripping account of the largest airborne operation in history. In September 1944, the river Rhine was a serious barrier to the advancing Allied armies in the West who were intent on charging Berlin and ending the war. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery decided to utilise the First Allied Airborne Army consisting of British, American and Polish troops. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, 40,000 paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines while ground forces linked to relieve them. But, due to bad weather and German resistance, the operation failed. In March 1945, asecond attempt was planned: Operation Varsity Plunder. This time the plan worked. Despite extremely heavy fighting, they cracked the German line.

Historian John Buckley offers a radical reappraisal of Great Britain’s fighting forces during World War Two, challenging the common belief that the British Army was no match for the forces of Hitler’s Germany. Following Britain’s military commanders and troops across the battlefields of Europe, from D-Day to VE-Day, from the Normandy beaches to Arnhem and the Rhine, and, ultimately, to the Baltic, Buckley’s provocative history demonstrates that the British Army was more than a match for the vaunted Nazi war machine.div /DIVdivThis fascinating revisionist study of the campaign to liberate Northern Europe in the war’s final years features a large cast of colorful unknowns and grand historical personages alike, including Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and the prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. By integrating detailed military history with personal accounts, it evokes the vivid reality of men at war while putting long-held misconceptions finally to rest./DIV

Explore this gripping day-by-day combat narrative of the infamous battle for a bridgehead over the Rhine.

Nearer My God to Thee examines the full story of the army chaplains who accompanied the airborne forces to all theatres of war between 1942-1945. The chaplains landed with their troops, by parachute and on gliders, mainly behind enemy lines, and shared the dangers and challenges of operations from North Africa, through Sicily, Italy, D-Day and Arnhem to the crossing of the Rhine. In the front line of allied action, the chaplains ministered to their men spiritually and materially, performing acts of courage, aiding medical staff, taking services in difficult circumstance and burying the dead. The book examines the role of the chaplains and their differing experiences. At least two died defending the wounded at dressing stations, several took over leadership of the men in the chaos of battle. At Arnhem chaplains became prisoners of war as they stayed to look after wounded when the allied troops retreated over the Rhine. Chaplains were present with the SAS in North Africa and in France. The book uses hitherto unpublished material including first-hand accounts and letters to tell the dramatic stories of individuals and the multi-faceted work of the airborne chaplains as a whole. Their story is an important part of the narrative of airborne forces in the Second World War.

Based on first-hand interviews, records, and diaries, the heart of Arnhem's story is in the selflessness and bravery of the troops that fought, the courage of the civilians caught up in confrontation, and the pure determination to fight for their lives and their freedom. This is the story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.